Agitators from radical left-wing movements are reportedly inciting peaceful demonstrations to escalate into violent chaos, according to authorities.
It was getting dark in Los Angeles on a Sunday night when a row of Waymo taxi cars were set ablaze by a group of cloaked protesters. Social media quickly filled with videos of the fiery wreckage.
"MORE! MORE AND MORE AND MORE," a group called Unity of Fields shouted on X, along with a video of the burning vehicles. This wasn't an isolated post. Since the demonstrations against immigration raids in LA, the Unity of Fields X account has been spamming calls for chaos in the streets.
This online ecosystem, experts claim, has been growing in recent years, encompassing far-left groups that glorify violence and even murder. Notable targets have included the CEO of UnitedHealthcare and staffers at the Israeli Embassy.
Unlike their right-wing counterparts, these networks tend to lack hierarchy but are adept at utilizing social media to boost violence-inciting messages. Some have been zealously amplifying the actions of the violent protesters in LA.
Joel Finkelstein, co-founder of the Network Contagion Research Institute, remarks that the ecosystem of encouragement these radical groups have created is what's really important, rather than who directly threw a Molotov cocktail.
These violent acts in LA follow a pattern seen in cities over the past five years, with peaceful protests during the day turning into violent clashes with police at night. This chaotic atmosphere typically diverts attention from the protests' original goals, such as workplace immigration raids by federal agents, and can be exploited by critics like President Trump and his supporters.
Jon Lewis, a research fellow at the Program on Extremism at George Washington University, observes that while there's been a normalization of violence within the far-left, it's a decentralized movement without a unified leadership structure.
Since the demonstrations began in LA on Friday, over 300 people have been arrested. Charges include looting, arson, attacks on police officers, and failure to disperse. Police Chief Jim McDonnell reported that demonstrators have shot commercial-grade fireworks at police and hurled pieces of concrete.
It's unclear if these actions were carried out by lone wolves using the opportunity to target police or if there was a level of organization among the provocateurs. Experts suggest it's likely a combination of both.
Daniel Byman, director of the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, explains that there's a blend of ideologies among the radical elements, with some describing themselves as anarchists and relishing destruction.
The Network Contagion Research Institute has delved into the rise of "anarcho-socialist extremism," finding that the violence that has erupted at major protests, like those following George Floyd's death, wasn't as spontaneous as it seemed. Radical groups strategically took advantage of the volatility, often at night, with somewhat sophisticated coordination.
These groups surveilled police movements and shared tips on making the most destructive Molotov cocktails. Their objective was to instigate violent clashes with police, create viral moments to fuel tensions, and draw in others using emotional triggers.
The Institute initially focused on right-wing threats like the Boogaloos but soon discovered that left-wing groups were utilizing similar tactics to incite violence. A 2022 report by the Institute revealed that anti-police sentiments among anarchists had proliferated online for years, with the frequency of posts containing anti-police outrage and/or coded language skyrocketing during the George Floyd protests.
One notable group, the People's City Council Los Angeles, took to calling out the actions of officers at the protests, using expletives and slights. On Tuesday, they posted a police officer's name and picture on X, stating he was discharging rubber bullets at protesters. "F---ing unhinged and unloading on protesters at point-blank range," the post read. "F--K THIS PIG!!!"
On Sunday, the group posted a video of a line of police officers in riot gear, writing, "LAPD trying to kettle right now. Oink oink piggy piggy, we going make your life s----y..."
The violent demonstrators seemed to represent a hodgepodge of beliefs. Many protesters in masks and black clothing, waving Mexican and Palestinian flags, while at least one man was photographed wearing a Hamas armband.
Unity of Fields, previously known as Palestine Action US, describes itself as a "militant front against the US-NATO-zionist axis of imperialism." The group praised the October 7 attack and has ongoing campaigns supporting individuals accused of attacking Israelis.
Alex Goldenberg, a senior adviser to the Network Contagion Research Institute, described this as an "assassination culture" — a climate where targeted killings are tolerated by those harboring various grievances.
In response to a request for comment, Unity of Fields stated, "We will never condemn people who fight to free themselves. When the masses in Los Angeles began using direct action as a means of halting ICE-gestapo disappearances, the media saw only the violence of resistance and never the violence of the status quo."
The People's City Council Los Angeles did not respond to a request for comment. While the violent segments of the protests in LA subsided on Monday, demonstrations against the Trump administration's immigration policies spread to other cities, including Boston, Chicago, Dallas, and New York. Time will tell if these other cities will experience similar levels of violence.
- The Network Contagion Research Institute found that left-wing groups, like Unity of Fields and the People's City Council Los Angeles, were utilizing similar tactics to incite violence, as seen in the recent LA protests, just as they did during the George Floyd protests.
- Experts suggest that the actions of the violent protesters in LA were likely a combination of both lone wolves and organized provocation, with some radical groups creating an ecosystem of encouragement for violent acts, such as the burning of Waymo taxi cars.
- Recently, social media has been filled with calls for chaos, particularly from far-left groups like Unity of Fields, who have been amplifying violence-inciting messages, even praising acts of violence against specific targets, such as the CEO of UnitedHealthcare and staffers at the Israeli Embassy.
