Los Angeles, CA – On Friday, June 27, community members gathered at Salazar Park at 4 p.m. for a press conference and rally demanding the charges be dropped against Alejandro Orellana and calling for justice for Verita Topete. Both are immigrant rights activists who were raided by the FBI within the last two weeks.

The press conference was the first time Orellana has spoken out since his arrest. He thanked people for supporting him and helping him fight his charges.

Longtime Chicano activist Carlos Montes stated, “Trump has made it part of his agenda to go after immigrants, specifically Mexican and Central American immigrants. We have a long history of resistance against racism here in East LA and Boyle Heights. We call it the Chicano movement.”

On June 12, the FBI broke into Orellana’s home. He was arrested and now faces federal charges for “conspiracy to commit civil disorder” and “aiding and abetting civil disorder.”

On June 26, Topete was aggressively ambushed by the FBI in a park where they issued her a search warrant and seized her phone.

Both activists are being targeted for protesting the violent ICE raids throughout Los Angeles.

Centro CSO led the event alongside allied organizations Union del Barrio, Black Lives Matter-LA, Proyecto Pastoral, the Freedom Road Socialist Organization and the Boyle Heights Catholic Worker. Community activists, union members and media gathered to rally and support the demands.

Sammy Carrera, a sanitation worker and Teamster, drew the comparison to other historic activists who have been targeted by the FBI. Carrera told the crowd, “Sixty years ago COINTELPRO sent MLK a letter telling him to unalive himself. Fast forward 60 years later in 2024, they put out a tweet to commemorate the legacy of MLK. In 60 years will they tweet about Alejandro Orellana, or will they tweet about Verita Topete? Will they tweet about the organized resistance and rebellions that we saw in southeast LA, Paramount and other parts of the city? As an organized community we will continue to make history on our own terms. We will continue to defend ourselves from ICE terrorism by any means necessary.”

Amanda Díaz, a leader of Centro CSO, reminded the crowd of what the protests are really about. First describing the brutal conditions people face in detention centers, she went on to explain, “Immigration detention in this country is a multi-billion dollar business, with private prisons companies and billionaires making billions of dollars off of the pain and suffering of our community members and loved ones. Almost 90% of people in ICE custody are held in facilities run by for-profit, private companies.”

The event coincided with a National Day of Action called for by the Legalization For All (L4A) network, which mobilized protests for Alejandro Orellana in dozens of cities across the country. The L4A network also organized a call-in action to federal prosecutor Bill Essayli to demand the charges be dropped.

You can follow Orellana's case on www.stopfbi.org.

#LosAngelesCA #CA #ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #FBI #StopFBI #AlejandroOrellano #CSFR #Feature

Fight Back News Service is circulating the following statement from the Committee to Stop FBI Repression.

On the morning of June 12, the FBI, accompanied by the National Guard and LA sheriffs, raided the home of Alejandro Orellana for his protesting of ICE raids in Los Angeles. He was arrested, taken into federal custody, then released the next day – after much public pressure and many phone calls to the U.S. Attorney.

Now he faces two bogus federal charges: one for conspiracy to commit civil disorder and another for aiding and abetting civil disorder. He is facing serious prison time.

Alejandro Orellana is a longtime activist in LA’s Chicano community. When immigrant rights are under attack – he helps organize the protests. When law enforcement guns down people in the Boyle Heights neighborhood, Orellana is one of the speakers on the bullhorn demanding justice. He is a Teamster, who is an activist on the shop floor. As a former marine, he is opposed to unjust U.S. wars abroad.

In Los Angeles, ICE agents, the National Guard, Department of Homeland Security agents, and U.S. troops are roaming the streets. Wearing masks to hide their identities, they abduct undocumented people, tearing apart families in the process.

The people of LA have a right to protest. Standing up to ICE is not a crime. The charges against Alejandro Orellana should be dropped. Now!

The Committee to Stop FBI Repression has called for a National Day of Action on June 27, the date of Orellana's preliminary hearing. We are calling on all those who value civil liberties to hold actions on that day. We are calling on all supporters of Orellana to call U.S. Attorney Essayli at 213-894-2400 on June 27 as well.

The U.S attorney claims that Orellana drove a pickup truck carrying PPE (personal protective equipment) including face shields, and that this is their basis for arresting and charging him. In our view, there's nothing wrong with looking out for people’s safety. Police often shoot rubber bullets, as a result there are multiple cases of protesters losing eyes. Helping to prevent this is a good thing.

The California Central District U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli who filed the charges against Orellana was appointed by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, a dedicated Trump supporter who helped build his MAGA think tank. He is Trump’s man in California.

Essayli has pursued charges against other anti-ICE protesters, such as David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union California, who was held on a $50,000 bail. Essayli is the legal representative of the Trump administration in the court battle over who controls California’s National Guard. In his time as a California state legislator, Essayli authored bills targeting parents of trans kids and criminalizing the teaching of “critical race theory.” He has revealed himself to be an all-around opponent of democratic rights and anything progressive

The Trump administration and its tools such as U.S. Attorney Essayli are out to crush any dissent of Trump's immigration policy. They seek to trample the First Amendment rights of protesters in order to do it. Orellana's activism is the real reason he is in the FBI and prosecutors' sights. An attack on Orellana dis an attack on anyone who cherishes the right to resist mass deportations and the many other wrongdoings of the Trump administration.

You can follow Orellana's case on www.stopfbi.org.

Drop the Charges!

Protesting ICE Is Not a Crime!

#ImmigrantRights #InJusticeSystem #PoliticalRepression #FBI #StopFBI #AlejandroOrellano #CSFR #Feature