A restaurant in Los Angeles found itself at the center of an unexpected protest when demonstrators mistakenly identified airport security workers as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
On Wednesday night, a significant number of anti-ICE protestors converged outside Ten-Raku, a Korean BBQ restaurant in Lynwood, after rumors circulated that federal officers were present inside.
In truth, the loud protests involving airhorns, whistles, and chants were directed at off-duty TSA employees who were simply dining, as confirmed by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office to the Daily Mail.
The situation, initially tense, was brought under control with the intervention of sheriff’s deputies who managed the crowd effectively.
Fortunately, the TSA workers were safely escorted from the premises without any incidents of injury or arrests, as reported by the police.
When a Fox 11 reporter approached a woman, thought to be among the protest organizers, she declined to speak about the event, citing a lack of trust in the news outlet.
When asked if the group thought the officers inside were with ICE, the unidentified woman said: ‘Potentially.’
The outlet also went to ask restaurant employees about the situation, but the woman told them not to speak with the station.
A large crowd of anti-ICE protestors surrounded a restaurant in Lakewood, a city in Los Angeles, on Wednesday night after hearing there were apparently federal agents dining inside
In reality, a group of TSA workers were off duty and enjoying dinner inside the restaurant. The airport workers are seen gathered in the parking lot after the protest broke out
She was seen holding a megaphone with one hand as she used her phone to record the scene in the other.
‘Yeah sorry to you. Nobody’s gonna talk to you,’ she was heard telling reporters.
Meanwhile, other protestors attempted to hide behind trees as they recorded the scene.
One woman was seen wearing a magenta hoodie and sunglasses, and another was dressed in a black sweatshirt, as they appeared to giggle while recording the outlet’s camera.
A male customer arrived at the restaurant just after the chaotic scene ended to grab a bite to eat.
‘I think there is a place and time for everything,’ he told Fox 11.
After being told the authorities inside were TSA agents, the man told the reporter: ‘You wouldn’t understand. People get very emotional so they easily make mistakes.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Office said the airport security workers were enjoying a meal after work at Ten-Raku, a Korean BBQ restaurant, that was soon besieged by demonstrators
When approached by Fox 11, a woman with long curly hair, who is believed to be one of the organizers of the protest, refused to comment on the demonstration because she doesn’t ‘trust Fox’
A male customer arrived at the restaurant just after the chaotic scene ended to grab a bite to eat. He compared the mistake to ICE agents ‘taking it out on everybody,’ not just criminals
‘It happens! You take it out on the wrong people, which, same thing as ICE. They say they’re after criminals, but they’re taking it out on everybody,’ the man added.
The protest in Los Angeles comes as tensions remain at an all-time high across the US as Donald Trump’s administration continues on with its immigration crackdown.
Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been at the forefront of the controversy, especially following the death of Alex Pretti, a US citizen who was shot dead by Border Patrol agents on Saturday during an anti-ICE protest.
Just weeks prior, Renee Nicole Good, another American citizen, was fatally shot by ICE agent Jonathan Ross during another demonstration.
This is also not the first case of mistaken identity, as a group of software engineers were targeted in Minneapolis after protestors assumed they were ICE agents.
The five men had been dining at Clancy’s Deli when anti-ICE protesters gathered outside the restaurant’s front windows and shouted obscenities at them a little over a week ago.
‘Get out of our f***ing neighborhood,’ one protester was heard yelling in a clip obtained by Alpha News. Another shouted: ‘If you’re not with us, you’re against us.’
One demonstrator even went as far as calling them pedophiles and another screamed ‘I hope you die,’ the news outlet reported.
A victim, known as Lee, claimed the mob’s ringleader said the group, who are not affiliated with ICE, deserved to be harassed because they were ‘white privileged males.’
He has alleged that the restaurant owner was responsible for the chaos by falsely claiming the group of software engineers were federal agents.
‘You don’t tell extremists that random customers are ICE agents. That’s how people get hurt,’ Lee said, adding how one of his friends feared they would be shot.
