Democratic Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles told CNN hosts Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown on Monday that the National Guard was not needed to address riots in Los Angeles as video of rioters setting fires aired while she spoke.
President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard to deploy to Los Angeles on Saturday following a raid by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Home Depot. Bass accused Trump of needlessly escalating tensions with the order to send in the National Guard as the footage of her city burning rolled on the screen next to her.
“I don’t think the National Guard is needed now. Things in L.A. are calm,” Bass claimed as video showed one fire breaking out as police marched down a street. “I will tell you that I’m saddened by the extent of the vandalism in the form of graffiti all through the downtown area, but it is important for people to know that even in downtown, this is related to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest taking place in Los Angeles.”
WATCH:
Video posted to social media Saturday showed an individual wearing a motorcycle helmet throwing rocks at the windshields of vehicles containing ICE agents with the FBI offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to that person’s arrest.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin posted video showing ICE agents in one of the vehicles being hit with rocks. Melugin posted additional video and photos of the aftermath, including a photo of an injury suffered by one ICE agent while the video showed a windshield with significant damage after a rioter threw a rock at it.
During a Sunday press conference, Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McConnell outlined how his officers were being attacked, ABC7.com reported.
“Tonight we had individuals out there shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers that can kill you,” McDonnell said.
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