Anti-ICE activist warning ICE they ‘aren’t the only ones with guns’ revealed to be LA high school teacher

The protester, identified as Ron Gochez, teaches at Maya Angelou Community High School. He is a spokesperson for Unión del Barrio, an anti-ICE organization active in Southern California. Speaking at a Tuesday news conference criticizing ICE agents, Gochez warned that immigration authorities were “not the only ones with guns” in the city.

"Don't forget where you're standing. This is South Central Los Angeles," he said, according to Fox News. "They [ICE] are not the only ones with guns in this city. Don't forget that. And I don't say that because I'm calling for violence; I'm saying that because the people have every right to defend themselves against masked, unidentified gunmen.”

"The people have every right to defend themselves," he added. "That's not violent. That's intelligent."

Gochez, who was previously given a “Human Rights Award” by the California Teachers Association, has been active in anti-ICE organizing. He was a lead organizer for Unión del Barrio, which founded the “Community Self-Defense Coalition,” a network that has trained activists across the US to interfere with immigration operations by patrolling neighborhoods and disrupting ICE raids. The group has reportedly intervened in multiple ICE enforcement actions in California.

Gochez’s remarks came just hours after a violent confrontation in South Los Angeles involving 44-year-old Mexican national Carlitos Ricardo Parias, who allegedly rammed federal vehicles with his car before being shot by agents. Parias and a deputy US marshal were both injured and hospitalized.