Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto waited until the one-year statute of limitations was nearly expired to files charges against least 20 anti-ICE demonstrators for failing to disperse at protests last year. Critics call the move unprecedented and have accused her of pulling from Trump’s authoritarian playbook to punish dissent.
Most of the charges stem from a major protest that erupted on June 8, 2025 in response to the Trump administration and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) launching a massive immigration enforcement operation in the Los Angeles area.
In the first ten days of June, 722 people were abducted by immigration enforcement across LA, often violently snatched from street corners and frequently without obtaining warrants or even checking identification. According to analysis by the Los Angeles Times, 69% of those abducted in that period had no criminal record. Racial profiling by federal agents was rampant, leading to lawsuits that are still working their way through the courts…