Tag Archives: President Donald Trump

Rolling Stone: ‘L.A. Was Not on Fire’: Angelenos Speak on Trump’s ICE Raids and ‘Escalation’

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Several Angelenos talked to Rolling Stone to dispel Trump’s bluster about the recent protests against ICE and his militarized crackdown

Last week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers swarmed Southern California in concentrated raids of undocumented citizens that are still ongoing. Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Los Angeles (and in solidarity nationwide), giving President Donald Trump an excuse to send National Guard troops last weekend and move to deploy Marines to L.A.. 

Trump baselessly implied the protesters are “paid insurrectionists” during a press conference where he revealed he told California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that “He’s doing a bad job, causing a lot of death and a lot of potential death. If we didn’t send out the National Guard – and last time, we gave him a little additional help – Los Angeles would be burning right now.” (No one has died during the L.A. protests.) 

Newsom has said the “chaotic” sweeps “to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel,” and that, “Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy.” On June 10, L.A. Mayor Karen Bass (D) instituted an 8 p.m. curfew in downtown L.A. 

Rolling Stone spoke with several on-the-ground Angelenos, who dispute the notion that L.A.’s “on fire” or being overrun by vandals. 

Katharine Shropshire is the board chair of the grassroots organization Community Coalition. She says the Trump administration and allied politicians are spewing propaganda that inflames tension between citizens and law enforcement. 

“When you have federal national leaders from this administration talking about arresting our mayor, arresting our governor, when you have the president himself using the kind of rhetoric describing a reality that is nothing like what is happening on the ground right now, it just increases the tension,” she says. “Nothing here that they’re doing is about de-escalation. It is all about escalating a confrontation with the people of Los Angeles.”

‘L.A. Was Not on Fire’: Angelenos Speak on Trump’s ICE Raids and ‘Escalation’
Angelenos dispute Donald Trump’s claim that L.A. “would be burning down,” amid anti-ICE protests, if he didn’t send in the National Guard.

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/los-angeles-not-on-fire-trump-ice-protests-national-guard-1235363990

Raw Story: Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem called out over her ‘disturbing’ comments as Padilla was cuffed

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The day after Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) was manhandled by homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s security team before being forced to the ground and being handcuffed, MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin called out the Donald Trump appointee for her actions and comments as the lawmaker was dragged out.

Speaking with host Ana Cabrera, Rubin expressed her own disgust at the men who grabbed the lawmaker before taking aim at [Bimbo #2] Noem for continuing on as if nothing happened.

After watching footage of the incident, Rubin said she focused on what Noem complained about as the altercation took place.

Pointing out that Padilla “was escorted into that room DHS and an FBI agent flanking him, so clearly, somebody in the Department of Homeland Security was well aware that Alex Padilla was not only in the building, but in the room.”

“The idea that Alex Padilla was an attacker and was not recognized by people affiliated with Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem, or that Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem herself didn’t recognize Alex Padilla and stop herself to say, ‘Well, wait a second, that’s California’s senior senator, Alex Padilla, but instead continues on her way as he’s being escorted from the room and then pushed to the ground and handcuffed – that is an incredibly disturbing moment.”

“I don’t know if you could hear this,” she told Cabrera, “But as Kristi [Bimbo #2] Noem is continuing at her press conference, she’s talking about the danger of DHS agents being doxxed. I imagine that she was talking about the reasons for their wearing masks on the streets of Los Angeles and other places.”

“The idea that her concern was, in that moment, more about DHS agents being doxed while a sitting U.S. senator is being forcibly removed for nothing disruptive is chilling to the bone,” she remarked. “I saw that yesterday. I thought that I was incapable of more hyperbole, and I just don’t know where to muster it from anymore.”

What do you expect from a psychotic liar who shot her own family’s puppy and goat? All she cares about are herself and her Rollex. U.S. Senators being abused and brown people being disappeared are of no consequence to her.

Kristi Noem called out over her ‘disturbing’ comments as Padilla was cuffed

https://www.rawstory.com/noem-2672365076

Tampa Free Press: Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies

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As nationwide “No Kings” protests prepare to challenge President Donald Trump’s administration this Saturday, coinciding with a military parade and Flag Day, Florida officials are drawing a firm line against violence and the doxing of law enforcement, promising a stark contrast to recent unrest seen elsewhere.

Acting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons voiced grave concerns on a Friday podcast, fearing his agents could face violent attacks from “agitators” and “anarchists” who he believes will exploit the planned demonstrations.

“This is the perfect catalyst to jump on that,” Lyons warned on “VINCE,” expressing worry that “negative energy” fueled by anti-ICE rhetoric could be directed at his agents, potentially leading to fatalities.

“They’re going to get somebody killed, right? It’s only a matter of time because, even with throwing a rock or a Molotov cocktail, you can still kill somebody, right?” Lyons said. “And it’s just this fired up rhetoric that’s going viral.”

Who the hell cares? The problem is your ill-disciplined, ill-trained Gestapo thugs running around with masks, guns, and badges, as they snatch brown people off the streets and disappear them. Frankly I could care less what happens to your Gestapo Schweinen.

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies
As nationwide “No Kings” protests prepare to challenge President Donald Trump’s administration this Saturday, coinciding with a military parade and Flag Day,
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons Sounds Alarm: ICE Agents At Risk During “No Kings” Rallies

Washington Post: ‘No Kings’ protests nationwide to push back on Trump’s ‘overreach’

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In the hours before tanks barrel down the streets of Washington for President Donald Trump’s grand military parade Saturday, thousands of Americans will gather across the country in defiance of what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.

The organized day of protests in over 2,000 cities — dubbed “No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance” — comes after a week of unrest and anger in Los Angeles and other cities following immigration raids in the L.A. area and the Trump administration’s move to federalize the National Guard and dispatch Marines to California.

No Kings organizer Ezra Levin said that interest has “skyrocketed” since those protests began — with individuals in 200 more cities signing up to host No Kings events just this week. He said more people are now expected to turn out than the estimated 3.5 million who participated in a similar nationwide day of action in April.

“We’re no longer talking to folks who are just paying attention to politics,” said Levin, the co-founder of the liberal advocacy group Indivisible. “People are seeing this overreach by Trump and saying, ‘I don’t like that — what can I do?’”

Images of immigrants being swept up at moments in their daily lives — at car washes and Home Depots, to name just two places — seem to have struck a chord with a wider swath of the public than was previously engaged, observers say, though the concept of deporting those in the country illegally still has broad support.

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‘No Kings’ protests nationwide to push back on Trump’s ‘overreach’
On the same day as the president’s military parade in D.C., thousands of people are expected to protest what they call his dangerous brand of authoritarianism.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/06/13/no-kings-protest-anti-trump-army-parade

Find Your Local “No Kings Nationwide Day of Defiance” Demonstration, Saturday, June 14

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No Kings
On June 14—Flag Day—Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday. A spectacle meant to look like strength. But real power isn’t staged in Washington. It rises up everywhere else.

https://www.nokings.org

‘No Kings’ protest locations: See where demonstrations are planned
What to know if there’s a planned “No Kings” protest in your city on June 14? This map charts all the locations.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/06/13/no-kings-protest-locations-june-14/84185581007

New York Magazine: Playing Secretary — Could These Be Pete Hegseth’s Last Days in the Pentagon?

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As war looms, Pete Hegseth’s Pentagon is beset by infighting over leaks, drugs, and socks. How long will Trump stand by his man?

In the drama of Hegseth’s January confirmation hearings, it was easy to get distracted by the financial settlement for an assault allegation, by the multitudinous accounts of heavy drinking on the job, by claims of misogyny from both his mother and his sister-in-law, by the fact that Hegseth, while married with three small children, had fathered a child with a Fox News producer who was also married with small children, during which pregnancy he had slept with the woman who later accused him of assault, and thereby miss some straightforward information about his managerial experience.

Pete Hegseth had run a nonprofit called Veterans for Freedom for several years, an organization that employed fewer than 20 people, and resigned after alleged financial mismanagement nearly bankrupted the organization. He had run a group called Concerned Veterans for America, which employed around 160 people, and resigned amid allegations of misconduct and, once again, financial mismanagement.

In choosing Hegseth, Donald Trump did not choose from the large set of people who had never managed an organization, or the considerably smaller set of people who had managed an organization without incident, but from a smaller still set of people who had managed multiple bureaucracies and resigned multiple times under complex circumstances.

It’s a good read but a bit long. Click the link below to read the entire article:

Could These Be Pete Hegseth’s Last Days in the Pentagon?
archived 13 Jun 2025 19:07:18 UTC

https://archive.is/xG4FF#selection-1205.0-1209.128

Newsweek: Texas’ largest newspaper trashes Greg Abbott protest move: ‘Expect better’

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The Houston Chronicle, Texas’s top selling newspaper, has published an editorial fiercely critical of Governor Greg Abbott over his rhetoric and decision to deploy Texas National Guard troops in response to protests against immigration enforcement, saying “we expect better of him.”

On Tuesday, Abbott announced the deployment of Texas National Guard soldiers. The following day on X he said “5,000+” National Guard personnel would help manage protests in the state adding: “Don’t mess with Texas.”

The move came after days of unrest in Los Angeles which began on June 6 when demonstrators clashed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents attempting to conduct raids in the city. The following days saw more violent disorder with Waymo self-driving vehicles set on fire and rocks thrown at police who responded with tear gas and other “less lethal” weapons.

…

In its editorial, the Houston Chronicle said Abbott’s decision to deploy National Guard troops following protests “seems like an overreaction,” adding: “But there was no serious indication Tuesday that Texas was on the verge of exploding. No burning cars. No looting. No mayors imposing curfews.”

Instead the editorial claimed the “most significant provocation to violence seemed to come from Abbott himself, citing the governor’s warning that “Peaceful protesting is legal. But once you cross the line, you will be arrested. FAFO.” FAFO is an acronym for ‘F*** around find out.’

The editorial described this as “the kind of thing that middle schoolers say before a fistfight” adding: “This isn’t the grown-up leadership that Texas needs.”

Greg Abbott is just another sycophant sucking up to King Donald.

Texas’ largest newspaper trashes Greg Abbott protest move: ‘Expect better’
Anti-Trump protests are expected across Texas on Saturday as part of the “No Kings” movement.

https://www.newsweek.com/texas-largest-newspaper-trashes-greg-abbott-protest-move-expect-better-2085043

Newsweek: Woman detained on honeymoon faces deportation despite being stateless

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Ward Sakeik, a 22-year-old who recently married a U.S. citizen, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in February after returning from her honeymoon, and her husband fears she may soon be deported.

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ICE detained Sakeik in February as she and her husband, Taahir Shaikh, returned from their honeymoon to the U.S. Virgin Islands. The couple got married in January.

Shaikh told reporters that his wife may be deported to an unknown location soon. The ICE detainee database showed that as of Friday, she was still being held at the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas.

However, a spokesperson for the Council on American–Islamic Relations (CAIR) told Newsweek that she was being detained in the Prairieland Detention Center in Alvarado, Texas.

Sakeik, who is of Palestinian descent, was born in Saudi Arabia but holds no citizenship there. Her husband said she was unable to obtain Saudi citizenship.

“She’s stateless, she doesn’t hold citizenship in any part of this world,” he told WFAA.

Sakeik first came to the United States when she was 8 years old. Her husband said her family applied for asylum but a judge signed a removal order. She was later given legal permission to work in the country, he said.

She was in the process of obtaining her green card and had attended all the mandatory immigration appointments, with one slated for July prior to her detention, her husband said.

In December 2023, Sakeik graduated from the University of Texas at Arlington, where she obtained a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism, her LinkedIn page said. She has been working as a wedding photographer for more than five years.

On Thursday, the North Texas chapter of CAIR held a news conference on the matter, saying in a media advisory, “Despite a pending green-card application, a lawful marriage to a U.S. citizen, and a spotless compliance record for the past 15 years, ICE has notified Sakeik’s legal counsel that Sakeik could be removed as early as tonight—but will not disclose the destination country. Sakeik’s husband fears she could be sent to a country that she has no birth or national ties to, after being given a life to live here for 15 years.”

Woman detained on honeymoon faces deportation despite being stateless
Ward Sakeik has been detained for four months and now faces deportation to an unknown location, her husband says.

https://www.newsweek.com/stateless-woman-detained-honeymoon-faces-deportation-2085161

Bloomberg: Trump Administration Orders 500,000 Immigrants to Leave US

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Immigrants admitted to the US from a Biden-era parole program for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have begun receiving notices of termination urging them to depart the US.

Participants in the “CHNV” parole program were also told that their employment authorization is revoked effective immediately in email messages from the Department of Homeland Security, the agency said Thursday.

The notices follow a US Supreme Court decision last month allowing DHS to move forward with revocation of parole benefits for half a million immigrants after a lower court preserved the protections. A legal challenge to the Trump administration’s dismantling of parole programs including the CHNV process is still ongoing.

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Krish O’Mara Vignarajah, president and CEO of Global Refuge, said the immigrants receiving termination notices this week had played by the rules and already passed security screenings and secured legal work authorization.

“Instead of rewarding responsible migration through orderly legal pathways, this action punishes those who jumped through every hoop asked of them,” she said in a statement.

…

“Instead of rewarding responsible migration through orderly legal pathways, this action punishes those who jumped through every hoop asked of them,” she said in a statement.

“There is no question that the Trump administration is needlessly and flagrantly flouting U.S. law, and we will continue to fight in the courts to ensure justice for our communities,” she said in a statement.

This is unconscionable! The Trump regime is manufacturing illegal immigrants and thriving on the misery of thousands.

Trump Administration Orders 500,000 Immigrants to Leave US

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-06-12/dhs-tells-half-a-million-immigrant-parolees-to-leave-country

Also here:

Trump Administration Orders 500,000 Immigrants to Leave US
Immigrants admitted to the US from a Biden-era parole program for Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua, and Venezuela have begun receiving notices of termination urging them to depart the US.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/trump-administration-orders-500-000-immigrants-to-leave-us/ar-AA1GBBn8

Newsweek: LA Taco chain closes 15 locations amid ICE crackdown

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In a message shared Thursday night on Instagram, Angel’s Tijuana Tacos announced that its Anaheim restaurant will remain open, while its other 15 locations—primarily taco trucks and stands—are closed until further notice.

Though the statement did not explicitly cite U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity as the reason for the closures, the post appeared to reference ongoing enforcement actions across Southern California.

They probably don’t want to expose their staff and customers to abusive ICE thugs grabbing anyone who looks brown. Meanwhile, employees at 15 locations are out of work.

LA Taco chain closes 15 locations amid ICE crackdown
Angel’s Tijuana Tacos said its Anaheim restaurant will remain open, while its other 15 locations are closed until further notice.

https://www.newsweek.com/los-angeles-taco-chain-closed-ice-crackdown-2085076