NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: The House Oversight Committee is now probing the riots in Los Angeles and California officials’ handling of them, Fox News Digital is learning first.
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., and Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., who chairs the subcommittee on law enforcement, sent letters to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday.
“The rioters in Los Angeles have committed vicious acts of violence and fearmongering directed at law enforcement and others. They set fire to vehicles and property around the city, and assaulted officers with deadly weapons such as rocks and Molotov cocktails,” Comer wrote to the DOJ.
“Assaults on law enforcement officers legally executing their orders are reprehensible and those responsible must be dealt with in accordance with the severity of their actions.”
TRUMP’S ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL’ CRACKS DOWN ON BIDEN’S STUDENT LOAN ‘SCHEME,’ TOP REPUBLICAN SAYS
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is launching a probe into the Los Angeles riots. (Getty Images)
Comer wrote similar letters to Newsom and Bass, accusing them of having “protested President Trump’s action to quell the violence caused by the rioters in Los Angeles, even resorting to falsely blaming him for the actions of violent rioters.”
“You have championed California’s sanctuary policies, which prevent local law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. You have also made it clear that you intend to block the objectives of the federal government, and defend aliens, regardless of their immigration status, criminal activity, anti-American views, or incitement to riot,” the Oversight Committee letter said.
GOP investigators are requesting documentation of any communications between Bass and Newsom regarding the protests, as well as their communications with state, local and federal law enforcement.
NONCITIZEN LA RIOTERS COULD BE DEPORTED UNDER NEW HOUSE BILL
The U.S. National Guard is deployed around downtown Los Angeles on June 8, 2025 following an immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Comer is also requesting a staff-level briefing on the demonstrations.
Days of rioting erupted in Los Angeles after Immigrations and Customs Enforcement raids resulted in over 100 suspected illegal immigrants being arrested last weekend.
President Donald Trump sent the National Guard into Los Angeles over Newsom’s objections. Democrats have accused Trump of needlessly escalating the situation, while the president’s GOP allies argued it was a necessary step to quell the violence.
Comer said law enforcement “were forced to fire pepper spray to disperse crowds and made dozens of arrests,” blaming the escalation on the rioters.
A federal judge ruled Thursday that Trump must return control of the California National Guard to Newsom, but an appeals court quickly reversed that decision.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
The demonstrations in Los Angeles, while severe, are not isolated – activists across the country have sprung up to protest the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.
Fox News Digital reached out to Bass, Newsom and the DOJ for comment.
