Trump lays into Bass and Newsom for LA carnage, as he changes rule of protest
Los Angeles: President Donald Trump lashed out at California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, calling them "incompetent" for failing to control violent protests erupting during federal immigration raids.
Over the weekend, clashes between activists and law enforcement intensified, prompting Trump to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton were on "high alert" if unrest continued, labeling the protests a "national security risk".
Trump praised the National Guard on Truth Social for quelling the "Radical Left protests", while accusing Newsom and Bass of mishandling crises like wildfires and permitting delays. He also announced a ban on masks at protests, questioning protesters' motives. Bass, however, denied the National Guard’s deployment in Los Angeles, thanking local police and Newsom instead.
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The LAPD authorized non-lethal munitions as demonstrators set fires, threw projectiles, and blocked roads. Federal agents, including Border Patrol and Homeland Security officers, clashed with crowds in Paramount, where protesters gathered near a Home Depot used as an ICE staging area. Tear gas and flash-bang grenades were deployed, and over a dozen arrests were made, including alleged gang members and sex offenders.
Protesters, waving Mexican flags and burning a U.S. flag, chanted "ICE out of Paramount". Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons criticized the raids for inciting fear due to lack of communication. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem warned protesters against interfering with enforcement, vowing prosecutions.
The raids are part of Trump’s broader crackdown on undocumented immigrants, with ICE arresting 118 people in Los Angeles. Critics, including Mayor Bass, condemned the tactics as terrorizing communities, while ICE accused her of siding with "lawlessness." The DHS also blamed Democratic leaders for anti-ICE rhetoric fueling violence.