UPDATE: This morning, People's City Council broke the news that the City Attorney has rejected filing charges on journalist Anthony Orendorff, who is expected to be released today.
On a dreary Saturday morning, a crowd assembled outside the Van Nuys Police Station, nestled in the vibrant heart of the San Fernando Valley. Friends, family, colleagues, and supporters gathered with homemade signs to demand the release of photojournalist Anthony Orendorff, who is being held under questionable conditions.
On the morning of June 19th, Orendorff hurried to the Plaza Pacoima shopping complex at San Fernando Road and Paxton Street after being notified of an active ICE incident. As an independent journalist and local photographer who documents Los Angeles and its people, Anthony was one of the first documentarians to arrive.
The scene quickly turned contentious as ICE agents rounded up and abducted civilians while LAPD officers stood by conducting crowd control operations. Based on social media videos circulating on various platforms, LAPD can be seen pushing and scuffling with local activists and the general population. In the midst of the chaos that unfolded that morning, Anthony was arrested and taken into custody for allegedly assaulting a police officer.