Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., scolded fellow Democrats for refusing to condemn the violent demonstrations in Los Angeles.
Protests began Friday after federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people across the city. On Sunday, crowds blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades.
“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration — but this is not that,” Fetterman posted Monday night on X. “This is anarchy and true chaos.
“My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.”
Another 2,000 National Guard troops, along with 700 Marines, are headed to Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump. An initial 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Trump started arriving Sunday, which saw the most violence during three days of protests driven by anger over stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Trump is putting public safety at risk by adding military personnel.
Additional protests against immigration raids continued into Monday night in several other cities including San Francisco, Santa Ana, California, Dallas, and Austin, Texas.
Trump administration officials defended the use of the military to help protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials doing their jobs.
“The Right to assemble and protest does not include a license to attack law enforcement officers, or to impede and obstruct our lawful immigration operations,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote in a Saturday post on X. “The days of chaos ruling the streets are over. Either obey the law, or go to jail, there’s no third option.”
Fetterman also broke from many members of his party when he recently said the “free Palestine” movement that has emerged in the U.S. after Iranian-backed Hamas’ terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the Israeli military’s response in the Gaza Strip has become a cult “that’s turned homicidal.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story
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