By Jack Phillips
FBI Director Kash Patel said that the agency will target individuals who assault law enforcement officials during protests and riots in Los Angeles, while his second-in-command said that the government is “not stopping” immigration enforcement operations that sparked the demonstrations.
“Hit a cop, you’re going to jail… doesn’t matter where you came from, how you got here, or what movement speaks to you,” Patel wrote on Saturday. “If the local police force won’t back our men and women on the thin blue line, the FBI will.”
On Saturday, law enforcement faced off against anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) protesters and rioters in southeast Los Angeles and then later on Saturday in downtown Los Angeles, video footage shows. That prompted President Donald Trump to sign a memorandum authorizing the deployment of National Guard troops in the area.
A day later, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said that several arrests have already been made in both Los Angeles and New York city amid the unrest, adding that more investigations are underway. Aside from Los Angeles, sporadic protests erupted in New York City over the weekend.
“Many of these subjects will face federal charges, along with local and state charges,” Bongino said on Sunday morning. “It will not end well for you if you choose violence. Choose wisely.”
He then said that the federal government is “not stopping or slowing down” and that “illegal immigration operations will continue, and anyone using violence to obstruct or impede these operations will be investigated and prosecuted.”
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 27 people on Saturday for failure to disperse from the downtown protest, police spokesperson Norma Eisenman said.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrested three people on Saturday on suspicion of assaulting an officer. Sheriff’s deputies used “less lethal force” at the protest in Paramount, Los Angeles, spokesperson Deputy Brenda Serna said.
Trump administration officials have indicated they have little tolerance for violent demonstrations during his second term, while Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth signaled that Marines could be deployed if the situation deteriorates.
“There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE,” Hegseth wrote in a social media post on Sunday.
Military officials confirmed Sunday morning that National Guard members are currently deployed in Los Angeles after Trump’s order, drawing praise from Trump in a social media post.
“Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” he wrote, adding that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass are reacting too slowly to the unrest.
“These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED,” Trump wrote. “Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why?”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS’ “Face the Nation” on Sunday that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings, to people engaged in peaceful protest, and to law enforcement.
Newsom, however, called the deployment of the National Guard an unnecessary step that would “erode public trust” in the administration. Newsom also said that Trump’s post about the National Guard doing a “great job” came before troops were deployed, suggesting that the administration doesn’t know what it’s doing.
In his second term, Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of illegal immigrants and lock down the U.S.–Mexico border, setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 illegal immigrants per day.
A handful of federal judges have placed nationwide blocks on certain orders and directives around that enforcement effort, including ruling against Trump’s move to enact the Alien Enemies Act earlier this year and his order to end birthright citizenship.
Reuters contributed to this report.
