To hear our national leaders tell it, Los Angeles is in Mixed Chaos, our governor and mayor go out for lunch with the police, ignoring the reality of bliss as the city burns.
“These radical left protests are unacceptable by instigators and often paid troublemakers,” President Trump wrote on social media shortly after he ordered the National Guard on our streets.
“Insofar as protests or violence directly block law enforcement, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the US government,” he wrote in a memo on Saturday.
Place your Macha latte and trade on Birkenstock for your boots. We are revolutionary and apparently so dangerous that only experienced troops can stop us. Of course, the only problem is that Los Angeles is not confused on this particular sunny Sunday, and the majority of Angeleno try to enjoy the weekend without becoming federal prisoners.
Trump’s memo enters the book of history as the moment when the presidential power expands and places military forces under his control, targeting American civilians. Although not unprecedented, Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berekley’s law school, said it was “stellar.”
Because the development is based on lies. Yes, there have been some violence over the past few days as federal immigration authorities have also concluded normal people with a deportation sweep. It looks miserable if you keep the camera angle tight to those protests, as many media outlets have done.
A thrown rock, and even a molotov cocktail. A masked protester slams a concrete pillar outside a federal building in downtown. A car on fire.
All of this is terrible and the person responsible should be arrested – our local police and sheriffs will end up in work dealing with hundreds of protesters.
However, 99% of the city business, as usual, features brunch, beach walks, church and yoga classes. And even in some pockets where protests like March in Downtown on Sunday, this is Los Angeles.
Jessica Levinson, a law professor at Loyola Law School, told my colleague Sheema Meta that it is very rare for a president to take control of the federal forces, but it is not unprecedented and perhaps not illegal. It took place in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King’s verdict.
“One exception is when there is violence and the federal government cannot enforce federal law,” Levinson said. “And that’s exactly what the president is saying.”
The brave colleagues in this paper have been on earth since the first protest began, and as their reports show, much of what is going on is peaceful and isolated.
Even the police officers agree. And seriously, when officers agree that there is no riot, there is no riot.
“The demonstrations throughout the city of Los Angeles remain peaceful and we praise all those who responsibly exercised their right to amendment,” LAPD wrote in a statement Saturday night.
Still, by Sunday morning, those troops were full military equipment with guns in hand (probably less lethal ammunition, I hope). The Northern US Command tweeted that the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has members on the ground in Los Angeles.
“These operations are essential to halt and reverse illegal criminals’ invasions of the United States. This violence has led to California’s reckless Democratic leaders who have completely abandoned their responsibility to protect their citizens.”
Also, when you plan your week, there is a dress code, at least for civilians, rather than the authorities trying to hide their identity.
“(f) Now masks are not allowed to be worn in protest. What should these people be hiding? Trump wrote.
Gov. GavinNewsom said it was all about “making a crisis, not meeting unmet needs.”
He’s right – Los Angeles played the lead role in Trump’s war with the Brown People. That makes sense. We are immigrant cities, cities of all colours, democratic and democratic. What do you dislike?
Mayor Karen Bass told her colleague Rachel Ulanga that her office told her that she “no need to have an army on the ground at all” but she couldn’t go anywhere.
“This is posture,” Bass said.
“They want violence,” Newsom added in a Sunday email. “Don’t give them the sight they want.”
I don’t know if that is possible or not. No matter how protests, there will always be bad actors, violent actors. And once again – they should be arrested.
But Trump is trying to focus on these few people in order to create an example for the city and to enhance his own strength.
This “riot” is a fantasy, but all his dreams of more power seem like reality.
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