What began as mostly peaceful protests, turned into violent riots after Trump ordered military personnel into Los Angeles | Credits: iHeart
What started as small, mostly peaceful protests against the Trump Administration’s anti-immigrant raids in Los Angeles have become nationwide demonstrations against the US president’s alleged abuse of executive power. The US president’s statement saying he will not allow mobs to riot and put police at risk, also is in stark contradiction to how he dealt with the January 6th, 2020, violent riots that left 150 police injured, and one dead.
As protests in L.A. enter their sixth day, Trump has ordered the deployment of 4,000 National Guards and 700 US marines to the west coast city without consulting California governor, Gavin Newsom, arguing the goal is to quell “violent demonstrations”. At the same time, local officials say it fueled tensions and put residents in danger.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers, and even our National Guard at risk,” Newsom said late Tuesday after imposing a nighttime curfew on roughly one square mile of Los Angeles’s city centre. That curfew has since been lifted. Although protests in LA appear to have lessened because of all the military and police presence, as well as reports of hundreds of arrests, including 400 illegal immigrants, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, demonstrations have spread to up to 35 other cities across the United States.
Texas deploys the National Guard
On Wednesday, Texas Republican Greg Abbott became the first state governor to deploy the National Guard ahead of planned demonstrations in San Antonio and other parts of the state, according to the Foreign Policy website.
In New York, thousands of people protested against ICE’s immigration raids in lower Manhattan, the BBC said. Thirty-four people were arrested and charged, while 52 were detained and issued court summonses, following largely peaceful protests.
Protests in 25 to 35 cities across the US
The British news outlet The Independent reported protests in at least 35 cities, while NBC stated it was aware of 25.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth told Senators on Capitol Hill that he would deploy federal troops to other cities to quell “riots in places where law enforcement officers are threatened.”
In a news conference, Leavitt spewed her usual Trump Administration “scripted” rhetoric, saying, “What we’ve seen in recent days in California is shameful. Left-wing radicals waving foreign flags viciously attacked ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) and Border Patrol agents, as well as Los Angeles police officers.”
She also said, “These criminals injured police, threw rocks at police cars and officers, burned vehicles, shut down freeways and lobbed Molotov cocktails all because the Trump Administration was removing violent criminal illegal aliens from the city.”
No evidence, and ‘hypocritical’
What’s concerning is that, as usual, Leavitt or the Trump Administration never provide any evidence, much less actual hard proof that those people are in fact left-wing radicals and violent illegal immigrants.
The Washington Post reported that in L.A.’s downtown area, businesses were open and foot traffic was steady. But some storefronts were boarded up with plywood or had signs in their windows with messages of solidarity for protesters and immigrants. Outside City Hall, about 100 protesters gathered in the afternoon, chanting, waving Mexican flags, and playing mariachi music, which does not appear to be anything left-wing radicals would typically do.
“At least five police officers received minor injuries, the Los Angeles Police Department said, according to USA Today, contradicting Leavitt’s statement. Instead, Reuters reported there were more than 30 cases of police violence against journalists.
Ignoring or forgetting Trump’s incitement of January 6, 2020, post-electoral violence that left over 140 policemen injured because he refused to send armed reinforcements, Leavitt said, “Trump will never allow mob rule to prevail in America.”
Trump’s about-face on violence
However, Newsom did not forget. “By the way, Trump, he’s not opposed to lawlessness and violence, as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than Jan. 6?” the governor said in an NBC News article entitled, “Trump’s about-face on violence against police.”
“It’s a sea change from how Trump treated the Jan. 6 riot, when his supporters attacked the Capitol in an attempt to block Congress’ certification of Joe Biden’s 2020 election win,” NBC said, criticising Trump and his Administration’s statements regarding the L.A. protests.
Harry Dunn, a former Capitol police officer who was there during the attack, told NBC News that he sees Trump’s actions then and now as hypocritical.
“Donald Trump is OK with violence, as long as it’s done in his name. That’s the message that he’s sending right now,” Dunn said. “That’s why he pardoned the people on Jan. 6: They did it in his name … what about the officers on Jan. 6? Just put an asterisk by those officers and say, ‘Not them. They stopped Donald Trump from succeeding.”
Despite cries for help from inside the Capitol, Trump never gave a formal National Guard deployment order, according to then-acting Defence Secretary Christopher Miller.
Instead, after the violent riots, Trump later called it “a day of love“ and has referred to the rioters as “hostages,” “warriors“, and “victims.”
