Chicano Run Club Forced Out of Leimert Park After ICE Threats — Community Leaders Question Where the Line Is

LOS ANGELES — SEPTEMBER 4, 2026

A weekend 5K organized by a Southern California Chicano run club has been relocated out of Leimert Park after a promotional video sparked backlash from Black residents — backlash that, in some cases online, escalated into threats to call federal immigration agents on the runners themselves.

What Happened

Barrio Athletics, a running club that hosts community 5Ks around Southern California, posted a promotional video announcing a run through Leimert Park, describing the event as "taking over the streets." The phrase quickly drew fire from residents who view the neighborhood — long known as the cultural and political heart of Black Los Angeles — as historically significant ground.

A video showing a woman confronting the group and telling them not to enter what she called "Africa Town" went viral, amplifying the dispute. In the comments that followed online, some individuals threatened to call ICE on runners if the event proceeded. Facing the pressure, Barrio Athletics pulled the run from Leimert Park and moved it to Elysian Park instead.

The Reaction on the Ground Was Not Uniform

Reporting from the scene at Leimert Plaza Park found a mixed response. Some residents interviewed said they did not support calling immigration enforcement on anyone — regardless of the underlying dispute over the run — while others framed their objection strictly as a matter of the club failing to notify or coordinate with the community beforehand.

KBLA host Dominique DiPrima said the "taking over the streets" phrasing struck a nerve given what the neighborhood represents to Black Angelenos who built it into an arts and cultural hub. LA Times columnist Gustavo Arellano offered a different framing, tying the reaction to decades of demographic change in South LA and comparing it to how residents of Boyle Heights — a historically Mexican American neighborhood — might respond to outsiders moving through without notice.

Political Fallout

The controversy briefly drew in Mayor Karen Bass after a local activist claimed on social media that she had personally intervened to push Barrio Athletics out of Leimert Park. Bass's office disputed that account directly, stating she was not aware of the situation until after it had already been resolved and did not speak with anyone involved. The mayor's statement emphasized her history organizing across Black and Chicano communities in South LA and called for the city to "listen to one another" rather than let the incident become a wedge issue.

The Wider Context

The episode does not exist in isolation. Weeks earlier, Leimert Park activist Baba Akili had publicly called on the Black community to speak out against ICE raids targeting Chicano immigrants across Los Angeles — the inverse of the dynamic seen in the run club dispute. Los Angeles Civil Rights Department director Capri Maddox also joined more than a dozen community organizations at a Leimert Park press conference in support of families affected by the raids, framing immigration enforcement as a shared threat across Black, Chicano, Asian, and Caribbean immigrant communities in the city.

That history is part of why the threats to call ICE on the runners struck a nerve for some observers on both sides of the dispute — seen by critics as a betrayal of that cross-community solidarity, even as others in Leimert Park maintained the underlying complaint was about respect and notice, not immigration status.

Chicano Power Responds

Chicano Power, an advocacy organization led by John D. Abravanel Berdugo, issued a statement condemning the threats to call ICE on the Barrio Athletics runners, calling the tactic a betrayal of the Black-Brown solidarity that has historically united South LA communities against immigration enforcement. The organization argued that using ICE as a weapon in a neighborhood dispute — regardless of the underlying grievance over notice or respect — crosses a line that should not be crossed against any community, and called on leaders on both sides to condemn the threats explicitly.

Where It Stands

Barrio Athletics has relocated its run to Elysian Park. FOX 11, which first reported the story, said the club had not responded to a request for comment as of publication. No law enforcement or ICE action connected to the incident has been reported.