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After two days of riots in Los Angeles, President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops to the city to quash the violence and unrest brought by anti-ICE protestors.
U.S. Northern Command confirmed Sunday that the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had been deployed in the Los Angeles area, with others currently on the ground.
The president further condemned California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for their “incompetent” leadership, refusing to restore the rule of law while allowing the city to fall victim to complete civil unrest.
“We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to to handle the task,” President Trump wrote earlier on Saturday in a post to Truth Social.
He further suggested that the “Radical Left protests” were often carried out by “paid troublemakers,” and that this would no longer be tolerated, also banning future protestors from wearing masks.
“Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests,” wrote the president. “What do these people have to hide, and why??? Again, thank you to the National Guard for a job well done!”
During the past few days, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempted to arrest illegal migrants in the Los Angeles area. However, protests ensued throughout the area, and by Friday night, they had escalated into full-blown riots.
The violence continued through Saturday, prompting the president to reinforce ICE agents with National Guard members while warning state officials to address the violence or face consequences, JustTheNews reported.
However, many California officials have reportedly ignored the protests, allowing the violence to continue while criticizing the Trump administration for using the federal government to stop the riots.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, an appointee of liberal Mayor Karen Bass, released a statement Saturday claiming that these protests “remained peaceful,” seemingly ignoring the carnage.
Gov. Newsom also brushed off the riots, calling the president’s utilization of federal troops a “spectacle,” while noting in a separate post to X that this was “deranged behavior.”
In reaction to state officials’ neglect, many users of X began posting footage of the violence tearing through the city.
Posting a video of one protester attempting to injure agents driving past him by throwing rocks at their windshields, user Libs of TikTok captioned the post, “Any comment on this @GavinNewsom?”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also posted a photo of rioters posing with a burning car while waving the Mexican flag, calling it the “‘mostly peaceful protest’ brought to you” by Gavin Newsom.
A video posted by Fox News showed another man with a Mexican flag driving circles around a burning car while riding a motorcycle.