The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reported this weekend that a crowd of 1,000 protesters “became increasingly agitated, throwing objects and exhibiting violent behavior toward federal agents and deputy sheriffs.” That sounds like a precarious situation. Perhaps local authorities could have handled the unrest without President Donald Trump calling up the California National Guard; perhaps not. But let’s not forget the underlying causes of the problem.

On Sunday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN, “If immigration raids had not happened here, we would not have the disorder that went on last night.” The argument, then, is that the mere presence of federal agents enforcing existing law in Los Angeles sparked civil unrest and violence. Indeed, this is one of the Democrats’ central arguments. 

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If, as the mayor of Los Angeles contends, federal immigration laws can’t be upheld in the city without rioting, and Bass has admitted to coordinating with anti-deportation groups to undermine federal authorities, the president seems justified in sending in the National Guard to protect federal agents. Enforcing the law is a provocation in California.

However much it chafes leftist sensibilities, Immigration and Customs Enforcement has a legitimate charge to arrest and deport illegal immigrants. This is not some fascist power grab concocted by the president. If you believe the federal government is overstepping its power, there are legal and democratic remedies. Feel free to protest if you like. Setting a car on fire and blocking the ability of others to move about the city are not protected speech under the First Amendment. Let’s not forget how quickly the Black Lives Matter riots, which triggered more damage than any riot in American history, spread.

In any event, subsequent statements by California politicians do nothing to dissuade us from the notion that ICE agents aren’t safe in the state. “Don’t give Trump what he wants. Stay calm. Stay peaceful,” Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) warned.

Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) posted, “Los Angeles — violence is never the answer. Assaulting law enforcement is never ok. Indeed, doing so plays directly into the hands of those who seek to antagonize and weaponize the situation for their own gain. Don’t let them succeed.”

This is such a perverse, partisan virtue signal. After all, would rioting be OK if Trump didn’t want it to happen? These statements implicitly justify the idea that the presence of federal agents or National Guardsmen gives Californians a reason to turn violent. It’s not Trump’s fault if a person picks up a brick and throws it through a car window. That’s a choice. These rioters aren’t burning cars because the government is seizing their inalienable rights. They do it because the government is upholding laws they disagree with. 

Then again, those who engage in left-wing violence — whether they happen to be antifa, pro-Palestinians, anti-capitalists, Black Lives Matter, or average angry anti-Republicans — are given special dispensation by the Left. This weekend’s Los Angeles rioters were no different.

Well, that’s if they admit the violence is real. 

We’re often assured the clips of burning and vandalism we see are figments of our imaginations. Brian Stelter of CNN, for example, said all his Los Angeles friends texted him this weekend to assure him that “99.9% of LA is going about their Sunday normally.” And, granted, 99.9% is quite a large number. Then again, the same thing could be said about virtually any major event in history. I’m sure when a few hundred racist tiki torchers descended on Charlottesville, local Virginians went on with their day as if nothing special was happening. And 99.9% of D.C.-area residents were likely unaffected by the mostly peaceful Jan. 6 riot. Yet CNN found both of the events important enough to cover nonstop.

Recall that the phrase “mostly peaceful” was first hatched during a 2020 Black Lives Matter “protest” in Kenosha, Wisconsin. While the CNN chyron read “Fiery But Mostly Peaceful Protests After Police Shooting,” viewers could see a building burning in the background. Then, as now, the point was to disinform an audience. In this case, to help create the impression that the deployment of the National Guard was an overreaction by an unhinged president. 

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You want to debate whether Trump should have called in the California National Guard to quell the riots in Los Angeles without consent from the governor? Fine. I’m not crazy about military policing of civilians myself. What the Left is now doing is rationalizing and downplaying political violence. Again.