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WASHINGTON – When racial justice protested cities across America at the depths of the pandemic, President Trump showed restraint in his first term at the time. The threat of invoking the Rebellion Act and federalizing the National Guard will never come to fruition.
This time, less than 24 hours of isolated protests in Los Angeles County before Trump took more aggressive than ever in the use of executive powers to issue a historic order. “The federal government will resolve it through the issue,” he said on social media Saturday night.
It was the latest expression of the President unleashed from traditional parameters of his power, regardless of the rights of the state or the proportion of his actions. And, according to the Vice President, targeting democratic cities in democratic nations was a deliberate ploy to create political lessons from Los Angeles.
The pace of escalation and the federal government’s reluctance to postpone it to cooperative local law enforcement raises questions about the administration’s intentions when dealing with protesters. The administration skipped several steps to the ladder of established response options, including strengthening former US s-services and federal protection services personnel to protect federal prisons and property before asking the state if National Guard deployment would be guaranteed.
Local officials have made it clear they don’t want or need federal assistance. And they are concerned that Trump’s forced reaction will escalate a series of isolated, violent clashes that will make a bigger law enforcement challenge that could hit the city with hundreds of people.
The president’s historic developments sparked anger among local Democratic officials who warned of violations over state rights. Trump’s California National Guard acquisition, Gov. Gavin Newsom said he was urged “not because there’s a shortage of law enforcement, but because we want spectacles.”
“Don’t give them that,” he said.
Vice President JD Vance called anti-ice protesters “rebels,” and welcomed political sex change, saying “half of American political leaders have determined border enforcement is bad.”
The protests against ice agents on Friday and Saturday were limited in size and location. Dozens of people protested a flash attack outside the Metropolitan Detention Center on Friday afternoon, clashing with agents and destroying the building. The LAPD approved the so-called less lethal ammunition for a small group of “violent protesters” after concrete was thrown at officers. Protests paid by midnight.
On Saturday, outside Home Depot, protesters chanted “Ice Go Home” and “No Justice, No Peace.” Some protesters cried out at their deputies, and a series of flash bang renades were unfolded.
“What are you doing?” cried a man.
Times reporters have seen federal agents lobbying multiple rounds of flash bangs and pepper balls to protesters.
Despite the limited magnitude of the violence, by Saturday evening, the Trump administration had embraced the city’s visuals amidst the chaos urging federal enforcement of law and order.
“The Trump administration has a zero-tolerance policy against criminal activity and violence, especially if the violence is intended for the law enforcement officers who are trying to do their job,” White House press director Karoline Leavitt said Saturday night. “These offenders will be arrested and brought to trial promptly. The commander will ensure that US laws will be fully and fully executed.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said in a statement Saturday that the administration is ready to go further and is ready to deploy active-duty U.S. Marines in the second largest city in the United States. “This is crazy behaviour,” replied Gavin Newsom, Democratic Gov. of California.
There is no clear historical precedent for Trump’s decision on Saturday to call the National Guard using a rarely used authority called Title 10. President Lyndon Johnson cited Title 10 in 1965 to protect civil rights marchers during the protests in Selma, Alabama, but did so out of concern that local law enforcement would reject themselves.
In contrast, this weekend, the LA County Sheriff’s Office said it is fully in cooperation with federal law enforcement. “We plan for long-term civil unrest and work with our law enforcement partners,” the department said in a statement.
The 2,000 security guards were called for duties twice the number allocated by local governments to respond to the much wider protests that erupted throughout Los Angeles in the aftermath of George Floyd’s 2020 murder.
Tom Homan, the president’s so-called border emperor, told Fox News on Saturday evening that the administration was “already ahead” in its plans to deploy the National Guard.
“This is about enforcing the law, and again, I’m not going to apologise for doing it,” he said. “We’re stepping up.”
National Guard forces began arriving in Los Angeles Sunday morning and deployed around federal buildings in LA County.
“If California Gov. Gavin Newscam and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass can’t do their job,” Trump wrote about his social media platform, Truth.
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