Maywood and Bell have become the latest Los Angeles County cities where protests against the Trump administration’s illegal immigration enforcement have been met with violence.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a statement on social media Friday saying, “Today in Bell and Maywood, CA, Border Patrol vehicles were violently targeted during lawful operations.
“On Atlantic Blvd, one vehicle was rammed and had its tires slashed. On Slauson Ave, a civilian struck a federal vehicle, totaling it. The driver was arrested for suspicion of vehicular assault as a mob formed and slashed additional tires,” the statement said.
“LAPD, LAFD, OFO teams, and Border Patrol Special Operations responded and restored order. One suspect is in custody and will be presented to U.S. Attorney’s Office for criminal prosecution.”
Maywood is patrolled by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Bell has its own police department. Neither is under the jurisdiction of the Los Angeles police or fire departments.
Federal agents used chemical irritants or smoke bombs against a small group of protesters in Maywood following reports of a federal immigration enforcement operation, causing the crowd to disperse rapidly amid the chaos, with many shouting in defiance.
Tensions escalated after chemical irritants and smoke devices were deployed. At one point, a protester was seen kicking a canister back toward federal agents, ABC7 reported.
Multiple SUVs, suspected to be driven by federal agents, halted on Slauson Avenue near Alamao Avenue, approximately one block from the site of the chemical agents’ deployment.
Minutes earlier, a protest on Atlantic Avenue in Bell escalated, according to ABC7.
Approximately 100 people gathered following an immigration operation in the area. Video footage captured individuals throwing rocks and bottles at passing vehicles.
The agency responsible for the immigration operation is unclear, as the vehicles were unmarked, and the officers did not wear identifiable uniforms.
Also Friday, Vice President JD Vance and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass sparred verbally, with Vance claiming there were “rioters egged on by the governor and the mayor” — claims that Bass later labeled “outright lies” and “utter nonsense.”
“You had people who were doing the simple job of enforcing the law, and they had rioters egged on by the governor and the mayor, making it harder to do their job,” Vance said during remarks at a federal facility, flanked by representatives of the FBI, the District Attorney’s Office, the U.S. Marines and various other federal officials.
At one point, Vance described the atmosphere in Los Angeles as “open season on federal officers.”
“That is disgraceful, and it is why the president has responded so forcefully,” said Vance.
At her City Hall news conference, Bass said “Today, the vice president of the United States spent three or four hours in L.A. before holding a press conference and spewing lies and utter nonsense in an attempt to provoke division and conflict in our city.
“This is consistent with the provocation from Washington that began two weeks ago when our city was calm and millions of Angelenos were going about working and contributing to our city. The provocation has resulted in lives disrupted, terror and fear spread throughout our city.”
The Trump administration has criticized Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom for so-called “sanctuary” policies and accused them of hampering federal efforts to enforce immigration laws and arrest people in the country without legal permission.
Bass also took on Vance’s claim that city and state leaders were encouraging violence and “siccing mobs on ICE officers.”
“How dare you say that city officials encourage violence,” Bass said “We kept the peace. You know that the federal officials that were here protected a federal building. They were not involved in crowd control. Crowd control was handled most aptly by the Los Angeles Police Department, the sheriff’s department and local law enforcement. We were able to handle the violence and the vandalism that occurred. We put a curfew in place. We’ve lifted that curfew. Our streets have been peaceful, and even when there was vandalism at its height, you were talking about a couple of hundred people who were not necessarily associated with any of the peaceful protests.”
In addition, Bass criticized Vance for wrongly calling California Sen. Alex Padilla “Jose” during his remarks.
“Mr. Vice President, how dare you disrespect our senator,” she said. “You don’t know his name, but yet you served with him before you were vice president, and you continue to serve with him today. … But I guess he just looked like anybody to you. Well, he’s not just anybody to us. He is our senator.”
Also Friday, the Dodgers pledged $1 million in partnership with the city of Los Angeles to support immigrant families facing economic hardship.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the team stated, “The Dodgers and the city of Los Angeles have a proven ability to get financial resources to those in critical need, most recently seen in their efforts to aid victims of the January wildfires. Through our support of the city’s efforts, the Dodgers will encourage those organizations in a similar position to use their resources to directly support the families and workers who have suffered economic hardship.”
The team had drawn criticism on social media for staying quiet amid ongoing federal immigration enforcement actions in the region.
In the coming days, the Dodgers officials said they plan to make additional announcements alongside local community and labor organizations — including the California Community Foundation and the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor — to support youth and families with food insecurity, basic necessities and mental health services.