Tag Archives: North Carolina

LA Times: LA police swiftly enforce downtown curfew as protests against Trump’s immigration crackdown continue

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After days of fiery protest against federal immigration raids, Los Angeles residents and officials braced for the arrival of hundreds of U.S. Marines on Tuesday in what some called an unprecedented and potentially explosive deployment of active-duty troops with hazy mission objectives.

As Trump administration officials vowed to crack down on “rioters, looters and thugs,” state local officials decried the mobilization of 700 troops from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, calling it a clear violation of law and civility. L.A. Mayor Karen Bass even likened the deployment to “an experiment” that nobody asked to be a part of.

According to the U.S. Northern Command, which oversees troops based in the United States, the Marines will join “seamlessly” with National Guard troops under “Task Force 51” — the military’s designation of the Los Angeles force

Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot told The Times on Tuesday that the troops are in Los Angeles only to defend federal property and federal personnel and do not have arrest power.

It’s the “defend” part that we’re all afraid of — “defend” to the military means “destroy”.

Marines on streets of L.A. bring peril, questions
After days of fiery protest against federal immigration raids, Los Angeles residents and officials braced for the arrival of hundreds of U.S. Marines on Tuesday in what some called an unprecedented and potentially explosive deployment of active-duty troops with hazy mission objectives. As Trump administration officials vowed to crack down on “riote…

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/marines-on-streets-of-la-bring-peril-questions/ar-AA1Gt3Yk

Daily Mail: ICE prepares full assault on five Democrat cities as LA goes into lockdown amid immigration riots

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Donald Trump is set to deploy ICE tactical units to five Democrat-run cities amid the riots in Los Angeles as Gavin Newsom nearly broke into tears while blaming his administration for inciting the California chaos.

The military-style units are set to storm New York City, Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia and northern Virginia, MSNBC reported. Four of those five are heavily blue cities, while northern Virginia contains the Democrat enclave of Alexandria. 

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‘Look, this isn’t just about protests here in Los Angeles, when Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard. He made that order apply to every state in this nation,’ Newsom said, as he teared up. 

‘This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next. Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes, this moment we have feared has arrived.’

Newsom accused Trump of ‘taking a wrecking ball to our founding fathers’ historic project’ of three co-equal branches of government. 

ICE prepares full assault on five Democrat cities as LA goes into lockdown amid immigration riots

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14800391/ICE-prepares-assault-five-Democrat-cities-LA-goes-lockdown.html

Hegseth asserts Trump can send troops anywhere to protect ICE agents conducting raids

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Pentagon budget official estimated LA troop deployment to cost $134 million.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told lawmakers Tuesday that he and President Donald Trump have the power to send National Guard and active-duty troops anywhere in the country to ensure Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents can enforce the law, an assertion that — if carried out — would open the door to a historic clash between Trump and Democratic governors.

“We believe that ICE, which is a federal law enforcement agency, has the right to safely conduct operations in any state, in any jurisdiction in the country,” Hegseth told the House Appropriations Defense subcommittee.

“ICE ought be able to do its job, whether it’s Minneapolis or Los Angeles,” he added.

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President Donald Trump also opened the door for possible military deployments elsewhere, telling reporters on Tuesday that if protests break out in other states “they will be met with equal or greater force.”

Civil War II is really here. 🙁

Hegseth asserts Trump can send troops anywhere to protect ICE agents conducting raids
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says President Trump has the right to send troops to “any state, in any jurisdiction in the country,”

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/hegseth-testify-capitol-hill-house-dem-calls-marine/story?id=122668997

Bloomberg: Unrestrained Trump Turns to Military in Second-Term Power Play

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President Donald Trump’s moves to deploy US troops to Los Angeles and hold a splashy parade on the Army’s 250th birthday fulfills his longtime goal of leaning on the military for a show of force and political power.

Stymied in his first term by cabinet members who resisted the use of soldiers on American soil, Trump has a more compliant team around him this time. After sending in the National Guard this weekend, he escalated his showdown with California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday by mobilizing 700 active-duty Marines, a decision that Newsom called a “provocation.”

Late Monday, Trump went even further, authorizing an additional 2,000 National Guard members to deploy there, bringing the total to 4,000, not including the Marines.

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David Leopold, a former president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said the presence of the National Guard and Marines was a “shocking” development meant to deliberately spread chaos, confusion and fear. “What we’ve seen is people exercising their First Amendment rights,” Leopold told Bloomberg Television. “That is what these troops are being sent out to suppress.”

Unrestrained Trump Turns to Military in Second-Term Power Play

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-10/unrestrained-trump-turns-to-military-in-second-term-power-play

Also here (no paywall):

Unrestrained Trump Turns to Military in Second-Term Power Play

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/unrestrained-trump-turns-to-military-in-second-term-power-play/ar-AA1Gq3xN

NBC News: Anti-ICE protests held coast to coast after L.A. unrest as national movement grows

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Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

The protests that roiled Los Angeles over the weekend were set to spread Tuesday across the country, as activists planned demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Dallas, Atlanta and elsewhere.

Rallies protesting ICE raids and the government’s immigration policies have spread across California and beyond this week. A series of so-called No Kings demonstrations are planned nationwide for Saturday.

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NBC News counted at least 25 rallies and demonstrations coast to coast. Some of them involved only a few dozen participants, while others attracted thousands to make a stand against the detention and removal of suspected undocumented migrants.

Many protesters across the country were trade unionists calling for the release of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was arrested on Friday.

Bimbo #2 is still too dense to get the message:

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem signaled on Tuesday that she would continue the agency’s program of raids and deportations despite the widespread protests.

“ICE will continue to enforce the law,” [Bimbo #2] Noem said.

It’s only just begun! 🙂

Anti-ICE protests held coast to coast after L.A. unrest as national movement grows
Activists plan more events Tuesday in New York, Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/anti-ice-protests-held-coast-coast-l-unrest-national-movement-grows-rcna211980

Associated Press: Immigration official defends tactics against criticism of a heavy hand as arrests rise nationwide

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Todd Lyons, ICE’s acting director, turned emotional when asked to explain why officials wear masks. He said some have received death threats and been harassed online.

“I’m sorry if people are offended by them wearing masks, but I’m not going to let my officers and agents go out there and put their lives on the line, their family on the line because people don’t like what immigration enforcement is,” he said at a news conference in Boston to announce nearly 1,500 arrests in the region as part of a month-long “surge operation.”

Lyons was leaving the room when a reporter asked him about the masks. He returned to the podium.

“Is that the issue here that we’re just upset about the masks?” he asked. “Or is anyone upset about the fact that ICE officers’ families were labeled terrorists?”

Lyons may have been referring to comments by San Diego Councilman Sean Elo-Rivera, who called ICE officers “terrorists” after Friday’s restaurant raid. “This isn’t safety. It’s state-sponsored terrorism,” Elo-Rivera wrote on Instagram.

Gestapo? Terrorists? Thugs? ICE is receiving the reputation it has earned. And I could care less if the poor bully boys are harassed, either online or in public — they’ve earned it.

Immigration official defends tactics against criticism of a heavy hand as arrests rise nationwide
The head of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is defending himself against criticism that authorities are being too heavy-handed as they ramp up arrests toward President Donald Trump’s promises of mass deportations.

https://apnews.com/article/ice-agents-masked-boston-deportations-todd-lyons-4fa874908a64b12f1b1ee0be3825fb39

Atlanta Black Star News: ‘This Is So Targeted and Intentional’: New U.S. Military Grooming Policy Is ‘Racist,’ Singles Out Black Servicemembers, Critics Say

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Several branches of the United States military have changed their policies governing pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a painful skin condition more commonly known as razor bumps or ingrown hairs, which affects more Black men than any other group.

Now critics accuse the military of targeting Black men with the condition, even as past studies have shown those with medical waivers allowing them to have short beards were already lagging behind in promotions compared to their non-waivered counterparts.

In March, the U.S. Marine Corps issued new guidance on its shaving waivers that could result in the expulsion of service members with a recurring condition of PFB. The Air Force and Space Force also updated their guidance on grooming waivers in January.

Pete Hegseth’s military: Women and minorities need no apply. Screw ya!

‘This Is So Targeted and Intentional’: New U.S. Military Grooming Policy Is ‘Racist,’ Singles Out Black Servicemembers, Critics Say
Several branches of the United States military have changed their policies governing pseudofolliculitis barbae, or PFB, a painful skin condition more
‘This Is So Targeted and Intentional’: New U.S. Military Grooming Policy Is ‘Racist,’ Singles Out Black Servicemembers, Critics Say

Alternet: Trump to western North Carolina: ‘Drop dead’ | Opinion

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Sometimes, it’s hard to keep track of the wild policy swings that are the signatures of the second Trump administration. From tariffs and trade to Russia and Ukraine, it often takes just hours for supposedly strong policy stances to be contradicted or abandoned by the president or his aides.

And now, this chaotic pattern is directly impacting North Carolina.

Both last fall and this past January, Trump blasted the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene and made bold promises that he would rebuild storm-ravaged areas better than ever.

Unfortunately, that was then and this is now. This fact was made clear last week when the administration abruptly turned off the federal funding spigot by rejecting Gov. Josh Stein’ request to continue providing matching funds for the state’s Helene recovery appropriations.

The decision leaves the state on the hook for $200 million or more in additional expenses for debris cleanup and other emergency work.

The bottom line: Once again, the president has said one thing and done another, and sadly, North Carolinians will pay the price.

Trump to western North Carolina: ‘Drop dead’ | Opinion

https://www.alternet.org/trump-hurricane-relief-2672228371

Rolling Stone: Trump’s FEMA Denies North Carolina’s Request for Hurricane Helene Aid

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The president repeatedly bashed the Biden administration’s response to the disaster

Late in the 2024 campaign cycle, parts of western North Carolina were devastated by Hurricane Helene. Donald Trump accused former President Joe Biden of abandoning the region and mishandling the response to the crisis. The disaster in North Carolina became the jumping point for a myriad of conspiracies and attacks by Republicans against the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FAMA). Trump vowed he would improve disaster responses as president. 

That was then.

This is now:

Now, four months into his administration North Carolina Governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, has become the latest lawmaker from a disaster-ravaged state who has been forced to beg the president to provide much-needed aid. 

On Friday, Stein published a video on social media informing the public that the Trump administration had denied the state’s request for FEMA to honor a Biden-era commitment to pay for 100 percent of debris removal costs. 

I guess King Donald changed his mind.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/fema-denies-north-carolina-request-hurricane-helene-aid-1235347521

Raw Story: Trump’s FEMA thumbs nose at state that backed him 3 times: ‘Gonna cost a lot’

Under President Donald Trump, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has turned down a request from a storm-ravaged state that narrowly voted for him three times.

Western North Carolina saw massive devastation last year from Hurricane Helene, which killed over 100 people and left the city of Asheville, along with a number of small communities in the Appalachian Mountains, struggling to pick up the pieces after flooding in areas that had hardly ever seen floods before. At the time, Trump supporters spread baseless conspiracy theories that the federal government was ignoring communities there, or only giving aid to Democratic areas, and Trump himself vowed to improve emergency management.

According to Rolling Stone, however, Trump’s administration is now denying an extension of a commitment to pay the full amount for a vital portion of the recovery process.

See above for the Rolling Stone article.

https://www.rawstory.com/fema-north-carolina

USA Today: ‘We have to try lifting ourselves’: USAID workers fired months ago are still scrambling for jobs

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They were among the first of the federal employees to lose their jobs, and months later, laid off workers for the U.S. Agency for International Development are still struggling to regain their footing.

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Roughly 95% said they had lost savings and retirement funds, 60% lost access to health care, and 37% have already lost their housing. Many said they will have trouble paying their bills in the coming months. 

‘We have to try lifting ourselves’: USAID workers fired months ago are still scrambling for jobs
USAID’s former workers are used to helping people and projects around the world – but now they’re turning inward to support each other.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/05/19/usaid-workers-next-job/83332416007