Protesters gather outside restaurant after reportedly mistaking TSA officers for ICE agents
Fox 11 reported that two TSA officers were safely escorted out of the restaurant after being mistaken for federal immigration agents. (Credit: KTTV)
A group of protesters gathered outside a restaurant in Lynwood, California, Wednesday evening after mistaking three Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officials for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Fox News Digital that TSA employees dining at the restaurant were "surrounded and viciously harassed by a frenzied mob."
"These agitators were incited by left-wing politicians who believe all employees of the Department of Homeland Security should be targeted and attacked for supporting President Trump and Secretary Noem’s mandate from the American people to enforce our nation’s immigration laws," the spokesperson said.
Footage from Fox 11 Los Angeles showed a crowd of people outside the restaurant, blowing horns and whistles.
Anti-ICE demonstrators gathered outside a restaurant in Lynwood, California, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (Fox 11 Los Angeles)
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) told Fox News Digital in a statement that it responded to an incident on Wednesday involving three federal air marshals who were mistakenly identified as ICE agents. The department said no immigration enforcement activity was taking place, and it was not involved in any ICE operation.
"Deputies responded to ensure public safety, de-escalated the situation, and facilitated a safe resolution without incident. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department continues to engage in community-oriented-policing, and our focus and priority remains on enforcing state and local laws to ensure the safety and well-being of our diverse communities throughout Los Angeles County," LASD said.
Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department were called in to help with crowd control after anti-ICE demonstrators gathered outside a restaurant in Lynwood, California, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (Fox 11 Los Angeles)
Osbaldo Bretado, a restaurant customer who arrived moments after the protests ended, told Fox 11 there’s a place and time for everything. "You would understand people get really emotional, so they usually make mistakes," he said. "It happens when 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."
The outlet said the TSA officials were eventually escorted out safely, and no arrests or injuries were reported.
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People are escorted out of a restaurant in Lynwood, California, on Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026. (Fox 11 Los Angeles)
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"The hardworking men and women of the Transportation Security Administration are critical to the DHS mission to keep America safe. It is reprehensible, but not surprising, that certain pro-illegal-alien politicians are willing to let our employees be collateral damage in their campaign for open borders," said Nick Dyer, a TSA spokesman, in a statement to Fox News Digital. "The violent rhetoric that is fanning these flames must stop."
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