Unrest in L.A. — What’s going on?
As with most things political, the protests and riots in Los Angeles have multiple sides.
Here are some solid resources to catch up:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2025/06/09/lapd_chief_we_are_overwhelmed_by_riots_no_limit_to_what_theyre_doing_to_our_officers.html
https://abcnews.go.com/US/timeline-ice-raids-sparked-la-protests-prompted-trump/story?id=122688437
https://www.axios.com/2025/06/12/gavin-newsom-trump-mental-fitness
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/retired-military-leaders-analyze-trumps-deployment-of-marines-and-national-guard-in-la
Let’s begin with LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. His comments deserve to be examined in greater detail. On June 9th, he stated:
“Tonight we had individuals out there shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers — fireworks that can kill you….We’re overwhelmed as far as the number of people engaging in this type of activity and the types of things that they’re doing. They’ll take backpacks filled with cinder blocks and hammers, break the blocks and pass the pieces around to throw at officers and cars, and even at other people. We’ve seen people with hammers breaking the bollards behind the federal building, using concrete fragments as projectiles. We’ve had unknown liquids — who knows what — thrown at officers. There’s no limit to what they’re doing to our officers.”
McDonnell manages to compose himself while talking about ‘disgusting violence.’ He does not give a percentage of people engaged in this behavior. In the heat of the moment, he could have said over half, a majority or something like that. Rather, he stated that an unspecified number of individuals were doing so. McDonnell appears to be a stand up guy, as he was part of a committee investigating ‘allegations of excessive force within the LA County Sheriff Department’s custody division’ and has a reputation as a reformer.
Second, shooting commercial fireworks, throwing cinder blocks and making projectiles to throw at officers and people — notice McDonnell added other people, meaning not officers — are not peaceful protest. Over 20 stores have been looted and cars have been set on fire. On June 10th, LA Mayor Karen Bass declared a multi-day curfew for one mile downtown LA from 8pm to 6am PST.
With this situation, it’s understandable why President Trump would order the National Guard. Trump has been criticized by both the left and the right for waiting too long to respond on January 6th, so he wanted to make sure that he got ahead of any disaster this time. However, Trump pardoned or commuted the sentences of everyone convicted for January 6th, including those who assaulted police or committed violent behavior. It’s hard to hear him talking about law and order when he wasn’t willing to judiciously review the January 6th cases. Furthermore, Trump called for Newsom’s arrest. While not appearing to be serious, it make a tense situation even more tense and does not reflect a law and order approach. What exactly would Newsom be arrested for?
As opposed to the National Guard, calling in the Marines, active military personnel, seems less justifiable. In the words of retired Rear Admiral James McPherson:
“Combat Marines are trained and exercise in just that, engaging in ground combat. They’re not trained and they do not exercise in crowd control or de-escalation or things like that. Now, we have heard from NORTHCOM that they have received that training, but I would ask, what was the level of that training? Was it just an hour-long briefing with a handout?”
The Admiral knows the roles of Marines much better than I. It’s not hard to imagine that combat troops could escalate an already volatile situation.
Retired Major General David Baldwin adds:
“Ostensibly, the Guard was brought in, as they say to be able to protect federal law enforcement officers. And it may have been a very expedient solution, but as the secretary (Pete Hegseth) said, it probably wasn’t the best solution….so it’s a bit heavy-handed to bring the Guard and the Marines (in), especially when it’s over the objection of the governor of the stat and indeed without the request from the law enforcement leaders on the ground, like Chief McDonnell and the sheriff of Los Angeles.”
The price tag of bringing both the National Guard and Marines to LA is 134 million. That’s not cheap-a little over 2 million per day for the 60 day deployment. I can’t help but think there’s some connection to the planned parade for the Army’s 250th birthday on Saturday. In a stroke of luck that is reminiscent of Tom Brady playing the Super Bowl in his home stadium while on the Bucs, Saturday is also Trump’s 79th birthday. Trump likes a spectacle, and what better way than to have the military front and center as much as possible?
California Governor Gavin Newsom has used the situation to oppose Trump. Newsom seems to want to be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2028, so we have to keep that in mind when analyzing his actions and views. Newsom argues that Trump is trampling over state sovereignty and rights. It is true that Trump deployed the National Guard without Newsom’s consent. Lyndon Johnson did the same in 1965 to protect civil rights protestors. Perhaps Trump should have waited, but considering we live in a post January 6th world, that’s debatable. Newsom also claims Trump isn’t cognitively fit, which is rich considering that up until the spring of ’24 Newsom was supporting Biden’s reelection campaign, despite the concerning signs about Biden’s aging. Undoubtedly Newsom knew more than the general public, as he is a key player in Democratic circles.
Hopefully there’s an end to the madness, for both LA and the country.
We cannot tear ourselves apart.