For three days, protestors in Southern California have been taking to the streets and taking over parts of downtown L.A. in what local police call an “unlawful assembly.” In response, President Donald Trump has sent in the National Guard, classifying the protests as a rebellion against the federal government (therefore permitting the use of such troops).
Demonstrators blocked roads and converged on city hall, the federal courthouse and a detention center on Sunday, June 8th. This follows several days of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on alleged illegal migrants, sometimes blocked by community activists and other protestors, some waving the Mexican flag.
Reportedly, this is the first time since 1965 that the National Guard has been sent to quell an urban disorder. Trump took to social media to declare, “Things look really bad in LA,” adding, “Bring in the troops!”
Trump enjoys an electoral mandate to crack down on illegal migration, and those involved in border security see Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem as “an ally backing us up.”
In northern California, a further 60 arrests took place in San Francisco.
