SFPD has now arrested over 200 people in two days following anti-ICE protests
June 9, 2025 (MissionLocal.org)
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A march against deportations that started peacefully in the Mission District ended in violence and mass arrests late on Monday, when dozens of San Francisco police officers encircled a group of about 60 protesters, tackled several to the ground, and shot pepper-spray rounds at onlookers.
A police source on Tuesday morning told Mission Local that about 80 people were arrested during the Monday night event.
Thousands rallied in the Mission just after 6 p.m., walking and chanting for blocks on end and decrying U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. As the night wore on, protesters splintered off from the main march, and police said “two small groups” eventually “engaged in vandalism” and “other criminal acts.”
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Around 10 p.m., police declared an unlawful assembly at Market Street and Van Ness Avenue for the 80 or so gathered there. Officers soon encircled the two groups, separated on opposite sides of Market Street.
Onlookers shouted “Let them go!” while banging on drums. One whistled “The Internationale.”
At 10:49 p.m., police officers began zip-tying a group of protesters they had encircled at Fell and Market streets when a scuffle broke out.
Video shows officers tackling people to the ground, pushing onlookers away, following an ICE protest on June 9, 2025. Video by Joe Rivano Barros.
Officers began tackling protesters to the ground. They pushed onlookers away and shouted “Back up!” A few minutes later, a sergeant fired pepper-spray rounds at an onlooker, and several other officers pointed their long guns.
At least two of those arrested were taken away by ambulance. At least one more was tackled by officers in a separate incident later.
Two student journalists with the University of California, Berkeley’s Daily Californian, who asked to withhold their names, were detained with the group for 30 minutes, despite visibly wearing press credentials. They were released by a sergeant around 10:45 p.m.
Police and fire department sources said about 60 people were arrested before 9 p.m., with two police officers mildly injured.
The San Francisco Police Department wrote that the splinter groups “refused to comply” with orders. Mayor Daniel Lurie said he had been monitoring the protests, and blamed splinter groups for “acts of violence and destruction.”
The mass protest was the fourth in two days in San Francisco, after at least 20 people were arrested by ICE last week.
On Sunday, SFPD arrested 154 people, including six juveniles, bringing their two-day total of arrests following the ICE protests to more than 200.
Protest started peacefully in the Mission
Earlier that night, marchers had gathered at 6 p.m. at 24th and Mission streets, chanting “Move, ICE, get out the Bay!” and, in Spanish, “Trump, escucha, estamos en la lucha:” Trump, listen, we’re in this fight.
The crowd heard speeches from activists and Supervisor Jackie Fielder, who represents the district.
Fielder criticized Sunday night’s police response against anti-ICE protesters downtown.
“We do not send riot police on unarmed protesters,” Fielder said. “SFPD should not be doing Trump’s work for him.”
Lurie defended the police response then, too, saying the protesters were “violent” and pointing to vandalism of Muni vehicles and downtown storefronts, plus two officers who suffered minor injuries.
Protesters took note of Lurie’s words, chanting in Spanish, “Lurie, escucha, estamos en la lucha!” Lurie, listen, we’re in this fight.
Around 7:40 p.m., the march continued south on Valencia Street. A group of protesters gathered at the intersection of 17th and Valencia streets, where the Mission police station is located. At least 50 SFPD officers stood behind a metal barrier in front of the station.
For a few minutes before the small crowd dissipated, a few people shouted at the stoic officers. When they shook the barricades, police approached with guns with less-lethal rounds drawn. Others silently faced off with the officers.
Protesters walked around the Mission for two hours, ending back at the intersection of 24th and Mission streets with a call from organizers to be safe and responsible.
“You can’t act a fool,“ one said. “There are new people here; they’re learning.”
By nightfall, the McDonalds on the corner of 24th and Mission Streets was covered in graffiti. A couple of protesters guarded the exterior from those wanting to tag it, yelling, “Don’t tag the Mission!”
“Go to the Richmond. Go to the Presidio,” someone in the crowd said. “Do it where they have money to rebuild shit.”
JOE RIVANO BARROSSENIOR EDITOR
joe.rivanobarros@missionlocal.com
Joe was born in Sweden, where half of his family received asylum after fleeing Pinochet, and then spent his early childhood in Chile; he moved to Oakland when he was eight. He attended Stanford University for political science and worked at Mission Local as a reporter after graduating. He then spent time at YIMBY Action and as a partner for the strategic communications firm The Worker Agency. He rejoined Mission Local as an editor in 2023. You can reach him on Signal @jrivanob.99.More by Joe Rivano Barros
KELLY WALDRON
Kelly is Irish and French and grew up in Dublin and Luxembourg. She studied Geography at McGill University and worked at a remote sensing company in Montreal, making maps and analyzing methane data, before turning to journalism. She recently graduated from the Data Journalism program at Columbia Journalism School.More by Kelly Waldron
ABIGAIL VÂN NEELY
Abigail covers criminal justice, accountability, and behavioral health. She’s originally from New York City, where she was a youth advocate and watched hundreds of arraignments. Now, she enjoys foggy San Francisco mornings with her cat, Sally Carrera. (Yes, the shelter did in fact name the cat after the Porsche from the animated movie Cars.)More by Abigail Vân Neely
