(DC Pundit) – Far-left Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) made an already volatile situation worse on Friday when she appeared in Los Angeles and openly encouraged radical activists as demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement spiraled into violence. What began as part of the nationwide “ICE Out Everywhere” protests quickly turned into chaos outside an ICE detention facility, with law enforcement officers forced to restore order as the situation deteriorated.
Anti-ICE demonstrators clashed with federal agents and local police stationed outside the facility. Rioters were seen hurling objects at shielded federal officers, who responded with pepper balls and other nonlethal munitions in an effort to push the mob back. At one point, demonstrators dragged a dumpster toward the entrance of the detention center and set it on fire, a visual that left little doubt that this was no peaceful protest.
Videos circulating on social media placed Waters at the front of the unrest as demonstrators were ordered to disperse for surrounding a federal building, trespassing on federal property, and later assaulting federal officers.
After pepper spray was deployed, Waters briefly retreated—only to return wearing a mask and resume directing the crowd. Earlier footage showed her arriving in a black SUV, stepping out to rally protesters, flailing her arms, and leading chants of “ICE Out of LA.” The optics were difficult to miss: a sitting member of Congress not calming tensions, but inflaming them.
Maxine Waters didn’t like the low energy of the protesters in LA, so she got out of her SUV and led them in chanting, “ICE out of LA.” pic.twitter.com/Iwzu04P6pr
— I Meme Therefore I Am 🇺🇸 (@ImMeme0) January 31, 2026
In one video, Waters told independent reporter Anthony Cabassa that her instructions to the mob were to “stay on the street, stay on the street.” When Cabassa reminded her that demonstrators were on federal property, she doubled down, repeating, “Stay on the street.” It was a remarkable moment of defiance toward federal law enforcement from someone sworn to uphold the law.
Waters then directed a message at ICE agents themselves, saying, “We don’t want you in Los Angeles, and we thought you had sense enough with the President to start getting out of Minneapolis, but I guess you have no sense and you don’t understand the power of the people.” She continued, “We are not going away. We don’t want you in any of our cities in this country, and we’re going to fight you every inch of the way.”
MESSAGE TO ICE 🚨: “We don’t want you in any of our cities in this country, and we’re going to fight you every inch of the way.”
Rep. Maxine Waters joined anti-ice protestors in Los Angeles, CA yesterday, with choice words to ICE agents, and President Trump. pic.twitter.com/E2ALOtSAVZ
— Anthony (@anthonycabassa) January 31, 2026
Her rhetoric didn’t stop there. Waters also launched into a tirade against President Donald Trump, declaring, “Donald Trump, you are absolutely the most outrageous, the most terrible, the most deplorable human being that I’ve ever met. You have no compassion for anybody.” She accused the president of targeting immigration to convince supporters he is “all-powerful” and claimed, “they’re attacking everybody, Americans too.” Referencing unrest elsewhere, she added, “You see what they’re doing up in Minneapolis.” Waters concluded with a familiar promise: “And so, Donald Trump, we are going to make sure we’re going to beat you!”
HAPPENING NOW 🚨: After the crowd was pepper sprayed, Representative Maxine Waters is now wearing a mask and has come back to the front lines of the anti-ice protest and is chanting with the crowd “ICE OUT OF LA!”
Los Angeles, CA 📍 pic.twitter.com/9cEMjv4NsQ
— Anthony (@anthonycabassa) January 31, 2026
When violence erupts on the left, it’s activism. When leaders like Waters egg it on, it’s suddenly called passion. Meanwhile, law enforcement officers are left dealing with the flames, sometimes literal ones, while elected leftists such as Waters cheer from the front lines.
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