As protests in resistance to ICE raids pop up around Los Angeles, Jen Richards detailed her experience on the frontlines.
The Emmy-nominated writer, actress and producer claimed she was hit by flash grenades and rubber bullets during a peaceful protest on Monday in Downtown LA, accusing the LAPD of using “rabid aggression” in response to the demonstration.
“We were in Downtown LA today,” she started in the Instagram post. “Thousands of peaceful protestors showed up to demonstrate that we won’t stand by as our neighbors get rounded up to appease the racist fever dreams of a president and his fragile ego.”
Richards added, “I was hit by flashbangs and rubber bullets, all while walking backwards with my hands up (and @bekahdc was shoved in the chest with a police baton). I’m a rather fragile, sensitive, fight-with-my-words type, but sometimes shit goes too far and you gotta stand up for truth, liberty, and empathy. Now is that time. (If anyone knows who the person in the first picture is, let me know! Their composure in the face of LAPD’s rabid aggression was stunning.)”
Deadline has reached out to the LAPD for comment.
“P.S. Flashbangs aren’t too bad, they’re loud and sting. Rubber bullets however … well, check out my foot. It tore through my Docs!” the Mayfair Witches star wrote, including a photo of her bruised foot in the post.
On Wednesday, Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned Donald Trump in a fiery speech after the president deployed nearly 5,000 troops to LA amid ICE raid protests, lambasting the “brazen abuse of power by a sitting president [that] inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk.”
“Look, this isn’t just about protests in LA. This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first — but it clearly won’t end here. Other states are next,” said Newsom, adding: “Democracy is under assault right before our eyes. The moment we’ve feared has arrived.”
People attend a news conference and rally at a closed car wash where workers were detained in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in West Los Angeles over the weekend on June 11, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. (Platt/Getty Images)
Gov. Newsom’s speech came less than an hour after LA Mayor Karen Bass issued a dusk-to-dawn curfew for tonight on a on-mile square area of DTLA. After Trump Golden federalized State National Guard on June 7 as protestors focused on federal buildings being used as makeshift detention centers, 4,000 members of the Guard are downtown along with 700 U.S. Marines.
Seen by many as a prelude to invoking the Insurrection Act, Trump’s order to put National Guard boots on the tense streets of LA came without any consultation with Newsom, the Governor has said repeatedly the past few days. Newsom’s sharply-crafted words followed a failed effort to get a federal judge to move with haste to place a Temporary Restraining Order on Trump’s control of the California Guard. Trump’s DOJ lawyers were able to convince the Bay Area judge to give them more time. Now a hearing is scheduled for June 12.
