The latest L.A. riots came after ICE began enforcing immigration law and rounding up illegals in downtown Los Angeles, and the New York Times is desperately trying to downplay the radical and violent nature of the so-called protests by calling them “largely peaceful” (i.e., somewhat violent, as a trove of photos from Los Angeles prove).
A representative piece is “What to Know About the Immigration Protests in Los Angeles,” with this subhead attached: “Demonstrations against the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration have been largely peaceful, but tensions flared after President Trump ordered National Guard troops to deploy to the city.”
The story is wrong right from the subhead. Riots were already ongoing, with stones hurled at cop cars, while the National Guard troops were sent to protect the Los Angeles Federal Building, which came under siege Friday by protesters.
The byline was shared by breaking news reporters Yan Zhuang, Anushka Patil, and Remy Tumin, who used that ridiculous phrase “largely peaceful” three more times in their actual report (was “mostly peaceful” still taken by CNN, after the last round of national rioting five years ago?).
That defensive description held even as the story documented many violent acts:
The protests have been largely peaceful but have flared up in pockets of downtown Los Angeles and in nearby suburbs, as well as in San Francisco.
Demonstrations on Sunday afternoon near a downtown detention center were largely peaceful, but some protesters fired fireworks at police officers under a bridge on the nearby U.S. 101 freeway. Several driverless Waymo cars were set on fire in downtown Los Angeles.
Mr. Trump described the largely peaceful demonstrators as “insurrectionist mobs” on social media on Sunday, and said Los Angeles had been “invaded and occupied.”
As a bonus, the Times also reported:
California’s Democratic leaders have blasted Mr. Trump’s order to deploy the National Guard as unnecessary and an inappropriate use of power, while urging protesters to remain peaceful.
Too late!
A “news analysis” by White House correspondent Tyler Pager, “Trump Jumps at the Chance for a Confrontation in California Over Immigration,” took a petulant attitude toward Trump allies sharing accurate examples of violence.
On social media, Mr. Trump, his aides and allies have sought to frame the demonstrations against immigration officials on their own terms. They have shared images and videos of the most violent episodes -- focusing particularly on examples of protesters lashing out at federal agents -- even as many remained peaceful. Officials also zeroed in on demonstrators waving flags of other countries, including Mexico and El Salvador, as evidence of a foreign invasion.
The Times even excused the puzzling and hypocritical scenes of rioters waving the flag of the very Mexican homeland they presumably abandoned, apparently angry that their Americans hosts want them to return to that wonderful place, in “The Mexican Flag Has Become a Potent Protest Symbol.” The lead: “Trump officials have cast demonstrators waving the Mexican flag as insurrectionists, but for many protesters who are Mexican American, the flag represents pride in their heritage.” But not proud enough to stay there.