Trump Declares War on California, Exploits Public Dissent to Unlawfully Manufacture a Crisis
Tensions grow in Los Angeles as California tries to defend itself from a deranged wannabe dictator, and more.
Trump Declares War on California, Exploits Public Dissent to Unlawfully Manufacture a Crisis
In my video posted yesterday on TikTok and Instagram (shown below), I briefly walked through what was taking place in Los Angeles, CA over the weekend.
I hate to report that the Trump administration is digging in its heels and escalating further to manufacture a justification for invoking the Insurrection Act. The occupant of the White House has effectively declared war on the state of California and, like every other insecure bully, he is telling us that we should thank him for sending in the military against us to *checks notes* “liberate us” from… ourselves?
Quick sidebar: Dude, YOU CREATED THIS PROBLEM! And you keep making it worse. Forcing anything onto us that we didn’t ask for isn’t going to win you any points or respect outside of your cult. Sending in the military against unarmed protestors also won’t make us afraid of you. We will just loathe you more.
Los Angeles was minding its own business and doing just fine until the mad scamburglar king had to bulldoze his way in uninvited over the weekend. Angelenos are so incensed protests continued into a 4th consecutive day.
This morning, California filed a lawsuit against Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for unlawfully federalizing the state’s national guard, calling the action “an inflammatory escalation unsupported by conditions on the ground.” The state asks the court to declare the executive order unlawful, arguing that federalizing the National Guard “without authorization from the Governor and against the wishes of local law enforcement” is an overreach of the federal government’s authority and violates the Tenth Amendment.
Another quick sidebar: I cannot wait to see the district court and 9th Circuit rulings about this because both will hand the administration’s ass to itself. Also, I’m still waiting on all the “StAtE’S rIgHtS!!!” folks to say anything. The silence is deafening.
In response to California’s efforts to legally defend itself, the Defense Secretary unlawfully deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles. The latest escalation by the executive branch effectively turns LA into a war zone, pitting the U.S. Military up against U.S. citizens in violation of California’s sovereign rights and without the explicit request by the California Governor or local law enforcement.
The 10th Amendment and the Posse Comitatus Act would like a word. But we can all see that this administration’s motto is laws for thee but not for me.
Labor union leader unlawfully detained by ICE and denied visit by Congresswoman
Changing gears from the legal dick-swinging match between California and the White House, protestors are gathering today nationwide demanding that the federal government release David Huerta, the president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who was detained during an ICE raid on Friday and, until Monday afternoon, was being held hostage.
On Sunday, federal authorities denied California Congresswoman Maxine Waters entry into the Metropolitan detention center in downtown Los Angeles where Huerta was being held. The Los Angeles Rep. (CD43) attempted to speak with the leader of the labor union who was injured after an ICE agent shoved him onto the ground.
After being denied her authority as a member of Congress to visit facilities operated by the DHS, Rep. Waters told the press that she is concerned the administration is weaponizing the National Guard against protesters. She also correctly called Trump a “cruel, dishonorable human being.”
Detaining a leader of a major labor union and preventing him from speaking with lawmakers set off alarm bells with civil rights organizations and national labor unions. The ACLU and SEIU organized protests nationwide today demanding Huerta’s release and justice for detained immigrants. The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), the nation’s largest coalition of labor unions, also issued a statement calling for Huerta’s release.
In addition, California Senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla, as well as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and acting ICE director Todd Lyons requesting an inquiry into the matter and to state what legal authority Huerta is being detained.
Huerta appeared in court this afternoon where he was charged with felony conspiracy to impede an officer. This trumped-up charge carries fines and a maximum prison sentence of 6 years.
Note that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is using this same charge once filed against January 6 insurrectionists for those who protest ICE raids. It’s not enough that Trump pardoned those he incited. He must seek retribution by subverting the meaning of insurrection and weaponizing it against those who dare to stand up to him.
The DHS alleges in its criminal complaint against Huerta that he and other protesters blocked Ambiance Apparels’ only vehicle entrance gate to intimidate and prevent officers from entering the property to conduct a search warrant. Huerta was released this afternoon after posting a $50K bond.
This whole episode is a deployment of the administration’s tactics it’s been beta testing against state judges and state officials in Wisconsin, New Jersey, and New Mexico (to name a few). I have more links below that highlight the federal government’s brazen obstructionism in LA County and New York.
Federal law enforcement deliberately shoots journalists
As the protests in LA grew more confrontational, law enforcement thought it might be a great idea to use journalists as target practice.
Several witnesses saw federal agents shoot rubber bullets directly at national and international journalists wearing press badges. Four reporters were injured, including one during a live broadcast.
In a video, a law enforcement officer turns and aims at the leg of Lauren Tomasi, an Australian journalist for 9News, as she was reporting a live broadcast. A British photojournalist, Nick Stern, was shot in the thigh and was rushed into emergency surgery on Sunday. Stern told the BBC that there was no mistaking that he was a member of the press.
Ryanne Mena, a crime reporter with the Los Angeles Daily News, and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, a freelance journalist, were both shot in the head with pepper balls and teargassed by federal agents. Mena posted on Bluesky that they were targeted two days in a row. A New York Times reporter was also taken to the hospital after sustaining injuries.
Over the weekend, the secretary of the Los Angeles Press Club, Adam Rose, documented more than 20 incidents of direct attacks by law enforcement against journalists. He also posted on his social media account.
Program Coordinator Katherine Jacobsen with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said in a statement, “We are greatly concerned by the reports of law enforcement officers’ shooting non-lethal rounds at reporters covering protests in Los Angeles. Any attempt to discourage or silence media coverage by intimidating or injuring journalists should not be tolerated. It is incumbent upon authorities to respect the media’s role of documenting issues of public interest.”
If this were any other country and we witnessed direct attacks on the press, we would condemn them and acknowledge it’s a violation of the free press. It’s a loud and clear example of how a backsliding Democracy and/or authoritarian regime would behave.
Dr. Phil rebrands as ICE propagandist
To the wannabe dictator, the press is the enemy, but a dedicated team of PR hacks is A-OK.
I am a broken record saying this, but the Trump regime will be known in history as the propaganda regime. It’s obvious he isn’t filling his cabinet with experts in relevant fields. He’s filling it with propagandists and wealthy donors who pay big money to play.
Dr. Phil is just the latest TV professional to have a known role as an immigration propagandist for the administration. The former “therapy” talk show host has been seen in Chicago and Los Angeles filming footage of ICE conducting mass detainments, as well as of public outrage in response to the agency’s unlawful activity.
A spokesperson with Dr. Phil’s far right channel, MeritTV, told CNN the team had “exclusive access” to border czar Tom Homan to cover targeted operations. They attempted to whitewash their boss’s role, claiming that he wasn’t with ICE in Los Angeles. He just “hung out at the field office” with Homan. Sure, Jan.
According to Dr. Phil’s team, he’s just Tom Homan’s roadie. Who’s to say where he’ll stan the leader of the U.S. Gestapo next.
Related:
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is illustrating a pattern of obstructionism and obfuscation with Democratic lawmakers. 4 additional Southern California Congress members were denied entry to 2 facilities where ICE is detaining alleged immigrants in reportedly inhumane conditions, including the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in Los Angeles on Saturday and the Adelanto ICE Processing Center near Victorville on Sunday. Reps. Judy Chu (CD28), Gil Cisneros (CD31), Jimmy Gomez (CD34), and Derek Tran (CD45) told the OC Register they attempted to inspect the conditions of their constituents who were detained during ICE raids across L.A. County over the weekend.
Also on Sunday, federal authorities denied New York Representatives Adriano Espaillat (CD13) and Nydia Velázquez (CD7) access to inspect an immigration courthouse in Tribeca, which ICE is reportedly using as a detention facility. The Democratic Congressional members arrived with legislative authority to investigate claims of inhumane conditions, including extreme heat and overcrowding where detainees are being forced to sleep on bathroom floors.
On Sunday, the City of Glendale terminated its agreement with the DHS to hold detainees in its jail. It had been in a contract with the agency since 2007.
Headlines
Convicted felon unable to enter several countries imposes travel ban
On Monday, Trump’s newest travel ban targeting mostly African and Middle Eastern countries officially went into effect. What makes this ban different from that of his first term is it hides its racist, xenophobic intent beneath the veneer of national security. In Trump’s executive order signed last week, he made it clear that this action is in retaliation against student visa holders, asylum seekers, and immigrants of certain countries the administration has beef with for not accepting deported individuals on demand. The target countries of this ban include Afghanistan, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Myanmar, the Republic of Congo, Somalia, Sudan, and Yemen. Additional countries that will be subject to heightened restrictions for U.S. entry include Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela.
Former environmental lawyer turned wellness grifter disbands CDC vaccine advisory panel
On Monday, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the vaccine and fluoride conspiracy theorist serving as the secretary of Health and Human Services, took a wrecking ball to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) vaccine advisory committee. The political nepo baby turned MAGA grifter fired all 17 members via a poorly ghostwritten Op-Ed in the Wall Street Journal in which the Kennedy family pariah accused committee members, without evidence, of receiving funding from pharmaceutical companies and refusing to make recommendations against vaccines because they are paid by Big Pharma. As a result, he concluded that “a clean sweep is needed to re-establish public confidence in vaccine science.”
Disney’s ABC News becomes yes man for the Trump administration
On Sunday, ABC News suspended Senior National Correspondent Terry Moran for spitting truths about White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller on his personal social media account. He correctly described Miller as “a man who is richly endowed with the capacity for hatred. He’s a world-class hater.” (Where’s the lie tho…) But since ABC News already prostrated itself before the leader of snowflakes, the corporate news outlet has consented to operate as the administration’s weapon and shield.
Democratic Party can’t stop won’t stop the disarray
An unnamed individual who attended a Democratic National Committee (DNC) Zoom meeting on May 15 leaked audio of Democratic Party chairman Ken Martin expressing his frustration over leadership infighting to Politico. The political news outlet published the recording on Sunday, which highlights Martin confronting co-vice chairman David Hogg about making it difficult for him to gain a solid footing as the party leader to promote a united front going into the 2026 midterms. It’s interesting timing as the DNC will vote this week on whether to re-do the election for vice chairman.
Democrats defend San Antonio Mayoral seat
On Saturday, the Democratic candidate for San Antonio Mayor, Gina Ortiz Jones, defeated Republican candidate Rolando Pablos by 8 points. When she is sworn in on June 18, Jones will be San Antonio’s first LGBTQ+ mayor. The former under secretary of the U.S. Air Force during the Biden administration campaigned on expanding free Pre-K services and broadband internet to underserved communities, protecting public education and civil rights for the LGBTQ and immigrant communities, and transparency for the city’s downtown renewal project, known as Project Marvel.
The Courts
On Sunday, U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss, a President Obama appointee, declined to block the Trump administration from removing 3 board members of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In his 25-page decision, Judge Moss found that the CPB failed to demonstrate that their terminations were unlawful or that they would suffer irreparable harm. Although he rejected the CPB’s request for a preliminary injunction, Judge Moss did so without prejudice and acknowledged the institution’s independence. This means the CPB can bring another lawsuit if the executive branch interferes with their operations in the future.