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California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, on Tuesday said anti-ICE protesters who engage in violence will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law while also criticizing President Donald Trump for a “brazen abuse of power” in sending troops to respond to demonstrations.
Newsom said during a news address that 220 people have already been arrested in connection with the Los Angeles riots and that officials are reviewing footage to build additional cases.
The governor also thanked individuals who protested peacefully during demonstrations against deportations and ICE raids on migrant workers at local businesses.
Peaceful assembly is not what Trump wanted, the governor said, accusing the president of choosing “escalation,” “more force” and “theatrics over public safety.”
Newsom and the president have taken jabs at each other in recent days over the Trump administration’s move to deploy thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of active-duty Marines to Los Angeles, with the governor saying it threatens state sovereignty, wastes resources and worsens the situation, while Trump argues that the move was necessary to quell any violence.
“These are the men and women trained for foreign combat, not domestic law enforcement,” Newsom said Tuesday. “We honor their service. We honor their bravery. But we do not want our streets militarized by our own armed forces. Not in LA, not in California, not anywhere. We’re seeing unmarked cars, unmarked cars in school parking lots, kids afraid of attending their own graduation.”
“Trump is pulling a military dragnet all across Los Angeles, well beyond his stated intent to just go after violent and serious criminals,” he continued. “His agents are arresting dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses. That’s just weakness. Weakness masquerading as strength. Donald Trump’s government isn’t protecting our communities. They’re traumatizing our communities. And that seems to be the entire point.”
Newsom had sent a letter on Sunday urging the administration to rescind its deployment of National Guard troops and return them to his command. The state has also filed a lawsuit against the administration over the federal deployment.
“Just yesterday, we filed a legal challenge to Donald Trump’s reckless deployment of American troops to a major American city,” the governor said Tuesday. “Today, we sought an emergency court order to stop the use of the American military to engage in law enforcement activities across Los Angeles.”
The governor said if some people could be snatched off the streets without a warrant based only on suspicion or skin color, then nobody is safe.
“Trump and his loyalists, they thrive on division because it allows them to take more power and exert even more control,” he said. “And by the way, Trump, he’s not opposed to lawlessness and violence as long as it serves him. What more evidence do we need than January 6th?”
“If you exercise your First Amendment rights, please, please do it peacefully,” he continued. “I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress and fear, but I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety. What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence to be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.”
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