The White House slammed protests in Los Angeles on Saturday after some residents expressed outrage over raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Stephen Miller, White House deputy chief of staff, described demonstrations at the city’s federal building as an “insurrection.”
“An insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States,” Miller wrote in a Saturday post online.
He doubled down on his claims in an X post later Saturday, writing, “This is a violent insurrection.”
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin said more than 800 protesters gathered to challenge the arrest of dozens of individuals by “assaulting ICE enforcement officers, slashing tires, defacing buildings” on Friday.
Demonstrations continued near the sites of raids on Saturday, with authorities also conducting a raid in the nearby Paramount.
McLaughlin said Los Angeles Police did not respond to the incident on Friday.
“A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. @ICEgov will continue to enforce the law,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote on the social media platform X Saturday.
“And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” she added.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also took a hit at the protestors.
“Very proud of the bravery and courage of @DHSgov and @ICEgov as they enforce the law and make our country safer. Blessed to live in a nation where we have strong leaders who won’t back down,” he wrote on X, in response to Noem’s post.
McLaughlin said there’s been an uptick in assault on law enforcement officers across the country.
“Our ICE enforcement officers are facing a 413% increase in assaults against them. And we have seen, in recent days, their family members being doxxed and targeted, as well,” she wrote on Saturday.
“Make no mistake, politicians like @RepJeffries, @AOC, and @Tim_Walz are contributing to the assaults of our officers through vilification and demonization—calling ICE the modern day Nazi gestapo and calling for their doxxing,” she added.
Some California Democrats said the arrests were illegal and condemned the detainment led by Trump administration officials as an “abuse of power.”
They said they were denied access to the ICE facility where immigrants were being held amid concerns about the welfare of detainees.
“That’s not a misunderstanding—it’s a violation of federal law,” Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) wrote in a Saturday post on X.
“I’m demanding @Sec_Noem launch an immediate investigation. If her agency won’t follow the law, she needs to answer for it,” he added.
Updated at 7:26 p.m. EDT.
