The national guard has been called up to address the anti-immigration-law-enforcement riots in southern California. KTLA reports,
Trump orders National Guard to Los Angeles amid fiery ICE protests.
Again, a point that I and many others have made before, if your protest is “fiery,” than it is no longer a protest. “Mostly peaceful” is not a thing. Your protest is peaceful, or it is no longer a protest. There is no third, half-and-half concoction. KTLA continues,
Protests sparked by Friday and Saturday’s ICE raids continue to erupt across Los Angeles areas, some scenes turning violent and destructive, leading President Trump to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to the region and the U.S. Defense Secretary threatening to mobilize active duty Marines.
By now you’ve all seen the pictures and videos of the guy on the motor bike, circling the burning wreckage and waving the Mexican flag.
Media have been quick to liken the weekend events to the 2020 George Floyd riots or the Civil Rights/Vietnam War riots of the 1960’s.
For a historical precedent, I want to go back much further: the lower Manhattan, New York City draft riots of 1863. In that event, we had an ethnic group (Irish in that case) rebelling against the idea that Federal laws would apply to them. Lincoln had to divert military units from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to put down the uprising.
So, it is again, in southern California, in 2025. Here and now, state and local politicians and area noncitizen residents are rebelling against the idea that Federal immigration and border control laws should not apply within their sanctuaries.
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was quoted on TV this morning,
My understanding is that the governor of California, the mayor of the city of Los Angeles, did not request the National Guard, but [Trump] thinks he has a right to do anything he wants.
If the governor and the mayor refuse to protect the lives and property of U.S. citizens, then what should be done?
The Feds aren’t asking for local law enforcement help, just insisting that basic laws be enforced by Fedeal officers within Los Angeles County. The result? Three days of rioting.
Whose country is it, anyway?
