The City of Los Angeles has declared itself to be in a state of rebellion against federal law. See Mayor Karen Bass’s executive directive, which officially aligns the city on the side of lawbreakers–in many cases, violent lawbreakers–and against the rule of law.
Violence against federal law enforcement officers has gotten out of hand. Most recently, in executing a raid on a marijuana farm in California, federal agents were attacked by a mob of 500 rioters and fired upon. They made 200 arrests and rescued ten children who were being exploited as laborers.
Outraged at escalating violence against law enforcement, President Trump encouraged ICE and others to arrest those who commit violent acts against them:
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) July 11, 2025
Obviously, these criminals were already subject to arrest, so Trump was encouraging a strong response, not authorizing anything new.
I think considerably stronger measures need to be taken. Democrats like to compare what is happening now, with their support, to the mostly peaceful demonstration on January 6, 2017. But what the Democrats are doing is orders of magnitude worse. The only person who was shot at on January 6 was Ashli Babbitt.
It is only a matter of time until federal officers are murdered, with the full-throated encouragement of the Democratic Party. What we are seeing bears more resemblance, I think, to 1861 than to 2017. The federal government should use its full powers to crush (and defund) the insurrection before it is too late, and violence spins out of control.
