Trump allies hit out as media call LA riots ‘an immigration protest'

Telegraph

4 hours ago

The US media has come under fire from allies of Donald Trump for referring to the violent unrest on the streets of Los Angeles as 'protests'.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that the US president had ordered the National Guard to the city to 'quell immigration protests'.
Lauren Boebert, a Republican congresswoman, then wrote on X: 'To the media reporting on the situation in Los Angeles. The word you're looking for is 'insurrection'.
'Not protests. Definitely not 'mostly peaceful protests'. Insurrection!'
JD Vance, the US vice-president, said 'insurrectionists' were responsible for the violence, adding: 'For the far-Left rioters, some helpful advice: peaceful protest is good. Rioting and obstructing justice is not.'
The clashes in LA on Saturday were described as protests by CBS, ABC and CNN. Fox News and The New York Post, which support Mr Trump, referred to them as riots.
Pictures taken overnight showed demonstrators launching fireworks towards police lines, as well as cars and shopping trolleys on fire.
Fox News published a video showing border officials driving a van being attacked with rocks as they attempted to leave the scene of clashes in Paramount, California.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff, responded to the video: 'This is a violent insurrection.'
Trouble broke out after immigration raids were carried out across LA throughout the week.
As many as 118 arrests linked to immigration were made in LA this week, which Gavin Newsom, the California governor, described as 'cruel'.
Mr Trump responded to the violence in Los Angeles on Saturday night by ordering 2,000 National Guard soldiers to LA. The first troops arrived in the early hours of Sunday morning.
'Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest… These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will not be tolerated,' Mr Trump posted on social media early on Sunday.
Deploying the National Guard is a provision that is usually enacted by the state governor, and Mr Newsom described the order as 'unnecessary' and 'purposefully inflammatory'.
Pete Hegseth, the US defence secretary, warned that active duty Marines would be 'mobilised' if violence in Los Angeles continued, which Mr Newsom said was 'deranged'.
On Saturday, a car was set on fire in the middle of an intersection in LA. Two individuals circled on motorbikes, as one waved a Mexican flag.
The LA sheriff's department said it had arrested one person in the Paramount area, where two officers were treated in hospital for injuries.
The department also said one car was burnt and that a fire at a shopping mall had been put out.
Mr Trump has had a fractious relationship with the media since he first ran for office.
On Sunday, ABC News suspended its veteran reporter, Terry Moran, after he posted tweets describing the president and his top adviser, Stephen Miller, as 'world-class haters'.
Mr Moran interviewed Mr Trump in April to discuss the first 100 days of the president's second term.
Commenting on his suspension, ABC said: 'ABC News stands for objectivity and impartiality in its news coverage and does not condone subjective personal attacks on others,' the representative said.
'The post does not reflect the views of ABC News and violated our standards – as a result, Terry Moran has been suspended pending further evaluation.'