US President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act in Los Angeles in response to protests over his immigration raids.
The president defended his decision to deploy 700 US Marines and the California National Guard to Los Angeles, dismissing California Governor Gavin Newsom’s claim that the deployment escalated the situation.
Trump acknowledged that last night and the night before were terrible, but he emphasized that he would invoke the Insurrection Act if an insurrection occurs.
Trump warned reporters in an impromptu Oval Office meeting with his team that if they didn’t send in the national guard promptly, Los Angeles would be engulfed in flames.
Amid complaints from critics that he is using the California standoff to assert authority in Democratic-run states, Trump offered a warning.
He stated that if other states engage in similar actions, they will face equal or greater force than they encountered here.
Trump suggested that this might be the first of many instances, and that if they didn’t respond strongly to this particular situation, they could have a nationwide uprising.
As he spoke, Trump was deploying another 2,000 National Guard troops, along with 700 Marines, to Los Angeles.
Trump criticized individuals seen on video engaging in violent clashes with police during street protests that began in opposition to ICE raids to apprehend illegal immigrants.
He repeatedly referred to these individuals as “bad, sick people” and “agitators” who were allegedly paid.
Trump stated that certain areas of Los Angeles could have been considered an insurrection, describing the situation as terrible.
He emphasized that these individuals were paid troublemakers who received compensation for their actions.
Trump’s choice of words is significant because the Insurrection Act grants statutory authority to the military to be deployed domestically in cases of rebellion or insurrection.
While Trump has suggested that there might have been an insurrection, California authorities have maintained that local police have the authority to handle street demonstrations and any instances of violence.
Trump labeled the protesters as paid insurrectionists, agitators, or troublemakers, allowing for flexibility in their classification. He repeatedly emphasized the presence of individuals breaking sidewalk concrete to use as weapons.
Trump repeatedly criticized Gov. Newsom, calling him an ‘incompetent man and an incompetent governor.’
Trump asserted that Newsom was ‘doing a bad job’ and ‘causing a lot of death.’
Trump described Newsom’s actions, stating that one individual was pounding the curb, breaking it, and handing out large pieces of granite, sometimes mixed with concrete, to others. These individuals then ran away with the materials. Trump observed that others attempted to throw the materials at soldiers and police officers.
Trump further described the protesters’ actions, including climbing onto bridges and dropping the materials onto moving cars. He emphasized that these actions were not motivated by demolition work but rather by distributing the materials as weapons. Trump expressed his disbelief and stated that he had never witnessed such behavior before.
Trump’s June 7 order cited Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 12406, which authorizes the president to deploy Guard units when the nation faces an invasion, a ‘rebellion or danger of rebellion,’ or if the president is ‘unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.’
However, the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits the use of U.S. military forces for civilian law enforcement functions.
In his public statements, Trump has characterized the protests in Los Angeles as an ‘invasion’ and labeled the protesters as ‘violent, insurrectionist mobs.’
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