California labour leader charged with impeding officer in ICE crackdown

A California union leader has been charged with conspiring to impede an officer during a demonstration over President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, authorities said on Monday.

David Huerta, 58, is currently being held in federal custody in downtown Los Angeles and expected to appear in court later on Monday for a bond hearing, federal prosecutors said.

Huerta is president of Service Employees International Union (SEIU) California, which represents thousands of janitors, security officers and other workers in the state.

The SEIU was holding a rally in downtown Los Angeles on Monday to show support for Huerta and stand up for his right to observe and document law enforcement activity. Demonstrations were also planned in at least a dozen cities from Boston to Denver.

The union has been a strong Democratic supporter, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and California's two Democratic senators wrote a letter to federal officials demanding answers regarding Huerta's arrest.

"It is deeply troubling that a US citizen, union leader, and upstanding member of the Los Angeles community continues to be detained by the federal government for exercising his rights to observe immigration enforcement," the senators wrote.

Protests broke out last week in response to reports of immigration raids in the nation's second-largest city. Since then, tensions have escalated with thousands of protesters taking to the streets after Trump took the extraordinary move of deploying the National Guard. Demonstrators blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire downtown as law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets to control the crowd.

Huerta was arrested on Friday when law enforcement officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business under investigation for allegedly hiring illegal immigrants and falsifying employment papers, a special agent for Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, wrote in a court filing.

A crowd of people including Huerta gathered outside the business yelling at the officers. Huerta sat down in front of a vehicular gate and encouraged others to walk in circles to try to prevent law enforcement from coming in or out, the agent wrote, adding it was clear "he and the others had planned in advance of arrival to disrupt the operation."  A law enforcement officer approached Huerta and told him to leave, then put his hands on Huerta to move him out of the way of a vehicle, the agent wrote. Huerta pushed back and the officer pushed Huerta to the ground and arrested him, according to the filing.

"Let me be clear: I don't care who you are if you impede federal agents, you will be arrested and prosecuted," Bill Essayli, US Attorney in Los Angeles, said in a post on X. "No one has the right to assault, obstruct, or interfere with federal authorities carrying out their duties."  Messages were left for Huerta's attorney, Marilyn Bednarski.

The SEIU said in a statement the union condemns the immigration raids and will continue to protect workers' rights.

"We demand David Huerta's immediate release and an end to these abusive workplace raids," said April Verrett, SEIU's international president.