Tipsheet

Protests ‘Dialing Down'? Looting Tells a Different Story in LA.

Monday night marked the fourth consecutive night of anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles, Califonria. According to U.S. Northern Command, 1,700 California National Guard troops have already been deployed to the city, and an additional 700 Marines are currently en route to assist both the National Guard and local law enforcement. Governor Gavin Newsom has claimed that President Trump has ordered another 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. 

News outlets like the LA Times have been reporting that the 'protests' have begun to dial down as of Monday night. 

Monday’s protests were calmer than Sunday’s. By midnight, ongoing immigration protests in downtown L.A. and Santa Ana had largely dispersed. Officers used less-lethal munitions and tear gas as they clashed with a few dozen people who remained in downtown Los Angeles. Earlier in the day, a crowd several hundred strong had rallied in front of the federal building.

However, videos across the internet seem to show a different story. Multiple videos of looting emerged from the weekend and Monday night, where rioters were seen robbing an Apple Store:

A jewelry store:

A CVS Pharmacy: 

An Adidas store:

A Little Tokyo Sushi shop:

 A shoe store:

And a local convenience store:

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom, along with a number of Democrats, have maintained that these riots are mostly peaceful and claim that any unrest is the fault of President Donald Trump. Mayor Bass said on Tuesday, "This is a problem that started on Friday morning when the [ICE] raids happened."

Governor Newsom similarly said, "We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved." How did enforcing the law become the problem? How can the governor defend those who break the law while vilifying those who uphold it?

Gavin Newsom insists President Trump’s move to federalize the California National Guard is illegal because the president didn’t coordinate with him. The governor should be reminded of Little Rock Nine, where President Eisenhower federalized the National Guard to enforce the Supreme Court's desegregation ruling as 9 African American children attempted to go to a segregated school. Believe it or not, Gavin Newsom, this was against the wishes of the sitting Governor to ensure federal law was enforced.