The FBI says it will act on its own to squash the Los Angeles anti-ICE protests.
FBI Director Kash Patel issued an ominous threat to the city and its residents late Sunday night, claiming that his agency would intervene in the multiday anti-Trump display without explicit direction.
“Just so we are clear, this FBI needs no one’s permission to enforce the constitution,” Patel posted on X. “My responsibility is to the American people, not political punch lines. LA is under siege by marauding criminals, and we will restore law and order. I’m not asking you, I’m telling you.”
In a move that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should agree with, California announced it would sue the federal government Monday, arguing that the Trump administration’s order to send hundreds of National Guard troops toward Los Angeles, without coordination with the state’s governor, was an unconstitutional breach of power.
Hours earlier, FBI Public Affairs Assistant Director Ben Williamson shared that Patel had gotten off a call with “senior leadership” addressing what they referred to as “riots” in L.A., specifying that Patel and FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino had “offered all necessary resources from FBI HQ” to address the situation. Williamson said the pair “reiterated the position that any perpetrator who attacks or interferes with law enforcement will be aggressively pursued and brought to justice.”
Bongino made it plain that one of the agency’s primary targets would be individuals suspected of assaulting officers, writing on X that he and Patel had notified all FBI teams to pursue suspected individuals “long after order is firmly established.”
“We will not forget. Even after you try to,” Bongino posted.
But Republicans have so far not been very successful at pinpointing wrongdoing in Los Angeles. Instead, some viral videos circulating in conservative circles of protest-related violence in the city are actually not from the weekend at all, but were instead taken in 2020 during the Black Lives Matter protests.
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