The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has publicly reprimanded Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) for what officials described as misleading statements about the recent unrest in Los Angeles and her attempts to breach a federal detention center to visit a detained union leader.
The confrontation between Waters and National Guard personnel guarding the facility has drawn sharp criticism from DHS, highlighting concerns over safety and the ongoing violence in the city.
Over the weekend, Waters approached a group of National Guardsmen who were securing an entrance to the Los Angeles Metropolitan Detention Center.
The guardsmen were positioned behind a plywood-reinforced door, temporarily restricting access to protect detainees and law enforcement officers.
Waters announced herself by saying, “Hello, hello, hello — I’m Congresswoman Waters,” but was directed to contact “public affairs” and denied entry as the door was promptly closed.
Tricia McLaughlin, DHS spokesperson, told Fox News on Monday, “The safety and security of DHS personnel, ICE agents, and those in our custody remain our top priority.”
She emphasized that the restricted access was necessary to maintain order amid the volatile situation in Los Angeles.
The official also criticized Waters for verbally confronting heavily armed National Guard troops on the street, where Waters reportedly questioned if the guardsmen planned to shoot her.
“Instead of taunting national guard members, the congresswoman should be trying to defuse these violent riots,” McLaughlin said.
She also warned elected officials to “tone down their dangerous rhetoric about ICE law enforcement.”
The California National Guard had been federalized by President Donald Trump in response to escalating unrest, as Resist the Mainstream highlighted on Sunday.
Waters accused the president of failing to notify Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) about the move, a claim that was captured in video clips and widely circulated.
In response to Waters’ televised remarks denying the violence of the riots, McLaughlin rebuked her.
“This morning on CNN, the congresswoman spewed lies that these riots have not been violent,” she told Fox News. “The American people can see with their own eyes the truth.”
“Rioters have assaulted law enforcement officers, thrown rocks, burned American flags, set cars on fire, slashed tires, defaced buildings, and taxpayer-funded property.”
McLaughlin added, “The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless rioters is despicable and Congresswoman Waters must call for it to end.”
Waters had expressed concern for David Huerta, a Service Employees International Union (SEIU) leader detained during immigration raids linked to the protests.
Despite wearing a congressional emblem, Waters was denied entry to the detention center to check on Huerta’s status.
She described the protests in the immediate vicinity as “very small and very peaceful – there was no animosity,” a statement disputed by multiple reports.
The congresswoman blamed Trump for the heavy armed presence of National Guard troops.
“Trump has instigated all of this,” Waters said, accusing the president of using “the poorest people in the land… to promote your politics.”
She also criticized Trump’s planned military parade celebrating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, which coincides with Flag Day and his own 79th birthday, calling it “ridiculousness.”
In a statement posted on X, Waters claimed she went to the Metropolitan Detention Center to check on Huerta, who the SEIU said was “caught” in what they described as a “violent sweep” by ICE in Los Angeles County.
She defended her viral video confronting National Guard troops, writing, “I pled [sic] with the National Guard, which was heavily armed, not to use their weapons against peaceful demonstrators who were simply exercising their rights to freedom of speech and protest.”
Waters stressed that “All people deserve to be treated with dignity and due process under the law: Peaceful, nonviolent demonstrations are critical to protecting our constitutional rights.”
She continued, “The President of the United States is a cruel, dishonorable human being,” accusing Trump and his supporters of wanting law enforcement agents to “shoot somebody down.”
One video clip shows Waters shouting at National Guardsmen, “You’re gonna shoot an elected official? If you shoot me, you better shoot straight.”
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