A large group of protesters surrounded a Korean barbecue restaurant in southeast Los Angeles County on Wednesday night after mistakenly believing federal immigration agents were dining inside, a confrontation authorities later said involved off-duty Transportation Security Administration officers who were simply trying to eat dinner.
The demonstration unfolded outside Ten-Raku, a restaurant in Lynwood, after reports spread that Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were inside, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office.
Protesters gathered in the parking lot, shouting and blowing airhorns and whistles at the diners, sheriff's officials said.
Sheriff's officials said the individuals targeted by the crowd were TSA airport security workers who had finished their shifts and were not involved in immigration enforcement.
Deputies responded and escorted the workers safely from the restaurant, the sheriff's office said. No injuries or arrests were reported.
The confrontation came amid heightened tensions nationwide over President Donald Trump's immigration and detention policies, which have sparked protests targeting ICE and other federal agencies.
When asked by Fox 11 whether protesters believed ICE agents were inside the restaurant, a woman believed to be one of the organizers said, "Potentially."
She later refused to comment further, telling the station she does not "trust Fox."
She was seen holding a megaphone, while recording the scene on her phone and discouraging restaurant employees from speaking with reporters.
"Yeah sorry to you. Nobody's gonna talk to you," she was heard saying.
Other demonstrators attempted to record media coverage while hiding behind trees, with some laughing as cameras rolled. After the scene had calmed, a male customer arriving at the restaurant questioned the protesters' actions but suggested emotions were driving the situation.
"I think there is a place and time for everything," he told Fox 11. After learning the workers were TSA officers, he added: "You wouldn't understand. People get very emotional so they easily make mistakes."
He compared the error to what he described as ICE's broader enforcement tactics.
"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," he said.
The Lynwood incident follows other recent cases in which protesters targeted people mistakenly believed to be federal agents.
In Minneapolis last week, a group of software engineers dining at a restaurant was harassed after demonstrators assumed they were ICE officers.
Video of that confrontation showed protesters shouting obscenities, with one yelling, "Get out of our f*cking neighborhood," and another saying, "If you're not with us, you're against us."
Tensions have escalated further following deadly encounters tied to immigration operations in Minnesota this month.
Alex Pretti, an intensive care nurse, was fatally shot by Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 24 while filming an immigration enforcement operation. His family has retained counsel as federal authorities review what happened.
Earlier, Renee Good was fatally shot in Minneapolis during an ICE operation on Jan. 7, according to published reports.
Los Angeles County law enforcement officials urged the public to verify information before taking action, warning that mistaken confrontations can put innocent people at risk.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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