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Labor leader David Huerta pleads not guilty to obstructing ICE
David Huerta is seen addressing supporters after his arraignment Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025.
(
Libby Rainey
/
LAist
)
David Huerta, who leads California’s largest union — Service Employees International Union California — pleaded not guilty in federal court Tuesday to obstructing an ICE operation in Los Angeles this summer.
Prosecutors are charging the labor leader with a misdemeanor, accusing him of obstructing, resisting, or opposing a federal officer during the first day of immigration sweeps across the region.
The federal government originally charged Huerta with a felony, which carried a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
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After entering his plea, Huerta spoke outside the courthouse, calling the charge against him a "weaponization of the justice system."
"These charges are baseless," he said. "They are an attempt to silence anyone who dares to speak out, organize, or demand justice. I will not be silenced."
The charge against Huerta goes back to June 6, when he showed up at Ambiance Apparel in downtown L.A., a workplace where federal authorities were executing a warrant. He was arrested and held for three nights in the Metropolitan Detention Center Los Angeles.
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According to SEIU, Huerta was injured during his arrest and treated at a hospital while in federal custody. The union said that he was exercising his First Amendment right to document law enforcement.
In the original criminal complaint filed in June, a federal agent described Huerta and others gathering outside of a gate at the workplace "effectively preventing law enforcement vehicles from entering or exiting the premises through the gate to execute the search warrant."
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The complaint claims Huerta blocked the path of a white law enforcement van into the workplace.
"Because Huerta was being uncooperative, the officer put his hands on Huerta in an attempt to move him out of the path of the vehicle," the federal agent wrote in the complaint.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to offer further comment.
The immigration enforcement actions on June 6 kicked off a summer of raids and protests across Southern California. Since then, federal prosecutors have charged a number of people who joined protests against ICE.
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A trial is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 20.
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