President Trump escalated tensions in Los Angeles and Sacramento on Monday (June 9) after deploying 2,000 National Guard troops to quell unrest tied to federal immigration raids.
Trump insulted Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass, calling them “incompetent” and rebranding the governor as “Gavin Newscum.”
The protests erupted across downtown Los Angeles on Friday (June 6) following a wave of ICE raids that led to at least 44 arrests.
Demonstrators blocked freeways, set self-driving cars ablaze and hurled concrete and fireworks at law enforcement. Police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs.
Authorities declared parts of the city an unlawful assembly zone. Over the weekend, the unrest spread to Compton, Paramount, and Pasadena, with related protests in San Francisco resulting in 60 arrests.
Buildings across downtown were vandalized, including LAPD headquarters, the U.S. Courthouse and the old Los Angeles Times building. At least one store was looted and several fires were set in trash bins and dumpsters.
In a statement, President Trump defended the federal response and launched a personal attack on California’s leadership, even calling for Newsom’s arrest.
“We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated,” Trump said. “The very incompetent ‘Governor,’ Gavin Newscum, and ‘Mayor,’ Karen Bass, should be saying, ‘THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.’”
He continued, “Instead, they choose to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed and that these are ‘peaceful protests.’ Just one look at the pictures and videos of the Violence and Destruction tells you all you have to know. We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Newsom and Bass both condemned the deployment, calling it a violation of state authority. Newsom said the move had inflamed tensions and vowed to take legal action to regain control of the National Guard. Bass criticized the federal presence as “political theater.”
According to CNN, the protests have started calming just hours before the BET Awards take place, which are still on track to take place nearby, according to an organizer who said they are monitoring the situation.
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