History Teacher Fired After Opening Gate for Students During Anti-ICE Walkout ~ L.A. TACO

On Thursday February 5, several students at the Synergy Quantum Academy approached the front gate of their school as part of an LAUSD-wide walkout against the ICE raids in Los Angeles and in solidarity with Minneapolis’s organizers against Operation Metro Surge.

The day prior, several Synergy Quantum students had held another walkout where, according to a representative from Union Del Barrio, several students suffered minor injuries caused by jumping over the front gate while it was locked. Synergy states that only 20 students had walked out on Wednesday and that they received no reports of students with injuries.

Teacher Ricardo Lopez was present at the front gate on Thursday and, after having received images from the school regarding some of the student’s injuries, decided it was best to open the gate to allow the kids to easily walk out, minimizing potential harm from occurring again.

Within the hour, Lopez was terminated from his position. He was escorted out of the premises and unable to grab all of his belongings.

“It hurt,” Lopez tells L.A. TACO. “I felt almost like a criminal. Some of my students saw me being escorted out.”

“Me being the closest adult and trying to prevent other students from jumping the gate, I opened the gate for them,” he says. “Within an hour, I was let go.”