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Dems want answers on U.S. citizen arrest after police ordered to stand down on immigration law

Dems want answers on U.S. citizen arrest after police ordered to stand down on immigration law

Yahoo21-04-2025

Two protesters demanding Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez's release from Leon County jail hugged him and his mother in the parking lot of the jail on April 17, 2025. (Photo by Jackie Llanos/Florida Phoenix)
House Democratic Leader Fentrice Driskell said Monday the DeSantis administration needs to answer for the arrest last week of Juan Carlos Lopez-Gomez, a U.S. citizen, under a suspended immigration law.
During a press conference Monday, Driskell highlighted Florida Highway Patrol's arrest of Lopez-Gomez on Wednesday, when he was a passenger in a car during a traffic stop on his way to work from Cairo, Georgia, to Tallahassee. The 20-year-old, born in Georgia, was charged under a temporarily suspended law making it a first-degree misdemeanor to illegally enter the state as an 'unauthorized alien.'
The case garnered national attention following Florida Phoenix's reporting on Thursday. Lopez-Gomez was released from jail Thursday evening, but U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is in custody of the driver of the car, who doesn't enjoy legal permanent status, in a Broward County transitional center.
'We are a nation of laws, and no one — not Ron DeSantis, not Donald Trump — no one gets to decide to imprison people without cause,' Driskell said. 'We need better answers about this. Ron DeSantis and his administration need to answer for this unlawful arrest, and for the pain and suffering they caused, and the fear that they continue to stoke throughout our communities.'
Although Attorney General James Uthmeier argues that the federal prohibition on enforcement of the law, SB 4C, doesn't apply to law enforcement, he sent a memo Friday to FHP, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, police chiefs, and sheriffs stating that they shouldn't arrest or detain anyone under the suspended law.
'I should also note that while my office represents the current defendants named in this case, it does not represent nonparties like your law enforcement agencies,' Uthmeier wrote in the memo.
The new attorney general, who used to be Gov. DeSantis' chief of staff, said the state would continue this argument in the federal court for the Southern District of Florida or an appellate court.
His memo came at the direction of U.S. District Court Judge Kathleen Williams on Friday, when she extended the bar on enforcement until the next hearing on April 29.
The judge had barred enforcement of the law on April 4, a little over a month after DeSantis signed it, and she expressed frustration during the Friday hearing in Miami about Lopez-Gomez's arrest.
Immigrant advocacy groups, Florida Immigrant Coalition and Farmworker Association of Florida Inc., and two women without permanent legal status are suing Uthmeier, the statewide prosecutor, and state attorneys over the constitutionality of the law.
'We appreciate that the federal courts have seen through this blatantly unconstitutional law, but the reality is that, without enforcement, it seems that local law enforcement and Florida Highway Patrol are continuing to ignore the judge and order,' said Miriam Fahsi Haskell, an attorney for Community Justice Project representing the plaintiffs, in a phone interview with the Phoenix Friday. 'The reality is that once a person is arrested under SB 4C and booked into jail, that person risks then having an ICE hold on them.'
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Donald Trump Says 'Bring in the Troops' as LA Riots Escalate
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Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops
Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops

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Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops

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Clashes escalate as National Guard troops arrive Starting in the morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted 'shame' and 'go home." After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon. Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles. Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening. 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Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops
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time2 hours ago

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Protests intensify in Los Angeles after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump's extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd. Many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and making arrests of people who don't leave. Some of those remaining threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier that spanned the width of a street and others hurled chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the closed southbound 101 Freeway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover. Sunday's protests in Los Angeles, a sprawling city of 4 million people, were centered in several blocks of downtown. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents. The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were 'overwhelmed' by the remaining protesters. He said they included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble. Starting in the morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted 'shame' and 'go home.' After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street. Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon. Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles. Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening. Governor says Guard not needed Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom requested Trump remove the guard members in a letter Sunday afternoon, calling their deployment a 'serious breach of state sovereignty.' He was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and officials. The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state's national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration's mass deportation efforts. Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the increasingly aggressive protests on Trump's decision to deploy the Guard, calling it a move designed to enflame tensions. They've both urged protesters to remain peaceful. 'What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,' she said in an afternoon press conference. 'This is about another agenda, this isn't about public safety.' But McDonnell, the LAPD chief, said the protests were following a similar pattern for episodes of civil unrest, with things ramping up in the second and third days. He pushed back against claims by the Trump administration that the LAPD had failed to help federal authorities when protests broke out Friday after a series of immigration raids. His department responded as quickly as it could, and had not been notified in advance of the raids and therefore was not pre-positioned for protests, he said. Newsom, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that California authorities had the situation under control. He mocked Trump for posting a congratulatory message to the Guard on social media before troops had even arrived in Los Angeles, and said on MSNBC that Trump never floated deploying the Guard during a Friday phone call. He called Trump a 'stone cold liar.' The admonishments did not deter the administration. 'It's a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement. Deployment follows days of protest The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton . Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA's fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot. The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader who was accused of impeding law enforcement. The protests did not reach the size of past demonstrations that brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops. The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. Trump says there will be 'very strong law and order' In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard. Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were 'violent people' in Los Angeles 'and they're not gonna get away with it.' Asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles , Trump replied: 'We're gonna have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country.' He didn't elaborate. About 500 Marines stationed at Twentynine Palms, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Los Angeles were in a 'prepared to deploy status' Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Northern Command. ___ Offenhartz reported from New York. Associated Press writer Michelle Price contributed to this report from Bridgewater, New Jersey. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . 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