Anti-ICE protests continue after clashes outside LA detention center

LOS ANGELES – Anti-ICE demonstrations continued Saturday in Southern California a day after protesters clashed with federal agents outside Metropolitan Detention Center in Downtown Los Angeles.

At least five people were arrested Friday, according to LA Mayor Karen Bass, during a nationwide day of action in response to the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis amid protests against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement

Los Angeles police fire less lethal rounds at protesters in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Protesters clashed with federal agents in one of a series of demonstrations nationwide seeking to stop funding for ICE.

Video from the scene showed objects being thrown toward the building, while police appeared to deploy pepper spray from inside the facility and erect a makeshift barricade using wooden skids from a loading-dock area.

The LAPD announced at 5:16 p.m. it had gone on tactical alert because of what it said was “violent agitators” on Alameda Street between Temple and Aliso streets.

Protesters throw trash at federal police blocking a loading dock at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 30,2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

A tactical alert requires all on-duty officers to stay on duty beyond their shifts and enables the reallocation of personnel.

A dispersal order was issued around 5:45 p.m., giving protesters in the area of Alameda between Union Station 10 minutes to leave or face arrest, police said.

People fill the streets during a protest in Los Angeles on Friday, Jan. 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

When LAPD officers attempted to disperse the crowd on Alameda Street between Temple and Aliso streets around 6:05 p.m., protesters immediately began to block the street with traffic control items and throw rocks and bottles at the officers, according to the department.

Freshly spray-painted graffiti using obscenities to criticize ICE and President Donald Trump was on several buildings in the area.

The department announced earlier Friday that acts of vandalism during the march were being documented and asked all property owners and managers to also document all acts of vandalism and report them LAPD.online.

By the scheduled 1 p.m. start of the rally outside Los Angeles City Hall and at the adjacent Grand Park, a throng of over 1,000 people had assembled in the park, with the crowd continuing to swell as demonstrators set off on a peaceful march eastward, many crossing the Cesar E. Chavez Avenue bridge toward Boyle Heights.

The demonstrations were part of a nationwide day of action organized by University of Minnesota student groups following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal officers in Minneapolis. Organizers have dubbed the effort “National Shutdown,” with the stated goal of stopping funding for ICE, according to the group’s website.

“The people of the Twin Cities have shown the way for the whole country — to stop ICE’s reign of terror, we need to SHUT IT DOWN. On Friday, January 30, join a nationwide day of no school, no work and no shopping,” organizers wrote online.

Several local businesses also participated in the protest through closures or boycotts. (CNS)

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