Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: There's so much going on today, There's so much going
Speaker 2: on this week. Got to check in with what's going
Speaker 2: on in and around Los Angeles right now. If you're
Speaker 2: not aware, you might have heard Tim Conwell Junior talk
Speaker 2: about some of the protests, the immigration ice raids, which
Speaker 2: have been going on for the better part of today.
Speaker 2: The protests have been amassing in various parts of the city.
Speaker 2: Let me give you a little background on them. I
Speaker 2: want to head back to that breaking news of ice
Speaker 2: raids happening in several locations across LA.
Speaker 3: Let's get up the Rich Bricketty's overhead one of those
Speaker 3: locations in downtown Los Angeles, the Fashion District.
Speaker 4: Rich Yeah, Glenna Crean, we are back in the Fashion district.
Speaker 4: This is the Abbiace Apperil store where the FBI, Homeland
Speaker 4: Security and ICE agents have been performing to rate a
Speaker 4: couple of hours ago, and they were inside for quite
Speaker 4: some time. And we're just now seeing some people that
Speaker 4: are b and detail being brought out from from the
Speaker 4: facility here about uh and a couple dozen people that
Speaker 4: that have been that are now being taken into custody. Now,
Speaker 4: the FBI had brought in some reinforcements to help with
Speaker 4: the crowd control that had started to surround the building
Speaker 4: earlier on and uh there was quite a scuffle as
Speaker 4: a matter of fact, that they were trying to make
Speaker 4: room uh for these vans to make their way into
Speaker 4: the parking lot where they are now detaining several people
Speaker 4: from the Ambiance Apperil store here in.
Speaker 5: The Fashion district.
Speaker 4: You can see some of that crowd that still remains
Speaker 4: to the rear of the facility with all the FBI
Speaker 4: agents and a couple of the bear cats that arrived here.
Speaker 4: So they did need to bring in some some some
Speaker 4: backup here to help with the crowd crowd control so
Speaker 4: that they can bring in these vans.
Speaker 5: Now we're seeing a.
Speaker 4: Couple of people being detained. This is one of a
Speaker 4: few raids we have seen early this morning.
Speaker 6: Uh, and two.
Speaker 4: Locations in regards to this particular company, Ambiance Live in
Speaker 4: Sky five and Rich Prickett sent it back to you.
Speaker 3: All right, Rich, just want to point out what you
Speaker 3: see earlier. This is what took place in the Westlake district.
Speaker 3: That was this morning.
Speaker 6: That was another raid.
Speaker 3: And now we've got this separate rate taking place in
Speaker 3: the Fashion district.
Speaker 2: Give you some context if you were listening to the
Speaker 2: show last night, I told you about an ICE memo
Speaker 2: which had been handed down to implore ICE agents to
Speaker 2: step up their arrest efforts, also engage without the use
Speaker 2: of warrants where possible, but to also get up their
Speaker 2: overall arrest numbers. I said it last night, not that
Speaker 2: it was going to change anything today, but there specifically
Speaker 2: was an effort in place to have maximum enforcement, if
Speaker 2: you will, across the United States. Now we're seeing it
Speaker 2: here in Los Angeles, but I expect there to be
Speaker 2: similar raids of a maximum show of force around the
Speaker 2: country this weekend. Why because ICE is basically said as
Speaker 2: much in its internal memos.
Speaker 5: That's what ICE is going to do.
Speaker 2: But also this is something I want to talk to
Speaker 2: people who may be directly or im directly impacted. I've
Speaker 2: received some notes from friends people who are concerned. They
Speaker 2: oftentimes will reach out to me because, like MO, you
Speaker 2: work in news and talk. You may know a little
Speaker 2: bit more about this than I do. And I try
Speaker 2: to give information and advice where I can. But the
Speaker 2: information and advice that I give today, unfortunately, is not
Speaker 2: going to be much different than what I gave months
Speaker 2: ago going into the election. And I know we're talking
Speaker 2: about quote unquote I legal immigration, so we're not talking
Speaker 2: about voters. So I'm not going to blame people who
Speaker 2: can't vote about how they voted or did not vote.
Speaker 2: But I will say this. You'll turn on the TV
Speaker 2: right now if you want. I'm looking at KTLA channel five,
Speaker 2: also KNBSA channel four, and you'll see hundreds and hundreds
Speaker 2: of protesters. You'll see very angry people, upset people wondering
Speaker 2: what is happening to family members, friends, And I tried
Speaker 2: to remind people that this was always coming, This was
Speaker 2: always coming. Then candidate Trump said that he was going
Speaker 2: to do this, And I think you should always take
Speaker 2: candidates at their word. And sometimes and I know this
Speaker 2: is about illegal immigration, so I'm not talking about people
Speaker 2: in that community. They would not have that vote. But
Speaker 2: sometimes you as a voter, you vote for things which
Speaker 2: don't necessarily have to do with you. You don't always
Speaker 2: vote to get something. Sometimes you vote not to lose somethings.
Speaker 2: You don't always vote just for your personal interests. Maybe
Speaker 2: you vote for a larger community's interests and in the
Speaker 2: issue of immigration and illegal immigration and also immigration reform,
Speaker 2: it's not always about you individually, and I'm seeing that
Speaker 2: in real time today. There are people who are being
Speaker 2: impacted right now. And you may not be Latino, you
Speaker 2: may not be Hispanic. And it's unfortunate that it's only
Speaker 2: being focused on the Latino and Hispanic communities. It's unfortunate
Speaker 2: because it sends the wrong idea that quote unquote illegal
Speaker 2: immigration is only an issue of the Latino community, and
Speaker 2: that couldn't be further from the truth. But that's how
Speaker 2: people oftentimes want to perceive it, even wrongly. So but
Speaker 2: sometimes you got to remember your vote is not always
Speaker 2: about you. Sometimes you're voting because you know something or
Speaker 2: someone may impact somebody else. And I know I have
Speaker 2: a lot of friends and extended family actually as well
Speaker 2: as I think of it, who are being directly impacted
Speaker 2: by these immigration ice raids today. And what we see
Speaker 2: and what we've seen today is only the beginning. They're
Speaker 2: going to be more they're going to be more expansive
Speaker 2: and extensive. They may be more aggressive, and we're going
Speaker 2: to see more protests. And I have to tell you,
Speaker 2: the protests will mean absolutely nothing. They will not make
Speaker 2: a bit of damn difference at all, not one little bit,
Speaker 2: because this is a federal issue, this is a legal issue,
Speaker 2: and being seen on TV and demonstrating how upset you
Speaker 2: are and how you won't stand for it will not
Speaker 2: mean a damn thing. And that's the reality, because we're
Speaker 2: dealing with federal law. We're dealing with policies and procedures
Speaker 2: which are beyond a protest. If you're protesting now, it's
Speaker 2: too late. And if you feel that that's the only
Speaker 2: way that you can be seen and that's the only
Speaker 2: way that you can be heard, I can understand that.
Speaker 2: But that's more an emotional response, not a legal response.
Speaker 2: And honestly, there are a number of people you're going
Speaker 2: to hear the stories of people getting swept up in
Speaker 2: this who may not even be illegal immigrants, who may
Speaker 2: have been just there at the time with someone who
Speaker 2: was arrested. And then you get caught up in a
Speaker 2: sweep and you may be here legally, and then you
Speaker 2: have to go through this process which may or may
Speaker 2: not have due process attached and hopefully that you'll be
Speaker 2: able to get your situation sorted out. But this is
Speaker 2: going to happen. This is going to get more expansive.
Speaker 2: This is going to probably include someone that you care about,
Speaker 2: someone that you know, someone that you love. And the
Speaker 2: only thing I can say is they told you from
Speaker 2: the beginning this was going to happen. It's Later with
Speaker 2: mo Kelly ca if I Am six forty. We're live
Speaker 2: everywhere in the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Mo Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: IF I Am six forty is Later with mo Kelly
Speaker 2: live on YouTube, Instagram, and the iHeartRadio app. And just
Speaker 2: want to reset for you. Maybe you're just tuning into
Speaker 2: the show. Maybe you are hearing report about what has
Speaker 2: been going on downtown today with immigration raids and also protesters.
Speaker 5: Just to reset.
Speaker 2: Federal Immigration agents ICE agents rated a few locations in
Speaker 2: downtown LA this Friday, and there were there's not an
Speaker 2: exact number, but at least dozens of people have been detained, slashed, arrested.
Speaker 2: I can't tell you specifically because we don't know the
Speaker 2: specifics of what is happening to the individuals who've been
Speaker 2: at the minimum detained. Some have been arrested, for example,
Speaker 2: at a home depot in Westlake District, near downtown LA.
Speaker 2: There were masked officers wearing vests emblazoned with HSI, which
Speaker 2: means Homeland Security Investigations. They were seen taking people into custody.
Speaker 2: You may see the video of people with hands behind
Speaker 2: their back, presumably under some level of detention I can't
Speaker 2: say arrest. In other words, taken into a custody and
Speaker 2: then booked with some sort of immigration violation. Now there's
Speaker 2: a lot of footage which is floating around social media,
Speaker 2: some from legitimate news agencies, some from personal accounts and cameras,
Speaker 2: some from advocacy organizations. So you're going to see a
Speaker 2: lot of video from different angles. In fact, if you
Speaker 2: go to our YouTube video simulcast, we are showing you
Speaker 2: some of that video from various sources. Right now, we
Speaker 2: don't know whether this is going to be a one
Speaker 2: day event. I talked last night about ICE's intention to
Speaker 2: amp up their arrest effort, get their numbers up, and
Speaker 2: be more aggressive than their posture regarding immigration specifically this weekend,
Speaker 2: and to that end, they have met that expectation, at
Speaker 2: least the internal expectation how that's going to play out
Speaker 2: as far as if it's just downtown LA today and
Speaker 2: another portion of LA County tomorrow.
Speaker 5: We don't know that. We don't know if.
Speaker 2: It's just focused in this particular portion of the city
Speaker 2: or whether they will expand to other portions of the
Speaker 2: state is unclear. But we know that this is part
Speaker 2: of a wider effort and a federal effort in the
Speaker 2: sense of there will be multiple cities and multiple locations
Speaker 2: within those cities all throughout this weekend. Specifically because this
Speaker 2: is one of these points of I will say higher enforcement.
Speaker 2: You know, like if you have a holiday weekend, CHP
Speaker 2: will promise maximum enforcement. It feels like that where there
Speaker 2: will be a much more measurable and recognizable law enforcement presence.
Speaker 2: This just having to do with immigration. Now, if you're
Speaker 2: just spanning news media most television, they're not necessarily following this,
Speaker 2: but we hear at CAFI, we are staying on it.
Speaker 2: We're trying to see if there's any type of conflagration
Speaker 2: between protesters and law enforcement. We don't know whether there
Speaker 2: are different law enforcement agencies which are going to be
Speaker 2: involved to at least monitor the behavior of protesters or not.
Speaker 5: Now I know that there's been a.
Speaker 2: I would say a press release which was released by LAPD,
Speaker 2: and it was basically to the effect of that LAPD
Speaker 2: is going to have a standback posture and they're not
Speaker 2: going to engage and also involve themselves specifically with the
Speaker 2: immigration efforts.
Speaker 5: And that's not anything new.
Speaker 2: We've known that from the beginning, as far as the
Speaker 2: posture of Los Angeles City, LAPD, LA County, which means
Speaker 2: LA County Sheriff and a state more generally, that local
Speaker 2: law enforcement at this point is not going to have
Speaker 2: any active role in these immigration raids, regardless of how
Speaker 2: you feel about it.
Speaker 5: That is what has been said at this point. And
Speaker 5: as someone.
Speaker 2: Who's African American, I can't speak directly to how people
Speaker 2: in the Latino community may feel about this moment. I
Speaker 2: can't speak to the fear, but I can acknowledge it.
Speaker 2: I can't speak to the frustration, but I can acknowledge it.
Speaker 2: I'm hearing from a number of people from within the
Speaker 2: Latino community who are reaching out to me. I said
Speaker 2: as much in the first segment. Who are fearful, who
Speaker 2: are unsure, who are angry, who are perplexed because they
Speaker 2: don't exactly know how to respond. And I get that
Speaker 2: because the water is very murky right now. For me,
Speaker 2: I would be concerned about the idea of massed agents
Speaker 2: I identifying themselves and how people can take advantage of
Speaker 2: that who are not connected to law enforcement. These are
Speaker 2: part of the fears and concerns that people have, and
Speaker 2: everyone is not clear on the rights here. If you
Speaker 2: listen last night, or if you have a chance, please
Speaker 2: go to this most recent podcast or last night's show.
Speaker 2: I produced a podcast of the final thoughts of the week,
Speaker 2: and the final thought, which was from last night, detailed
Speaker 2: specifically what was expected to happen today and the lack
Speaker 2: of clarity around rights of people as it relates to
Speaker 2: being detained, being arrested, whether a warrant is necessary, how
Speaker 2: you can be arrested, where you can be arrested, and
Speaker 2: if you get arrested and separated from your family, what
Speaker 2: is it you're supposed to do? And all this is
Speaker 2: up in the air because it's new in the sense
Speaker 2: of all of us having to deal with this, and
Speaker 2: is at best unconventional and as the argument I made
Speaker 2: last night, at worst it could be even unconstitutional.
Speaker 5: These are the things that we're looking at right now.
Speaker 2: There are protests going on in very various portions of
Speaker 2: downtown LA. It has to our mind not become violent
Speaker 2: to the best of the news reporting at this point.
Speaker 2: If there's something new in that regard, I'm quite sure
Speaker 2: Mark Roner will have it at the news break. But
Speaker 2: this is not anything which has become violent at this point.
Speaker 2: There is no order to disperse, to the best of
Speaker 2: my knowledge which has been given. There has been no
Speaker 2: type of curfew which has been enacted as of yet.
Speaker 2: It has maintained a degree of civility from what I
Speaker 2: can understand.
Speaker 5: And Mark Ronner, you have some information actually.
Speaker 7: There was an order to go otherwise I should clarify,
Speaker 7: and I had that at the top of the hour.
Speaker 7: But let me just reread this for clarity. Sure, they
Speaker 7: declare LAPD declared an unlawful assembly after the group of
Speaker 7: pro immigration protesters started vandalizing buildings down in town, about five
Speaker 7: hundred people told to be dispersed or subject to arrest.
Speaker 2: Well, there you have it now, to the best of
Speaker 2: your knowledge anything you've seen, has anyone been injured? Has
Speaker 2: there been any type of violence against law enforcement?
Speaker 7: No injuries that I've seen so far, But it does
Speaker 7: look as if it might be getting a little bit
Speaker 7: more violent, and I'll have more about that, more details
Speaker 7: at the bottom of the hour.
Speaker 5: Okay, So we're getting.
Speaker 2: The very best information we have, the latest information available,
Speaker 2: so we're going to keep it right here and to
Speaker 2: the best of our ability, give you as much information
Speaker 2: as we can about the immigration raids which happened earlier today.
Speaker 2: And to be clear that the immigration raids were earlier today,
Speaker 2: mostly in downtown Los Angeles, and there have been protesters
Speaker 2: who've been responding to those raids in the hours since.
Speaker 2: It may not be clear whether they've been growing, but
Speaker 2: Mark Ronner, thank you for correcting me. There has been
Speaker 2: an order to disperse which has been given. So if
Speaker 2: you are a curious about what's going on downtown, please
Speaker 2: do not go downtown.
Speaker 5: I would avoid that area absolutely.
Speaker 2: If you are concerned about a loved one, or you're
Speaker 2: concerned about a friend or family member, whether they were
Speaker 2: caught up in the immigration rates, we do not have
Speaker 2: that information at this time as far as where to
Speaker 2: point you, so if we do get that information, we
Speaker 2: will pass it along to you.
Speaker 5: This is later with mo Kelly.
Speaker 2: We're minding the protests which are going on in downtown
Speaker 2: Los Angeles.
Speaker 5: Right now. We will follow them as the sun goes
Speaker 5: down and we get a better sense of whether there
Speaker 5: are more people who are amassing at that situation, at
Speaker 5: that particular location, or whether this is starting to disperse
Speaker 5: as the order has been handed down, as Mark Ronner
Speaker 5: has told.
Speaker 1: Us, you're listening to later with Moe Kelly on demand
Speaker 1: from KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 2: As we continue to follow the events, not only of
Speaker 2: what transpired earlier today, but more recently some of the
Speaker 2: pro tests which have come out of it. You may
Speaker 2: know that there were immigration raids at various points and
Speaker 2: places downtown Los Angeles which were effectuated by ICE, not LAPD,
Speaker 2: not LA Sheriff's Department. And I made mention of a
Speaker 2: statement which was released by LAPD because there is a
Speaker 2: legitimate question as far as what is local law enforcement's
Speaker 2: role in all this? Are they going to be providing assistance?
Speaker 2: Mark Ronner had said that there was an order given
Speaker 2: to disperse, and I'm quite sure that probably would cross
Speaker 2: what LAPD is actually doing. The LAPD, I presume, would
Speaker 2: be involved with enforcing that less so than ICE. But
Speaker 2: here is the statement by Chief of Police LAPD. Chief
Speaker 2: of Police Jim McDonald quote. Today, the LAPD became aware
Speaker 2: that federal law enforcement agencies conducted activities in the city
Speaker 2: of Los Angeles. I'm aware that these actions cause anxiety
Speaker 2: for many Angelinos, so I want to make it clear
Speaker 2: the LAPD is not involved in civil immigration enforcement. While
Speaker 2: the LAPD will continue to have a visible presence in
Speaker 2: all our communities to ensure public safety, we will not
Speaker 2: assist or participate in any sort of mass deportation, nor
Speaker 2: will the LAPD try to determine an individual's immigration status.
Speaker 2: Since nineteen seventy nine, our as an LAPD, our policy
Speaker 2: has barred officers from initiating police actions solely to determine
Speaker 2: a person's immigration status. The department remains focused on critical
Speaker 2: issues like crime reduction, enhancing public safety, and improving the
Speaker 2: quality of life for all Angelinos. I want everyone, including
Speaker 2: our immigrant community, to feel safe calling the police in
Speaker 2: their time of need and know that the LAPD will
Speaker 2: be there for you without regard to one's immigration status.
Speaker 2: Close quote. I don't offer any opinion on that statement.
Speaker 2: I'm just letting you know that was the statement which
Speaker 2: was released by LAPD, and I'm not going to let
Speaker 2: you know the person's name, but Twalla and I were
Speaker 2: having a conversation about someone who this directly impacts, and
Speaker 2: the concerns that they have about their daughter, a member
Speaker 2: of their family, and how it's hard to sometimes explain
Speaker 2: to a child what is going on and the danger
Speaker 2: that he or she may be in because you know,
Speaker 2: if you're separated from your child, let's say, because these
Speaker 2: raids are going on in various places, and they're scooping
Speaker 2: up people regardless of whether they're with their parents, regardless
Speaker 2: of whether they're with their guardian and so forth, and
Speaker 2: so these are other These are other things that people
Speaker 2: have to be wary of and aware of if you
Speaker 2: are a member that have to say, unfortunately, a member
Speaker 2: of the Latino community, because that's the community which is
Speaker 2: being focused on. That's the community which ICE is targeting.
Speaker 2: They're not looking for people of European descent, Let's be honest.
Speaker 2: They're not looking for people of European descent who may
Speaker 2: be quote unquote illegal aliens here in this country. And
Speaker 2: if you don't think that there are, well you're just
Speaker 2: deluding yourself. But these ICE immigration raids are specifically looking
Speaker 2: for people of Latino descent. And when I say looking
Speaker 2: for This is something I can understand intellectually as an
Speaker 2: African American man. When you quote unquote fit the description.
Speaker 2: When you fit the description, a lot of times you
Speaker 2: will find yourself in a situation that you did not
Speaker 2: ask for, You did not necessarily do anything to deserve.
Speaker 2: But you have to deal with it. And if you
Speaker 2: happen to be someone who fits the description of someone
Speaker 2: who's Latino, there is a distinct possibility that you will
Speaker 2: be engaged by ICE because they're not Their mandate is detention, arrest,
Speaker 2: and deportation. And unfortunately, that brunt is going to come
Speaker 2: down on the shoulders of the Latino community. And the
Speaker 2: Latino community is not a monolith, and it is definitely
Speaker 2: not majority undocumented in legal immigrants. People want to believe that,
Speaker 2: but that's not factually the case. That's also a portion
Speaker 2: of this discussion. There are people who are going to
Speaker 2: be detained who are American citizens.
Speaker 5: That's an unfortunate reality.
Speaker 2: And I talked about that to some degree last night
Speaker 2: in anticipation of these particular raids which have taken place today,
Speaker 2: and I said last segment that it's unclear and it's
Speaker 2: not like this is going to be announced to US.
Speaker 2: It's unclear whether what happened today in downtown LA was
Speaker 2: a one off or whether there will be other similar
Speaker 2: raids in various portions of Los Angeles slash Los Angeles County,
Speaker 2: or where there will be other raids up and down
Speaker 2: the state. Of course, there are limited resources to affect
Speaker 2: these type of raids on a mass scale across California,
Speaker 2: but these clearly will not be the last of their kind,
Speaker 2: and there are people who are dealing with the emotions
Speaker 2: of this because families are being separated because of circumstances.
Speaker 2: Let's say you happen to be in this location at
Speaker 2: this time and you were separate from your family. They're
Speaker 2: taking you as you are right there. You're not going
Speaker 2: to have the opportunity to get family to help call,
Speaker 2: help you out.
Speaker 5: You're not going to get your one phone call. You're
Speaker 5: not going to get any.
Speaker 2: Of that, And so unfortunately, there's a lot of confusion
Speaker 2: right now. There's uncertainty and lack of clarity as far
Speaker 2: as friends, family members, co workers, people that you may
Speaker 2: just know as neighbors. That's going to continue for some
Speaker 2: time because we don't even have the information as far
Speaker 2: as the number of people who have been detained. We
Speaker 2: don't know who has been detained and released. That information
Speaker 2: has not been given to the general public. In fact,
Speaker 2: I'll check in with Mark Ronner. But Mark, to the
Speaker 2: best of your knowledge, there's been no information given as
Speaker 2: far as a presser or any type of media advisory
Speaker 2: to inform the general.
Speaker 5: Public, not that I've seen so far.
Speaker 7: And if they go to a life press conference, which
Speaker 7: I'm doubting right now, but anything could happen, we'll switch
Speaker 7: to it live.
Speaker 2: Right And that's a great point which we're doubting because
Speaker 2: usually customarily the law enforcement agency will give media some
Speaker 2: sort of of you know, a tip off or some
Speaker 2: sort of advisory, letting us know that there's going to
Speaker 2: be a press gathering, let's say at nine thirty at
Speaker 2: nine or something, and then we would know in advance
Speaker 2: and we could tell you that certain information will be
Speaker 2: available to you. We have not been given that, So
Speaker 2: there's and at this time of the EVA, it's very
Speaker 2: unlikely that we would have it. Maybe we'll have something
Speaker 2: in the morning, Maybe we could have director advice, possibly
Speaker 2: do a press briefing in the morning, and we'll get
Speaker 2: more information, but it's probably not going to happen tonight.
Speaker 2: I say all that to say, we have to be
Speaker 2: patient as best we can be as far as the
Speaker 2: parameters of this particular immigration enforcement effort and how far
Speaker 2: it's going to extend.
Speaker 5: Andre And let's be.
Speaker 2: Honest, this was a surprise raid, so they're not going
Speaker 2: to give out much information to you and me and
Speaker 2: anyone else. And I have every expectation and belief that
Speaker 2: it's ongoing, and we'll see more like these over the
Speaker 2: course of the weekend. Where they're going to be, when
Speaker 2: they're going to be, how extensive, there's no way to know,
Speaker 2: but we will continue to follow this and try to
Speaker 2: pass on as much tangible and verified information as possible.
Speaker 2: Now we're looking at a lot of b rolled as
Speaker 2: far as what has happened downtown Earlier in the day,
Speaker 2: Mark Ronner he informed us that there was an order
Speaker 2: to disperse, which was given, But we don't have any
Speaker 2: recent information that there has been an uptick as far
Speaker 2: as number of people who've a massed downtown. Local news
Speaker 2: they have left the story, which I would look at
Speaker 2: as positive. If they don't have a reporter on scene,
Speaker 2: that would suggest to me that it's not escalating. And
Speaker 2: no one wants any type of escalation, So I just
Speaker 2: want to give you that information as we continue to
Speaker 2: follow the events of the immigration raids which happened in
Speaker 2: the early portion of the day, and the protests which
Speaker 2: almost happened almost simultaneously, simultaneous to them and also subsequent
Speaker 2: to them, and as we get more information, we'll be
Speaker 2: sure to pass it along to you.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 5: Later with Mo Kelly.
Speaker 2: We're logged everywhere in the I Heart Radio app and
Speaker 2: we're following the events going on in downtown presently and
Speaker 2: also what happened what transpired earlier today with the immigration
Speaker 2: raids and the subsequent protests. Hopefully Michael Monks, who's join
Speaker 2: us now, can give us just a little bit more
Speaker 2: information as far as what happened earlier and what is
Speaker 2: transpiring now, which is kind of close to the KFI
Speaker 2: Downtown studios if I'm not mistaken.
Speaker 6: Hop skip and maybe a little bit of a jump.
Speaker 3: Mo.
Speaker 6: Good to hear from you.
Speaker 5: Good to talk to you. Are you outside right now?
Speaker 6: Yes, I'm right now. I'm on the corner of Alameda
Speaker 6: and Temple Street, so a few blocks from City Hall,
Speaker 6: a few blocks from Union Station. This is around the
Speaker 6: area where the LAPD has declared an unlawful assembly and
Speaker 6: told everybody to go home. Naturally, not everyone has gone
Speaker 6: home yet, i'd say right now, but one hundred people
Speaker 6: right here at this corner. A lot of police officers
Speaker 6: have the intersection blocked off. They've got there what they
Speaker 6: might call their less lethal arms out, and not as
Speaker 6: much tension as we saw earlier in the We did
Speaker 6: certainly see plenty of less legal ammunition aimed at some
Speaker 6: of these protesters, and we saw some of these protesters
Speaker 6: take aim at the police officers as well, with basically
Speaker 6: anything they could get their hands on, rocks, debris, chairs,
Speaker 6: we saw a lot of different things. It was quite crazy, obviously.
Speaker 6: This all in response to the raids on suspected I
Speaker 6: legal immigrants across downtown Los Angeles area earlier today a
Speaker 6: few dozen people taken into custody reportedly, so this is
Speaker 6: where we are right now. It does appear a little calmer.
Speaker 6: There's not a lot of action, mostly just people standing
Speaker 6: here taking pictures, occasional shouting, but nothing as dramatic as
Speaker 6: we saw within the past couple of hours.
Speaker 2: You make a distinction that I think is important to highlight.
Speaker 2: So what we're experiencing now we may hear the sirens
Speaker 2: in the background, we may hear the police radios, but
Speaker 2: whatever is transpiring right now is decidedly less than let's say,
Speaker 2: three four hours ago.
Speaker 6: Is that correct? It is right here at this intersection. Now.
Speaker 6: There still are multiple helicopters in the sky, some of
Speaker 6: them may be from our TV partners, but also from
Speaker 6: a law enforcement so they are monitoring, shining some spotlights down.
Speaker 6: But right here it's mostly just the lagging crew that
Speaker 6: has not dispersed as ordered by the LAPD. Not a
Speaker 6: lot of activity, just some light shouting. The police officers
Speaker 6: are just standing here at attention, preventing anybody from going
Speaker 6: into the intersection. Light swearing, you know, that sort of
Speaker 6: thing at this point, but it has calmed down considerably.
Speaker 5: Okay, you say light swearing. So what about the posture
Speaker 5: of police.
Speaker 2: Do they seem like they're anticipating some sort of aggressive
Speaker 2: response from protesters or is it more relaxed by police.
Speaker 6: It's hard to say whether they are anticipating it, but
Speaker 6: they are certainly prepared for it. Like I said, they've
Speaker 6: got those less lethal ammunition ready to go. They've got
Speaker 6: their riot mask on in case it comes to that,
Speaker 6: and they are monitoring the situation as we speak. But
Speaker 6: as of right now, not much in the way of
Speaker 6: physical altercations, nothing really in the way of violence.
Speaker 2: Do we know if there's still any ICE presence? In
Speaker 2: other words, we know that they can pick up people
Speaker 2: who are quote unquote collaterals. In other words, if they're
Speaker 2: at a place in which they're doing a raid, they
Speaker 2: may be questioned, is ICE still engaging.
Speaker 5: With anyone in the near vicinity.
Speaker 6: Right here? This is all local law enforcement. Now. We
Speaker 6: know that a lot of the anger, the altercations involved
Speaker 6: federal agents. Earlier today, the LAPD was called in to
Speaker 6: deal with that. It's hard to fully understand, especially in
Speaker 6: a sanctuary city like Los Angeles, what role LAPD is
Speaker 6: supposed to play in some of this. I know that
Speaker 6: when you watch the protests that took place this afternoon
Speaker 6: in the Fashion district, there were questions raised, where are
Speaker 6: the police to help these federal agents that are being
Speaker 6: attacked by citizen protesters here At this point, the LAPD
Speaker 6: is the one that has declared an unlawful assembly. There
Speaker 6: were no raids here in this intersection. These are folks
Speaker 6: who gathered around a federal building and thought that they
Speaker 6: could find some targets there. They did, and we've heard
Speaker 6: or seen what happened after that. But while this is
Speaker 6: related to those raids inspired by those arrests earlier today,
Speaker 6: this is not where that took place. So this is
Speaker 6: now a city police issue, and they may push people
Speaker 6: back at some point their patients will wear thin. If
Speaker 6: my experience covering the pro Palestine anti Israel protests on
Speaker 6: the campus at UCLA and USC or any indication at
Speaker 6: some point these folks will say, listen, we told you
Speaker 6: it's time to march.
Speaker 2: I'm glad that you mentioned UCLA and the pro Palestine marches.
Speaker 2: Is there anything that is comparable as far as police response?
Speaker 5: Are you I've seen a similar number of cruisers.
Speaker 2: Are you seeing a similar number of officers who are
Speaker 2: in riot gear?
Speaker 5: Compare and contrast that for me, please.
Speaker 6: I will. There are some very clear comparisons. This is
Speaker 6: a smaller event. By the time the UCLA Pro Palestine
Speaker 6: encampment reached its full size, it was quite large, with
Speaker 6: a lot of students in a centralized area on the campus,
Speaker 6: and there were tons of police, but like we're seeing today,
Speaker 6: even though it's a smaller group on both sides, it's
Speaker 6: sort of the same vibe. Groups of people that are
Speaker 6: kind of antagonizing quietly and police quietly at the ready
Speaker 6: until you know, it all hits the fan and then
Speaker 6: it starts moving. That's certainly what happened at UCLA last year.
Speaker 6: That's when we started to hear the flash bangs and
Speaker 6: the invasion of the encampment by the police, and they
Speaker 6: got people moved like they had demanded they do. They
Speaker 6: took it in their own hands and physically moved people.
Speaker 6: That could be what's brewing here to You also see
Speaker 6: a similarity among the protesters. In fact, you do hear
Speaker 6: some occasional chance of free Palestine, and that's not directly
Speaker 6: related to what happened here in Los Angeles. You see
Speaker 6: some people who are dressed in the type of garb
Speaker 6: that you would see at a pro Palestine rally. So
Speaker 6: a lot of different movements kind of blended into this protest,
Speaker 6: and so those would be the similarities.
Speaker 2: I would say, But I didn't hear you say in
Speaker 2: comparison to those protests that more people were shown up.
Speaker 2: I remember talking to you during those USLA protests, and
Speaker 2: the longer it seemed that we were on the air,
Speaker 2: the more people who were showing up to the actual protests,
Speaker 2: and I think made it more of a confrontation than
Speaker 2: what it was earlier in the day. We're not seeing
Speaker 2: that here, or are we seeing that here.
Speaker 6: You're seeing a few people that you might call the audience.
Speaker 6: And it was certainly a larger scale last year on
Speaker 6: the college campus, as people who were coming to just
Speaker 6: watch what was happening and people who were curious and
Speaker 6: maybe wanted to see how it played out. Again, you've
Speaker 6: got a little bit of that here, but mostly it
Speaker 6: seems that the folks who are still standing around were
Speaker 6: at some point more directly involved in what happened earlier
Speaker 6: or certainly sympathetic to it.
Speaker 2: Michael Monks, I know this is what you do, and
Speaker 2: you do well. Thank you for getting on scenes so
Speaker 2: quickly and being able to give us an eye, a
Speaker 2: firsthand account, and a bird's eye view of what's going
Speaker 2: on downtown. I'm quite sure we will be checking in
Speaker 2: with you a little bit later on tonight. Thanks so much, sir.
Speaker 2: I'm going to hang around. We'll see what happens.
Speaker 1: You're listening to Later with Moe Kelly on demand from
Speaker 1: KFI AM six forty.
Speaker 5: I AM six forty is Later with Mo Kelly.
Speaker 2: We're live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app and we're going
Speaker 2: to go back to Michael Monks, who's still on scene
Speaker 2: downtown and get the latest as far as what's happening
Speaker 2: with the protests in light and subsequent to the immigration
Speaker 2: raids earlier today, and whether they are actually expanding or
Speaker 2: whether they're contracting. Michael Monks. Tell us what you see.
Speaker 2: Do we lose them? Awesome for a minute. Okay, we're
Speaker 2: trying to get it back. Okay, we'll try to get
Speaker 2: Michael back in just a moment. But Michael Monks, kf
Speaker 2: ICE owned Michael Monks is still on scene downtown. There
Speaker 2: has been in order to disperse, which has been given
Speaker 2: to the protesters and the lookie lose. I don't assume
Speaker 2: everyone there on scene is actually there to protest. The response.
Speaker 2: I should say the law enforcement response is LAPD. There
Speaker 2: is from what I understand, no one from ICE. There's
Speaker 2: no federal agent in agency involvement at this point. So
Speaker 2: we are waiting to get Michael Monks back so we
Speaker 2: can get a better sense of what may have happened
Speaker 2: in the past five or six minutes or so. And
Speaker 2: this is how live news works. You're trying to figure
Speaker 2: out what you can as best you can. There was
Speaker 2: some information that did come my way about fifteen twenty
Speaker 2: minutes ago that about forty four people were arrested. That's
Speaker 2: the word that was used, arrested earlier today by ICE
Speaker 2: officers quote. ICE officers and agents, alongside partner law enforcement agencies,
Speaker 2: executed four federal search warrants at three locations in central
Speaker 2: Los Angeles. Approximately forty four people were administratively arrested. And
Speaker 2: I don't know about that distinction as far as administratively
Speaker 2: as opposed to any other arrest, but forty four people
Speaker 2: were administratively arrested and one arrest for obstruction. The investigation
Speaker 2: remains ongoing. Updates will follow as appropriate now. The Coalition
Speaker 2: for Humane Immigrant Rights, which is a nonprofit, also estimated
Speaker 2: that at least forty five people have been taken into custody.
Speaker 2: And again there's a distinction to be made as far
Speaker 2: as arrested taken into custody and whether someone is just
Speaker 2: going to be released or they're actually going to be
Speaker 2: charged for either behavior or some sort of immigrant related
Speaker 2: deportation issue. Those specifics we do not have as of
Speaker 2: right now. We may get that tomorrow. There probably will
Speaker 2: not be any type of update from ICE or any
Speaker 2: federal agency.
Speaker 5: We do know that this is.
Speaker 2: Happening or has been happening, at multiple locations downtown. Now, Mark,
Speaker 2: do you know I'm sorry to ask you real quick,
Speaker 2: I think this is Michael Monk's calling it. Mark, do
Speaker 2: you know whether the protest is contained to one particular
Speaker 2: area or is it over multiple intersections?
Speaker 5: From what you see and read, I don't.
Speaker 7: The last that I saw come across the wire is
Speaker 7: that Alameda Street was closed between Temple and Commercial Streets,
Speaker 7: and that sounds like it was right where Monks was
Speaker 7: when he called in, So he should be right at
Speaker 7: the center of the action as far as I know.
Speaker 2: Okay, I think we're trying to get him right now
Speaker 2: and find out what is happening. Sometimes it's a little
Speaker 2: bit difficult for people to be able to connect directly
Speaker 2: when they are downtown. And again, some forty five people
Speaker 2: have been arrested. There's a distinction being made between administratively
Speaker 2: arrested and I will say the more common definition of arrested.
Speaker 2: We'll see if we can get more information about it.
Speaker 2: We read to you earlier the statement by LAPD Chief
Speaker 2: Jim McDonald in the respect that LAPD may be on
Speaker 2: scene as far as monitoring the protests and the agency
Speaker 2: which gave the order to disperse, but not involved. Want
Speaker 2: to make this clear, not involved in the immigration raids.
Speaker 2: Earlier today, and also Sheriff Robert Luna also released a
Speaker 2: statement stating that the La County Sheriff Department does not
Speaker 2: enforce civil immigration law and that their goal is quote
Speaker 2: enforcing state and local laws to ensure safety and well
Speaker 2: being of our diverse communities throughout Last Angeles County close quote.
Speaker 2: So you will know going forward that neither LAPD nor
Speaker 2: LASD will be involved, at least in the immigration portion
Speaker 2: of the ice raids, not assisting, not involving themselves, but
Speaker 2: they will be involved in maintaining the piece and around
Speaker 2: the raids or any subsequent protests which may come out
Speaker 2: of them. Can't tell if we've gotten Michael Monks back yet,
Speaker 2: but as soon as we do get him, we'll find
Speaker 2: out what is happening right now on the ground downtown
Speaker 2: and whether there's been a change in either the behavior
Speaker 2: of the protesters or the stance by LAPD.
Speaker 5: This is a very fluid situation, as they say, and
Speaker 5: things are going to be happening very quickly.
Speaker 2: But KFI is going to stay with you and stay
Speaker 2: on this and make sure that you have the latest information.
Speaker 5: It looks like.
Speaker 7: Cops are in riot gear on the streets, ready for
Speaker 7: a crackdown, but I cannot see that anything has sparked yet.
Speaker 2: That's what I thought that they were there in riot year,
Speaker 2: because after an order to disperse has been given, that's
Speaker 2: customarily the response.
Speaker 7: Things have definitely escalated. I see smoke grenades have been used,
Speaker 7: and so it could go either way at this point.
Speaker 2: Question from what you see is LAPD advancing. Are they
Speaker 2: moving towards protesters, trying to get people to actively disperse,
Speaker 2: or they just set up a protective barrier barricade in
Speaker 2: the line that people cannot cross.
Speaker 7: I can't see that, but we do know that they've
Speaker 7: issued a dispersal order and they can arrest anybody who
Speaker 7: won't comply.
Speaker 2: At this point, we have Michael Monks back. Michael, are
Speaker 2: you there, I'm here. Tell us what you see tell
Speaker 2: us what has happened.
Speaker 6: Okay, So what you're hearing from the speakers coming from
Speaker 6: the police is basically something that you would hear your
Speaker 6: parents say when you were misbehaving. I told you once
Speaker 6: I meant it, you're going you know, you're grounded. So
Speaker 6: that's what they're saying, basically, is we well, y'all to leave.
Speaker 6: You haven't left, You're going to go to jail. Now
Speaker 6: they haven't acted on that yet, but that's you know,
Speaker 6: we talked moments ago about the similarities to the campus
Speaker 6: protests last year, and that's now the vibe that I'm
Speaker 6: getting right down to the fact that I left this
Speaker 6: out of the description previously. There is this skirmish line
Speaker 6: of sorts from the LAPD and there are protesters on
Speaker 6: the wrong side of it. So those might be the
Speaker 6: ones that these words are mostly directed to. But by
Speaker 6: the time this movement starts, and they will start, they
Speaker 6: will push everybody out of here. It's it's going to
Speaker 6: be all of us. All of us are going to
Speaker 6: be moving in the direction the police decide.
Speaker 2: And that feels from what Mark Ronald was telling us,
Speaker 2: that the police are there in riot year. From what
Speaker 2: you're telling us. They have not advanced forward. But as
Speaker 2: far as numbers, if you were to estimate how many
Speaker 2: officers are on that police line, how many are we
Speaker 2: talking about.
Speaker 6: Here at this intersection? And again I am at the
Speaker 6: corner of Alameda and Temple downtown, about a few blocks
Speaker 6: from City Hall, a few blocks from Union Station. To
Speaker 6: get people an idea of where we are, maybe three dozen.
Speaker 2: Oh that's not many comparatively speaking to like the protests,
Speaker 2: you see.
Speaker 6: That's what I mean. This is a much smaller deal
Speaker 6: at this point. And it almost felt, you know, earlier,
Speaker 6: which was why I was frankly hesitant to even come here.
Speaker 6: It felt like it was over, that it was just
Speaker 6: going to kind of evaporate and be finished. People got
Speaker 6: their anger out, there was a scene, and then it
Speaker 6: was over. But now there is this steady loitering that remains.
Speaker 2: I don't want you to quarter back any of this,
Speaker 2: but I would wonder, as a person who's watching this evolve,
Speaker 2: about the wisdom of having the immigration raids on a Friday,
Speaker 2: when invariably there would be an emotional response from the community,
Speaker 2: and then you have Friday night where people do not
Speaker 2: have to worry about going to work in the morning,
Speaker 2: and they're more inclined to come out and protest and
Speaker 2: stay out well into the night.
Speaker 6: That is a great point, Mo, that I hadn't even
Speaker 6: thought about. Great insight. And what I also appreciated was
Speaker 6: as you started the show at seven o'clock, was talking
Speaker 6: about how you know there is a directive within ICE
Speaker 6: to get those numbers up, the number of arrest, and
Speaker 6: so to them it may not even be a consideration.
Speaker 6: It's every day. It's going to be all day, every day.
Speaker 6: Like you said earlier tonight, you knew this was coming.
Speaker 6: We all knew this was coming. A sanctuary city policy
Speaker 6: has certain elements to it that are enforceable on the
Speaker 6: municipal side, but it is literally trumped by federal law.
Speaker 6: And so when you have a city that has the
Speaker 6: number of illegal immigrants that LA has, you just have
Speaker 6: to know that this is only the beginning. Because if
Speaker 6: that organization, if that agency, that federal agency that has
Speaker 6: been empowered by a president that was elected by the
Speaker 6: people to do exactly this, wants to run up their numbers,
Speaker 6: this is one of those places where they can do
Speaker 6: it rapidly.
Speaker 2: Have we heard from the best of your news gathering,
Speaker 2: Have we heard from Mayor Karen Bass. Have we heard
Speaker 2: from any city officials as far as their level of
Speaker 2: involvement in this particular situation. We know, as you said,
Speaker 2: sanctuary City, they're not going to assist federal agents. But
Speaker 2: have they made any public statement about what is happening
Speaker 2: right now?
Speaker 6: We heard Councilwoman Unices Hernandez, who is I think it's
Speaker 6: fair to say, an opponent of LAPD as we know it, certainly,
Speaker 6: and she has raised concerns about what they knew and
Speaker 6: when they knew it, and what role they might have played.
Speaker 5: Now.
Speaker 6: We did hear from Chief Jim McDonald. He says, you know,
Speaker 6: this has been our policy since the late nineteen seventies
Speaker 6: not to be directly involved in civil immigration enforcement, and
Speaker 6: that apparently was true for them today as well. He says,
Speaker 6: but there have been concerns raised at least by one
Speaker 6: council member about what they knew, when they knew it,
Speaker 6: where they were, why they were there. We have also
Speaker 6: heard from Mayor Bas who says LA will not quote
Speaker 6: stand for this. We don't know what that means again
Speaker 6: federal law, Trump's municipal law. We know that we've heard
Speaker 6: from other council members who have put out statements of
Speaker 6: support for the immigrant community. And we've heard from County
Speaker 6: Supervisor Lindsay Horvath, who stands against this, and Supervisor Catherine Barger,
Speaker 6: who is a Republican member of the La County Board
Speaker 6: of Supervisors, who says, while I support the enforcement of
Speaker 6: our federal laws, she's basically saying, you know, we could
Speaker 6: maybe use a little more heads up so that we
Speaker 6: don't have these types of events take place afterwards.
Speaker 2: Michael, it might be a little bit of a longer
Speaker 2: night for you than you originally anticipated.
Speaker 6: No doubt, and there I was ready to have a
Speaker 6: little dinner.
Speaker 2: Not happening, Michael. I'm quite sure we'll be checking on
Speaker 2: checking back in with you before the nine is too.
Speaker 5: Thank you so much for what you do.
Speaker 6: Happy to do it.
Speaker 2: It's later with Mo Kelly k if I am six forty.
Speaker 2: We are live everywhere in the iHeartRadio app.
Speaker 1: Ks I and kost H D two Los Angeles, Orange County.
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