Protests Erupt In LA
The streets of Los Angeles are once again a boiling point of national tension. What began as demonstrations over immigration enforcement has now ignited into full-blown riots—chaotic scenes of fire, destruction, and anti-government slogans dominating city blocks from downtown to Compton. The flashpoint? Federal ICE operations. The spark? Rhetoric from city leadership that’s come under intense fire.
The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless protestors is despicable.
These men and women work every day, putting their lives on the line, to protect and defend the lives of American citizens.
Mayor Bass, ICE is not responsible for “sowing a sense of… pic.twitter.com/ckqgn6pOx2
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) June 7, 2025
Over the weekend, the Department of Homeland Security released jarring footage of the unrest, documenting protesters, many waving foreign flags, as they clashed violently with federal authorities. Fires erupted in intersections. Graffiti bearing slogans like “Death to Amerikka” and “Dead Cops” appeared scrawled across buildings, some next to smiling Antifa symbols. One video showed a demonstrator setting fire to a vehicle while another waved a Mexican flag just feet away—a symbolic gesture that’s already stoking deep political divides nationwide.
This clip is for all my L.A. friends who texted me tonight saying things like “I’m sure you know this, but 99.9% of LA is going about their Sunday normally” pic.twitter.com/9NwaRzMruK
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 9, 2025
Homeland Security was blunt in its condemnation: “The violent targeting of law enforcement in Los Angeles by lawless protestors is despicable.” They didn’t hold back when it came to local leadership either. In a direct rebuke of Mayor Karen Bass—who accused federal immigration authorities of creating “a sense of terror”—DHS pointed the blame squarely at the mayor herself, stating that it was the protesters “YOU enabled” who were responsible for terrorizing the streets.
https://t.co/jxMCuvwkwp pic.twitter.com/9B8swT3esN
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 9, 2025
Perhaps the most alarming image from the weekend shows a federal vehicle under siege. Protesters smashed the windshield with rocks, injuring a Customs and Border Patrol agent. Bloodied and trapped, the agent’s ordeal underscores how volatile the situation has become.
And still, federal agents report being “vastly outnumbered,” especially during the siege on the Edward Roybal Federal Building. With the LAPD allegedly taking over two hours to respond, ICE agents found themselves encircled and overwhelmed, retreating only after the damage had been done.
The optics are undeniably combustible: American soil, torched vehicles, government buildings under siege, and the flags of foreign nations fluttering amid the smoke. At the heart of the chaos is a collision of law enforcement mandates and progressive urban governance—a clash that’s rapidly turning civic spaces into battlegrounds. The message etched into the walls after the federal building riot—“Kill ICE”—was more than vandalism. It was a declaration.