Trump Cranking Up the Heat in LA After Protests - Newsom Threatens Lawsuit Against Trump
Escalating Tone Following LA Protests: Governor Considers Legal Action Against Trump - Trump is emphasizing the Los Angeles demonstrations significantly.
In a heated exchange with reporters at the White House, Trump declared, "Those troublemakers at the scene are nothing but professional agitators and dissidents. They're vermin, they should be locked up." His rather scathing remarks were followed by a post on online platforms, warning, "If they keep causing trouble, believe me, they'll be hit harder than they've ever imagined. Such insolence won't be tolerated."
Trump had earlier boasted about his decision to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles, defying the clear requests of local authorities. Elements of his commentary on his Truth Social account were glib, saying, "Without our intervention, Los Angeles would have been reduced to ashes." He lauded the move as a "wise choice."
The President had sent approximately 2,000 National Guard soldiers to LA on a Saturday, against the explicit wishes of the state's Governor and city authorities. The decision had come following largely violent protests against the deployment of masked and armed federal agents who targeted, as Trump put it, "undesirable migrants and gang members."
Newsom spoke out on Monday, asserting Trump's actions to be unlawful, stating, "He has overstepped his boundaries. We will file a lawsuit." Around 300 soldiers arrived in the city by Sunday morning.
The city's police force maintained a presence in the downtown area on Monday, with many expressing relief after a ban on gatherings led to a calm weekend. Incidents of car-burning, window-smashing, and tear gas usage by security forces against protesters had marred the peace over the previous days.
While violent outbreaks did occur, local authorities and law enforcement agencies emphasized that most protesters maintained a peaceful demeanor throughout the weekend. Notably, schools resumed as scheduled on Monday, and normality seemed to return to many areas of the city.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN, "The president's statements are misleading. The disorder was confined to specific streets. These are not city-wide riots."
The unrest in the city, which is home to a large Latino population, began on Friday. Prior to this, masked and armed federal agents had arrested numerous individuals suspected of being undocumented immigrants and allegedly involved with criminal activities.
Tom Homan, tasked by Trump with mass deportations, claimed that the immigration service was targeting members of drug cartels in Mexico and Colombia. Local residents, however, painted a different picture, asserting that those arrested were "people merely seeking a better life in honest ways," and "deserving of a chance, not to be treated like criminals."
The UN called for a de-escalation in the conflict, urging all parties to avoid further militarization. The protests and clashes in the city are a direct result of the immigration policy set forth by Trump upon taking office in January, which aims to deport illegal immigrants in mass numbers.
Notably, a federal judge later blocked Trump’s seizure of California’s National Guard, citing illegalities and violations of constitutional rights. The governor, Newsom, also filed a lawsuit against the administration, arguing that the federal government had ventured beyond its legal bounds with the deployment of National Guard troops.
In essence, the immediate resolution lies in a court order that returns control of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom; the broader confrontation concerning federal power versus states' rights remains active. 1, 2, 3, 4
- The immigration policy implemented by Trump upon taking office in January, which aims to deport illegal immigrants in mass numbers, has been the subject of ongoing conflict and protests, particularly in Los Angeles, where the tone between Trump and local authorities, such as Gavin Newsom, has abruptly sharpened.
- Following the deployment of National Guard soldiers to Los Angeles, politics, war-and-conflicts, and crime-and-justice have become significant points of discussion, with Trump's actions being contested in court for potentially violating constitutional rights and overstepping the boundaries of federal power versus states' rights, as exemplified by the lawsuit filed by Governor Newsom.
