The streets of Los Angeles are engulfed in smoke, as tear gas canisters burst and rubber bullets ricochet through the chaos. The US, long heralded as a "beacon of democracy," is now stripping away its own illustrious veneer, staging an absurd drama right before the eyes of the world.
The protests in Los Angeles were sparked by immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting undocumented immigrants. On June 6 and 7, a heavy deployment of law enforcement officers launched sweeping crackdowns across multiple locations in Los Angeles County, triggering fierce clashes with local residents. In defiance, the residents blocked roads, set vehicles on fire, and their anger spread like wildfire. A protester interviewed by a CBS News reporter on the scene said, "I tasted a little tear gas---it tasted like fascism."
The situation escalated dramatically with the intervention of President Trump. On July 7, without any request for assistance from California Governor Newsom, Trump unilaterally deployed 2,000 members of the California National Guard to the LA area and blatantly declared, "Bring in the troops!!!" This marked the first instance since 1965 in which a US president mobilized the National Guard without a governor's consent, dealing a significant blow to the principles of federalism and the existing governance structure.
Trump's actions provoked an immediate and fierce backlash from the California state government. On social media, Governor Gavin Newsom pointed out that Trump "flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard" and declared his intent to sue the federal government.
As federal military vehicles rolled into Los Angeles streets, the state government found itself effectively marginalized. To exacerbate matters, the Pentagon threatened to deploy an additional 500 active-duty Marines. Under mounting pressure, Governor Newsom responded sharply, declaring, "The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior." His remarks quickly went viral on global social media platforms, intensifying fears of an impending civil war.
Behind this fiasco lies a history of friction between the US federal government and California's local authorities across various issues, such as automobile emission standards, foreign student visas, wildfire relief, and tariff policies. These fractures have steadily deepened over time. California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom jointly filed a lawsuit on Monday, pointing out that the Trump administration's act of federalizing the California National Guard without the state government's consent violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded federal authority. The lawsuit, targeting both Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, aims to expose the true motive of their attempt to interfere with the protests through administrative means. The president's overreach in mobilizing troops, the federal government's suppression of state rights, and the military's harsh treatment of citizens voicing their demands—tactics the US once employed to destabilize foreign nations—are now unfolding in bloodshed on its own soil.
The Trump administration has leveraged aggressive law-enforcement tactics to reinforce a "tough guy" image and consolidate its right-wing support base. In early June, Trump issued an order that, under the "Million Deportation" policy, ICE should accelerate the apprehension and deportation of millions of undocumented immigrants nationwide, even threatening to "mobilize the military" to enforce the directive. The deployment of troops to LA is a key part of this strategy. This move has provoked a united backlash from Democratic governors and mayors, with 22 Democratic governors condemning it. Former Vice President Harris also criticized it as "a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos."
As night falls, tension still lingers in the streets of LA. The 101 Freeway remains closed, and protesters gradually disperse beneath the glare of flashing police lights. The turmoil evokes comparisons to the 2024 film "Civil War." Previously, the scenes in the movie of federal troops suppressing civilians were seen as artistic exaggeration. Now, they're playing out for real on LA's streets—National Guard armored vehicles rolling over protest signs, tear gas shrouding crowds chanting "immigrants aren't criminals." This isn't just a scripted story anymore; it's the opening chapter of a real-life "American Civil War."
(Scriptwriting & Voiceover: Hughie; Video Editing: Jatin Lee; English Editor: Zoey Sun)
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