Reactions to President Donald Trump’s deportation program have been violent, starting with riots in California and now expanding to reportedly include the assassination of an elected official in Minnesota. Here’s the latest on the protests, riots, violence, and unrest spreading across the country.
Anarchy in the U.S.
On June 6, Los Angeles erupted in riots, with activists violently targeting federal agents conducting immigration raids in the city. The surge of looting, arson, and assaults on federal and local law enforcement officers prompted Trump to federalize the California National Guard and deploy U.S. Marines to maintain peace. While the most violent of confrontations have largely subsided, L.A.-based civil rights attorney Jesus Arias led a group of hundreds of protestors against Marines on Sunday, urging the uniformed men to leave the city. Protestors chanted, “Marines go home!” and “Shame! Shame!” among other, more insulting phrases.
Golden State Governor Gavin Newsom (D) and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D) have both been critical of the president’s decision to deploy military troops to quell the mayhem that has engulfed the city for over a week, instead faulting Trump himself for the violence. In fact, the same day that protestors confronted Marines, Bass claimed that there are no Marines in the city. “I have to say that yesterday I spent time in the helicopter, so I went all over the city in search of these Marines. And I’m sorry, but I just didn’t see them,” the mayor said in a CNN interview. She added, “We don’t want them here. They don’t need to be here. Our local law enforcement [has] complete control of this situation.”
After days of rioters waving foreign flags, vandalizing property, dropping cinder blocks and concrete slabs on police vehicles, and launching fireworks and Molotov cocktails at law enforcement, Bass described Saturday’s “protests” as “overwhelmingly peaceful.” However, the “protests” in question included vandalism across much of downtown L.A. and a violent confrontation outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center.
Newsom and Bass have both been castigated for their failure to respond to the rioting. Actor and director Mel Gibson, a conservative Catholic and one of Trump’s ambassadors to Hollywood, blasted the Democratic duo in a podcast appearance Sunday. “Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass have already proven their incompetence and poor leadership during the Los Angeles wildfires,” said Gibson, whose home was burned down in the catastrophic conflagration earlier this year. He continued, “Now, as we experience rampant lawlessness and civil unrest, it’s never been more clear. They’re unable to respond effectively and responsibly during calamity. Whether it’s sheer incompetence or outright malevolence, the reality is stark: California’s in a state of turmoil.”
The director of “The Passion of the Christ” called on his fellow Los Angeles residents to vote the Democrats out of power. “Why are Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass still in office? How much more of their destructive decision-making masquerading as leadership are we going to tolerate?” he asked. Gibson asserted, “It’s time to take back our community and our state and put the power and the privilege in the hands of competent leaders whose goals are to protect us and the way of life this nation was founded upon and promises to offer.”
Congressional Republicans are also asking why Newsom and Bass have failed to respond to so many serious crises. On Friday, the House Oversight Committee launched an investigation into Newsom’s and Bass’s management of the violent riots. “The rioters in Los Angeles committed vicious acts of violence and fearmongering directed at law enforcement and others. They set fire to vehicles and property around the city and assaulted officers with deadly weapons such as rocks and Molotov cocktails,” wrote Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee Chairman Clay Higgins (R-La.) in a letter to Newsom.
“In response to this violence … President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and yourself protested President Trump’s action to quell the violence caused by the rioters in Los Angeles, even resorting to falsely blaming him for the actions of violent rioters,” the congressmen wrote. They continued, “You champion California’s sanctuary policies, which prevent local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. You have also made it clear that you intend to block the objectives of the federal government, and defend aliens, regardless of their immigration status, criminal activity, anti-American views, or incitement to riot.”
But Los Angeles is not the only city that has been wracked with riots. The Washington Stand previously reported that anti-deportation protests in other cities — including Chicago, New York, Omaha, Seattle, and Spokane — quickly devolved into riots. Over the weekend, police in Portland arrested multiple rioters. According to press releases, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) made at least three arrests Saturday night in connection with protests and riots outside an ICE detention facility and several more arrests Sunday night at the same location.
Rioters vandalized the ICE facility and assaulted federal agents, including throwing rocks at windows and the agents themselves. While the district attorney emphasized that charges may still be brought against others present at the riots who were not arrested over the weekend, the PPB emphasized Portland’s “sanctuary” status and reminded the public that PBP officers do not cooperate in immigration enforcement. Police were also busy in Austin, Texas, arresting eight people during a violent confrontation between rioters and ICE agents.
Was ‘No Kings’ a No-Show?
Shortly after riots broke out in Los Angeles, progressive activists announced a series of protests scheduled for Trump’s birthday, June 14. Entitled “No Kings,” the rallies were ostensibly hosted in opposition to the president’s agenda, including deportations. Mainstream media outlets have suggested that up to five million protestors attended the events across the nation, but others disputed these claims over social media, citing their own experiences attending or watching the protests.
One U.S. military veteran who visited two different “No Kings” rallies reported that the median age of protestors was around 70 years old, with women over the age of 50 making up the vast majority of attendees. In the video he attached showing one of the rallies, multiple protestors can be seen in wheelchairs or electric mobility scooters. Other social media users disputed claims that “thousands” of protestors attended the events, saying that the rallies were really attended by “several hundred not exceeding a thousand,” made up of “80% White retired age females.” The National Conservative account agreed that every “No Kings” rally “outside of California appears to be 95% White and completely dominated by women aged 55-75,” while another social media user reported that there was “not a soul under 45 at our local ‘no kings’ protest. Multiple people in walkers.” Blaze News reports have also asserted that the majority of “No Kings” rallygoers were “predominantly middle-aged” and “white.”
While Mel Gibson went to bat against Newsom and Bass, his Hollywood colleagues showed up to support the “No Kings” events. Susan Sarandon and Mark Ruffalo were both seen at the New York City rally. Self-styled comedian Jimmy Kimmel and actors Marisa Tomei, Kerry Washington, Mary Elizabeth Ellis, Leah Thompson, Jon Cryer, and singers Moby and Gracie Abrams showed up at other events across the country, according to Deadline. Other Hollywood elites, like actress Glenn Close and television personality Kathy Griffin, wrote social media posts in support of the rallies.
While many of the “No Kings” rallies were largely uneventful, a few did escalate into violence. According to the New York Post, multiple arrests were made in New York City, and violence erupted at “No Kings” rallies in areas like Atlanta. One rallygoer was fatally shot in Salt Lake City, Utah. Security guards at the event accidentally shot and killed 39-year-old Arthur Folasa Ah Loo when another individual, carrying a rifle, ran towards the rally. The rifleman, later identified as 24-year-old Arturo Gamboa, was subdued and arrested. The Texas State Capitol building in Austin was evacuated Saturday after the red state’s Department of Public Safety (DPS) identified a “credible threat” against state legislators. Texas DPS later confirmed that it had arrested an unnamed individual in connection with the threat, but no further information was provided.
Murder in Minnesota
Up north, threats against lawmakers tragically turned deadly. Minnesota state Rep. Melissa Hortman, a member of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor (DFL) party, and her husband were shot dead at their home Saturday in what Governor Tim Walz (D) called a “politically motivated assassination.” Less than 24 hours after Hortman cast the deciding vote in the state legislature backing a provision denying state-funded health care to illegal immigrants, 57-year-old Vance Luther Boelter allegedly showed up at her front door wearing a face mask and impersonating a police officer. He shot and killed both Hortman and her husband. State Senator John Hoffman (DFL) and his wife were also shot but survived. Boelter was located and arrested late Sunday evening.
Controversy surrounds the motivation behind Boelter’s shootings. Mainstream media outlets have noted that Boelter is reportedly an evangelical Christian who has spoken out against both abortion and LGBT activism, while Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehensions Commissioner Drew Evans said Saturday, “It would be premature for me at this point to really say exactly what the motivation might be,” based on texts Boelter sent and an alleged “manifesto” he left in one of his cars. Minnesota Democrats have claimed that they themselves were on a hit list.
Other Democrats across the country have shifted the blame to Trump, arguing that the president’s rhetoric has inspired violence. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) claimed that Trump’s rhetoric “encourages” political violence and Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), who was recently detained for rushing at Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a press conference, said, “I think it’s more than appropriate to step back and say, ‘Why are tensions so high?’” He continued, “I can’t help but point to the beginning of not just the first Trump term, but the beginning of the campaign, the tone with which the president had launched his first campaign for president, served throughout his first term, and continues in this term.” Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) blamed “MAGA’s legitimization of political violence” for the assassinations. Perhaps referring to the multiple assassination attempts against Trump in 2024, he added over social media, “Yes, Republicans have also been the target of inexcusable violence, but this isn’t a ‘both sides’ issue.” In statements following Boelter’s arrest, Walz explicitly compared the assassinations to “mean tweets” and “demeaning someone.”
However, others have contradicted the narrative that Boelter is a violent, right-wing extremist. One report observed that Boelter was appointed to a state Workforce Development Board by Democrat and then-Governor Mark Dayton in 2016 and reappointed to the board by Walz in 2019. According to Minnesota state police, there was a stack of “No Kings” rally fliers in the car Boelter parked outside Hortman’s house. The police urged the public to avoid the progressive-run rallies amid concerns of political violence.
As of the time of writing, police have not yet publicly released any of Boelter’s writings but have suggested that he may not have been acting alone.
AUTHOR
S.A. McCarthy
S.A. McCarthy serves as a news writer at The Washington Stand.
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