A riot broke out in Paramount where ICE agents were looking to arrest a few dozen criminal illegal aliens. Things got bad enough that even the LA Times is calling it “a fiery and tumultuous clash.”
An hours-long standoff between protesters and federal agents erupted Saturday morning in Paramount as federal officials warned of further immigration raids to come in Los Angeles.
The confrontation near a Home Depot at 6400 Alondra Blvd. escalated into a fiery and tumultuous clash. At least one protester was injured, witnesses reported.
Chants of “Fuera ICE” — ICE, get out — could be heard as flash-bang grenades deployed by federal agents lit up the scene. The agents appeared to include members of Border Patrol, the U.S. Marshals Service, and Homeland Security Investigations.
There were similar ICE raids yesterday and those protests also got out of hand.
LOS ANGELES — Federal law enforcement officials faced off with violent anti-ICE rioters June 6. Our brave officers were vastly outnumbered — over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal building. The Trump administration will pursue charges for any protestor who attacks a… pic.twitter.com/ExSZJFJAj4
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) June 7, 2025
People were breaking apart concrete so they could throw it.
LOS ANGELES — Anti-ICE rioters left a trail of destruction on the streets of their own community June 6. They smashed pylons, broke windows and destroyed taxpayer-owned buildings. Destroying their own city is their prerogative — but we’ll continue to enforce ALL U.S. immigration… pic.twitter.com/kYHdGqRBza
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) June 7, 2025
📷Anti-ICE rioters destroyed taxpayer-owned property around Los Angeles, including defacing the wall outside the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Ambulatory Care Center.
🤳Follow our page for updates on this story and more. pic.twitter.com/MVtejBhkPf
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) June 7, 2025
Mayor Bass promised to fight for all migrants, even ones who just got here. That probably helped to ensure we’d see a repeat today.
Los Angeles will always be a proud city of immigrants, and we will defend immigrant communities. pic.twitter.com/oH1lbT9PNy
— Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) June 6, 2025
Paramount is 82% Latino with an unknown number of them being here illegally. The LA TImes is reporting things kicked off today when ICE showed up at a Home Depot.
BREAKING: ICE raid and community resistance in front of Home Depot in Paramount, California. pic.twitter.com/WdM1Gr93Wi
— Jeremy Lindenfeld (@jeremotographs) June 7, 2025
Escalating anti-ICE protest in Paramount, California pic.twitter.com/IfBnFqAeam
— Jeremy Lindenfeld (@jeremotographs) June 7, 2025
That is where things were happening but Fox News’ Bill Melugin says ICE was not targeting day laborers. Instead, they had a command post nearby and people started gathering there to protest.
NEW: Per federal sources, despite local claims, there was no ICE “raid” at a Home Depot in LA today. DHS has a nearby office in Paramount that they are using as a staging area. Protesters found it and began gathering. ICE will conduct targeted enforcement around LA today, serving…
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 7, 2025
Whatever it was, some people are happy to see it.
Thank you, ICE, for cleaning house in downtown Los Angeles. America First! We’re winning! 🔥🔥🔥🔥🇺🇸🎉 @ICEgov pic.twitter.com/eNmfrqYcSc
— Trump Girl (@TrumpGirlLove) June 7, 2025
Others not so much.
ICE in Paramount, CA 🧊 pic.twitter.com/DOr8fvos1k
— Wagner Pérez (@WagnerPerez) June 7, 2025
Looks like police were using tear gas.
Oh look…. it’s the left attacking federal agents in Los Angeles.
Where’s all you “J6 was a insurrection” people at? 🤨 pic.twitter.com/lNmDREgRnd
— Phoeni𝕏 2A 🇺🇸 (@Phoenix2A_1980s) June 7, 2025
The mob was out blocking traffic.
BREAKING: Protesters in Paramount, California have vandalized a U.S. Marshals Service bus during fiery demonstrations against immigration raids. pic.twitter.com/cK02O3CYIR
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) June 7, 2025
Meanwhile, some arrests were made, with difficulty.
🚨BREAKING | Border Patrol Activity
Border Patrol presence reported near Lennox Blvd & S Osage Ave, Inglewood. Video shows federal vehicle on scene. Details unclear. #ProtectTheWorld with Citizen pic.twitter.com/cBs8CA3jf9— Citizen (@CitizenApp) June 7, 2025
This creep was throwing rocks at passing ICE vehicles.
JUST IN: Deputy FBI Director Dan Bongino calls for the public to help identify a man throwing rocks at vehicles in Los Angeles where federal agents are conducting raids.
“We are currently seeking information regarding the identity of the person(s) throwing rocks at vehicles… pic.twitter.com/wZFgHMe792
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) June 7, 2025
Police pushed back on the rioters.
BREAKING 🚨: Federal agents are facing off with protestors in Paramount California in ongoing weekend protests.
Local source there says it sounds and looks like a war zone, explosions everywhere.
VC: @IRT_Media pic.twitter.com/XJHc1vYnba
— Anthony (@AnthonyCabassa_) June 7, 2025
Someone set a fire in the street and burned a flag.
Someone started a fire and threw an American flag on it here in Paramount, CA pic.twitter.com/EchJufoQM7
— Matthew Seedorff (@MattSeedorff) June 7, 2025
Some scuffles in the street.
ICE in Paramount 🧊 pic.twitter.com/jH8tDGn0lJ
— Wagner Pérez (@WagnerPerez) June 7, 2025
An overhead view of the police line.
🚨 NOW: ILLEGALS have taken over the streets of Los Angeles and are ASSAULTlNG law enforcement while waving FOREIGN FLAGS
This is the DEFINITION of an invasion.
WE NEED THE MILITARY! pic.twitter.com/d3QnPPjyCk
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) June 7, 2025
A CPB truck getting pelted with stones.
Additional video & images of the aftermath, obtained exclusively by @FoxNews. pic.twitter.com/j5ka6kFgTJ
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) June 7, 2025
As a result of dealing with this chaos, there was a lack of deputies to do all the things they normally do.
BREAKING FROM LASD SOURCE: “Deputies can barely support regular patrol activity in the field right now due to this incident in Paramount. There are about 400 protesters and 30ish Dep’s spread out over a couple square miles in paramount. Super dangerous. The sheriff and the county…
— Cece Woods (@ceceswoods) June 7, 2025
Lots of people, including Stephen Miller, are saying this looks insurrection-y.
On Saturday, Trump administration officials blasted the city’s response to the Friday operations by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, criticizing Los Angeles officials for not helping the federal agents, as well as blaming Democrats for the unrest.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, said on social media on Saturday that the protests on Friday were “an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States.”
So there you have it. Two days of riots and of course Democrats have nothing to say except to badmouth ICE. We could see more of this tomorrow or, as we’ve seen not so long ago, things could get worse tonight after dark.
Update (Ed): Donald Trump has nationalized 2,000 National Guard troops and will deploy them to Los Angeles to protect ICE:
“ … the way it should be solved.”
Gavin Newsom called it “purposefully inflammatory”:
The Democrat’s remarks came after Tom Homan, Trump’s border czar, told Fox News that the administration planned to send National Guard troops to the area.
In a statement, Newsom said Trump was moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers, which the governor said would “only escalate tensions” after protestors confronted immigration agents making raids on local businesses. Trump’s move came without Newsom’s signature, presumably by invoking Title 10, the legal basis for activating and mobilizing the Guard.
Newsom’s response, and that of LA Mayor Karen Bass, are an utter disgrace. The LAPD refused to control the activists that attacked ICE agents performing legitimate enforcement functions. They allowed the situation to get violent by taking almost no action at all, while Bass in particular issued inflammatory statements that only added to the momentum of violence. Trump watched this happen in 2020 and waited for governors to take action, and it ended up defining the election cycle. He’s not waiting around this time, and he shouldn’t. Los Angeles let the 1992 Rodney King riots get out of hand by having the police retreat, so this is a deliberate choice by Newsom and Bass to set the community on fire — and to intimidate ICE into retreating from their law-enforcement responsibilities.
If anyone thinks that the Posse Comitatus Act prevents Trump from ordering the National Guard onto the streets of LA, think again. We covered this almost seven months ago when Trump threatened to use the PCA to round up illegal aliens. The PCA only forbids the military from performing normal police actvities, as the Congressional Research Service reminded everyone in 2018:
Case law indicates that “execution of the law” in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act occurs (a) when the Armed Forces perform tasks assigned to an organ of civil government, or (b) when the Armed Forces perform tasks assigned to them solely for purposes of civilian government. Questions concerning the act’s application arise most often in the context of assistance to civilian police. At least in this context, the courts have held that, absent a recognized exception, the Posse Comitatus Act is violated when (1) civilian law enforcement officials make “direct active use” of military investigators; or (2) the use of the military “pervades the activities” of the civilian officials; or (3) the military is used so as to subject “citizens to the exercise of military power which was regulatory, prescriptive, or compulsory in nature.”
Trump could arguably order the National Guard to conduct immigration raids, since it involves federal law rather than local, and police in Los Angeles won’t do that anyway. But Trump will be on even firmer ground to order the National Guard into the streets to protect ICE agents who are enforcing federal law and coming under attack while police largely stand by and watch. It will only take a few detentions and prosecutions in federal court for assaulting federal law enforcement officers for everyone to get a whiff of the new incentives in play — and if Bass or Newsom are dumb enough to interfere with that process, they may well be next.