California Rep Maxine Waters claims there was ‘no violence’ at LA riots: ‘I was on the street’

"Those who were out of step with what we are advocating—peaceful protest—did not create any violence," Waters claimed in a press conference about the LA anti-ICE riots. "Nobody was shot, nobody was killed. Get it in your head." She clearly discounted the violence against ICE officers.

"So when martial law is called, what are you going to say? 'I missed the point,' Don't miss the point. You all don't think that somehow, because they called out the National Guard, there was violence. There was no violence. I was on the street, I know, and I went from downtown detention back out into the community, talking to people. What happened in Paramount, what happened in Compton, what happened in Inglewood."

She then went onto tell people to not rely on what they have been told by others, or to make judgements based on the "few incidents" that they saw.

Over the weekend, violence erupted in LA, after ICE was setting up operations for raids in the area. Law enforcement and federal officers were then targeted and attacked, with riots ensuing on Saturday as well as Sunday.

On Sunday night, mass looting occurred, and dozens were taken into custody with charges of theft, arson, and even attempted murder. On Monday night, the looting continued and over 100 people were taken into custody.

A man was also found dead on the sidewalk early Tuesday morning near businesses that were looted. It was not immediately clear if the man's death was connected to the violence.