LA protests stay: Trump claims ‘paid agitators’ are being armed with bricks to throw at police
Donald Trump flirted with invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the domestic use of the military, in remarks on Tuesday in the Oval Office. The president has already deployed thousands of federalized National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over his immigration raids.
The total cost of the deployment to date has been disclosed as $134 million, with Trump claiming that without them, the city “would be burning to the ground right now.”
Mayor Karen Bass has dismissed those claims, given that the Guard is protecting two federal buildings and local law enforcement has been quelling civil unrest triggered by ICE raids. She has vowed to pursue vandals and looters to the fullest extent of the law after more stores were looted on Monday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who claims the presence of troops exacerbates tensions, hasasked a judge for an emergency injunction regarding the troop deployment, arguing it is “unlawful,” as well as “excessive and unnecessary.” A hearing is set for Thursday.
Speaking to soldiers at Fort Bragg on Tuesday afternoon, Trump accused the mayor and governor of paying “agitators” and “insurrectionists” who he claimed came ready with bricks to throw.
Trump has since seemed to walk back his claims, saying, “I didn’t say the governor or the mayor. I said, somebody’s paying them, I think.”
What you need to know so far…
- President Donald Trump deployed 4,000 federalized National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, costing $134 million to date.
- Mayor Karen Bass refuted Trump’s claim that the city would be ‘burning to the ground’ without the troops, noting the Guard is protecting federal buildings while local law enforcement handles unrest.
- California Governor Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration and sought an emergency injunction, deeming the troop deployment ‘unlawful,’ ‘excessive,’ and ‘unnecessary.’
- A judge rejected Newsom’s emergency injunction and allowed the Trump administration more time to respond to the governor’s court filing.
- Democrats in Congress said that the militarization seen in Los Angeles was a warning to other Americans.
- After Trump claimed he spoke to Newsom about the unrest on Monday, the governor said the president doesn’t even know who he is talking to, as the call didn’t happen.
- Mayor Bass said that the solution to the violence gripping the city is an end to the raids by ICE.
LA mayor responds to Trump’s claims that she paid ‘agitators’ in protests
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called President Donald Trump’s claims that she paid “agitators” in the protests against ICE raids in the city “absurd.”
Trump has since seemed to walk back his claims, saying, “I didn’t say the governor or the mayor. I said, somebody’s paying them, I think.”
When asked about Trump’s remarks on CNN, Bass acted shocked and said, “It is absolutely absurd that either myself or the governor would be supportive in any way shape or form to the vandalism and the violence that has taken place in the city.”
While most of the demonstrators have been peaceful, there have been some instances of vandalism and violence.
Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman sent a message to bad actors during a CNN interview Tuesday: “We are going to arrest you, prosecute you and punish you.”
“Do not cross that line into criminal conduct,” he said.
LA mayor to make announcement on possible curfew
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN that an announcement on whether a curfew will be placed on the city will be given before nightfall.
She said that she was expected to meet with the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department to discuss a possible curfew and announce their decision soon after.
Bass believes “it would not engulf all of downtown Los Angeles.”
Several journalists injured by police during LA protests
Several journalists have been injured by law enforcement while covering the ICE raid protests in Los Angeles.
Australian TV journalist Lauren Tomasi was reporting on the protests Sunday when she was hit with a rubber bullet. Tomasi was seen on camera crying out and grabbing her calf.
The sheriff’s department said it was “reviewing video footage related” to the incident and was not able to confirm whether it was a deputy who fired at him.
Protesters help clean up LA vandalism
Some Los Angeles protesters have helped clean up the vandalism by bad actors in the city.
Susan Jekarl of Glendale is one of the volunteers who offered to remove spray paint from Little Tokyo storefronts.
“People are singing, people are dancing, people are helping each other clean their eyes out from pepper spray,” she told The Associated Press.
“The idea that we’re all rioting violently is just BS,” she added.
California Lt. governor responds to Mike Johnson’s ‘tarred and feathered’ comments
When asked Tuesday whether Newsom should face legal consequences over his handling of the protests against ICE raids in Los Angeles, Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said, “I’m not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested, but he ought to be tarred and feathered.”
Kounalakis later called Johnson’s comments “violent rhetoric” in an interview on CNN, adding that Newsom is “not afraid to stand up to the Speaker” and Trump.
Democrat senator rails against bad actors in LA protests
Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, told CNN that it’s “not free speech” when protesters in Los Angeles “start setting things on fire.”
“You can’t defend when people start setting things on fire or they start damaging buildings or going after members of law enforcement. That’s not free speech.
That is not that is not peaceful protests. And I’m very supportive of immigration as well, too. We have to find a way forward. The two must be true at the same time,” he said.
Watch Fetterman’s remarks here:
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, took a jab at Fetterman, telling CNN: “If Senator Fetterman or anybody else is concerned with law and order, we should be looking at one of the most law breaking agencies and administrations that we’ve seen in the United States,” seemingly referring to ICE under the Trump administration.
Watch Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks here:
Stephen Miller lit the fuse for LA protests: report
White House aide and anti-immigration hardliner Stephen Miller reportedly lit the fuse for protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles.
He pressed ICE officials to “just go out there and arrest illegal aliens,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
Miller told federal agents to raid Home Depot parking lots and 7-Eleven convenience stores, according to the Journal.
Read more from Alex Woodward.
Terry Moran out at ABC News following suspension over Stephen Miller tweet
ABC News is parting ways with correspondent and anchor Terry Moran just days after he posted a screed on X calling Donald Trump and his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller “world-class haters.”
Justin Baragona reports.
Source: independent.co.uk
