President Donald Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act if the violent riots in Los Angeles escalate.
During an Oval Office press briefing on Tuesday, Trump warned that rioters are “paid trouble makers” and “insurrectionists.”
Trump defended his decision to deploy thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of U.S. Marines to Los Angeles.
He describes the city as teetering on the brink of collapse due to violent protests and lawlessness.
Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump said he is prepared to invoke the Insurrection Act if necessary to restore peace and order.
“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it,” Trump said.
“If we didn’t get involved, right now Los Angeles would be burning just like it was burning a number of months ago…
“We are not playing around.”
“If we didn’t send in the National Guard quickly, right now, Los Angeles would be burning to the ground,” Trump told reporters, describing scenes of chaos and destruction that had overtaken parts of the city.
“There are certainly areas of Los Angeles you could have called an insurrection.”
Trump rejected California Governor Gavin Newsom’s objections to the federal deployment and accused the Democrat of failing to maintain basic order.
He also noted that Newsom’s inaction risked turning the situation into a model for violent uprisings across the country.
“This is the first, perhaps, of many,” he warned.
“Or perhaps if we didn’t address this one strongly, you would have them all over the country.
“These are not peaceful protesters.
“These are paid troublemakers, insurrectionists, and agitators.”
The violence, sparked by protests over ICE operations and immigration enforcement, turned parts of Los Angeles into a battlefield.
Trump cited disturbing footage showing individuals using broken pieces of sidewalk to attack law enforcement and military personnel.
They’re smashing the curbs, pulling out chunks of granite and concrete, and handing them out like weapons, Trump said.
Rioters were throwing them from bridges at cars and police.
“They go up on bridges,” Trump said.
“They drop it down on the cars as the cars are moving.
“They’re not breaking the curb because they they’re doing a demolition service.
“They’re breaking it to hand out to people as a weapon.
“That’s bad. That’s bad stuff. I’ve never seen that before.”
WATCH:
Trump’s June 7 executive order references Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 12406, which allows the president to deploy National Guard units in response to a “rebellion or danger of rebellion,” or when local authorities cannot enforce the law.
His administration also cited credible threats of continued violence, giving him legal justification under federal law.
However, the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits the use of federal troops for domestic law enforcement, a restriction the president can bypass only under specific conditions, such as a formal invocation of the Insurrection Act.
The last time this authority was used was in 1992, during the Rodney King riots, also in Los Angeles.
California’s state government filed a lawsuit challenging Trump’s deployment, claiming it violates the 10th Amendment, which reserves certain powers to the states.
The suit also insists there is no rebellion or invasion, as defined by federal law.
Conveniently, California Democrats and their corporate media allies have attempted to downplay the violence by claiming the unrest is “peaceful.”
Trump dismissed the legal challenges and aimed harsh criticism at Governor Newsom, calling him “an incompetent man and an incompetent governor” whose poor leadership was “causing a lot of death.”
He also revealed he had personally phoned Newsom and urged him to “do a better job.”
READ MORE – California Sheriff: Gavin Newsom ‘Encouraged’ LA Riots
