A restaurant owner in Los Angeles is speaking out about her decision to assist police officers who were tear-gassed during disturbances outside her shop on June 7.
Elizabeth Mendoza, the owner of La Ceiba Restaurant, a Salvadoran eatery in Long Beach, told Fox News Digital that she welcomed both police and demonstrators who came into her establishment seeking assistance after being pepper-sprayed on Saturday afternoon.
“I feel sad because my city … it’s a good city,” she was saying. “My folks are honest. My employees have to work a lot. I’ve been here for 14 years. I know my folks and felt awful when I saw the police. The cops too require my assistance since they, like me, are human. They feel exactly like me.
“They have to … work,” she said, adding she had gotten compliments from police officers for her assistance that day.
Mendoza first claimed that her restaurant had suffered due to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and police presence in the area, which made people “scared” to stroll about. However, her firm is now booming as a result of the great national publicity she has received for assisting law enforcement officials.
She has lived in the United States for over 30 years and is a legitimate US citizen.
The company owner stated that the recent riots and ICE raids have made her “sad” since immigrants like her seek “peace” and “work” in the US.
While visitors have shown admiration for her “hole-in-the-wall” restaurant, Mendoza urged demonstrators to reject violence against other local businesses.
“Everything is okay. “I want to say that protest is good,” she stated. “But not something bad—the street, the windows. Please do not do that.
Protests in the Los Angeles area erupted on June 6 and 7, when ICE raids began around the county, resulting in hundreds of illegal immigration arrests. The Department of Homeland Security provided Fox News with information on some of the most violent offenders captured by ICE in those two days.
Rioting erupted on Friday evening, June 7, as agitators burnt cars, flung objects and fireworks at officers, obstructed traffic, defaced public buildings with graffiti, and smashed the windows of the Los Angeles officers Department headquarters in downtown.
The rioting persisted over the weekend and the following weeknights.
