Waymo told 404 Media that it is still operating in Los Angeles after several of its driverless cars were lit on fire during anti-ICE protests over the weekend, but that it has temporarily disabled the cars’ ability to drive into downtown Los Angeles, where the protests are happening.
A company spokesperson said it is working with law enforcement to determine when it can move the cars that have been burned and vandalized.
Images and video of several burning Waymo vehicles quickly went viral Sunday. 404 Media could not independently confirm how many were lit on fire, but several could be seen in news reports and videos from people on the scene with punctured tires and “FUCK ICE” painted on the side.
Waymo car completely engulfed in flames.
— Alejandra Caraballo (@esqueer.net) 2025-06-09T00:29:47.184Z
The fact that Waymos need to use video cameras that are constantly recording their surroundings in order to function means that police have begun to look at them as sources of surveillance footage. In April, we reported that the Los Angeles Police Department had obtained footage from a Waymo while investigating another driver who hit a pedestrian and fled the scene.
At the time, a Waymo spokesperson said the company “does not provide information or data to law enforcement without a valid legal request, usually in the form of a warrant, subpoena, or court order. These requests are often the result of eyewitnesses or other video footage that identifies a Waymo vehicle at the scene. We carefully review each request to make sure it satisfies applicable laws and is legally valid. We also analyze the requested data or information, to ensure it is tailored to the specific subject of the warrant. We will narrow the data provided if a request is overbroad, and in some cases, object to producing any information at all.”
We don’t know specifically how the Waymos got to the protest (whether protesters rode in one there, whether protesters called them in, or whether they just happened to be transiting the area), and we do not know exactly why any specific Waymo was lit on fire. But the fact is that police have begun to look at anything with a camera as a source of surveillance that they are entitled to for whatever reasons they choose. So even though driverless cars nominally have nothing to do with law enforcement, police are treating them as though they are their own roving surveillance cameras.
