Immigrant advocates face FBI scrutiny
Say they were targeted because of their role in Los Angeles protests
By: Victoria Elena Valenzuela
USA Today
..... Verita Topete said she was walking her dog alone one afternoon in late June [2025] at Los Angeles' Ernest E. Debs Park. As she was putting her dog in her car to leave, she said multiple FBI agents approached her.
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They presented her with a search warrant for her phone and yanked it from her hand with such force she said she was left with bruises. Then she was arrested and temporarily detained. She is not facing chargers.
..... But Topete said she perceives she was targeted because of her roll helping organizations protest against immigration raids in Los angles.
.... A leader of the immigration committee at Centro CSO, which has been advocation for Chicano and immigrant rights for decades, Topete has been mobilizing residents in Los Angeles against the Immigration and customs Enforcement raids that started June 6. [2025]
..... She has been involved in fighting for immigrant justice since 2020 when her father was arrested and detained in Southern California's Adelanto ICE Processing Center. Topete and other advocates at Centro CSO said she was targeted for her activism and role in the protest against President Donald Trump's mass deportation agenda.
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"This is how we treat Americans who are exercising their First Amendment rights simply for standing up for those who cannot," Topete said at a news conference the day after she was detained.
..... She is not the only one advocates says is facing increased scrutiny following the Los Angeles protests in June. [2025]
..... Alejandro Orellana, also a member of Centro CSO, faces two federal changes of conspiracy to commit civil disorder and abetting civil disorder. Each charge carries up to five years in prison.
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Orellana landed on the FBI's radar following video that circulated showing him driving a Ford F-150 pickup truck while an unidentified women distributed face shields from the truck, according to court records.
..... On June 12, [2025] the FBI raided their house where agents founds face masks, spray paint, a slingshot and a notebook with anti-police slogans in the Ford pickup. they were also detained but released the following day after the East LA and Boyle Heights community rallied for their release.
..... The FBI argues those face shields aren't typically used by protesters and would help to "agitators" from weapons described by police as less lethal, the criminal complaint says.
..... On July 3, [2025] Orellana pleaded not guilty to the charges. Advocates with Centro CSO are calling on U.S. Attorney Bilal Essayli in the Central District of California to drop the charges against Orellana. The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment.
..... An FBI spokesperson said the agency "investigates federal crimes and threats to the national security. We will never open an investigation based solely on First Amendment protected activity."
..... But that's no how Topete sees it.
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"We are criminalized simply for not being willing to tolerate hate and injustice around us," Topete said at the news conference. "This is a clear attack of them trying to silence us, but we will no be silenced."
..... On June 27, [2025] after Topete was detained, advocates with Centro CSO and community members rallied at Ruben Salazar Park in East Los Angeles chanting "protesting is not a crime" and "Stop the FBI witch hunt."
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The movement to drop the charges and investigation of Orellana and Topete has drawn support from Black Lives Matter in LA. Baba Akili, a national field coordinator said members are in solidarity with the immigrant population because "If we don't stop this now, if we don't stand up now in solidarity, then we are next."
..... "We have to stand in solidarity with Centro CSO, because they have stood with us," Akili said.
..... Sol Marquez, a member of the immigration committee at Centro CSO, said the organization is not going to back down and will "keep fighting back for our people, no matter what happens."
..... "Just like our ancestors, we are resilient, and these intimidations tactics will only fuel us to advocate harder and stronger for immigrant rights and to fight for our immigrant community," Topete said.
..... Meanwhile, Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass is condemning federal agents and National Guard troops for descenting on a city park on July 7. [2025]
..... Armored vehicles, mounted officers and armed troops briefly swarmed the city's MacArthur Park in the morning before leaving. Bass said 20 children were playing at the park before the troops surged through, and she shared footage of federal officers running through the park.
..... "Frankly, it is outrageous and un-American that we have federal armed vehicles in our parks when nothing is going on in our parks," Bass aid at a July 7 [2025] news conference.
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The mayor said on X that she visited the park the second she heard about what was happening and ordered the person in charge to leave immediately. Calling the scene "absolutely outrageous," she described what occurred as a "military-style operation designed to strike fear in the heart of our city."
..... "we will not be afraid and we will not be divided. We will stand TOGETHER," she wrote.
.... According to an X post from the Department of Defense, troops were present at the park to "ensure the safety of federal agents."
..... Los Angeles City Council-member Eunisses Hernandez, whose district encompasses Macarthur Park, said on X that armed troops were "terrorizing street vendors, elders, and even children at summer camp."
..... USA Today has reached out to the national Guard for comment.
..... Contributing: Anthony Robledo, USA Today.