When the National Guard went to LA in 1992, the situation was far different
In contrast with the isolated skirmishes seen in Los Angeles County over the past few days, there were neighborhoods in 1992 that had devolved into something resembling a lawless dystopia. Drivers were pulled from cars and beaten. Buildings were burned. Businesses were looted. In all, 63 people died during the riots, including nine who were shot by the police.
The mayhem, which went on for six days, was rooted in Black residents' anger over years of police brutality. It ignited after four officers were found not guilty of using excessive force against King, a Black motorist who had been pulled over after a high-speed chase, even though videotape evidence clearly showed the officers brutally beating him. That anger had erupted before, notably in the Watts riots of 1965.
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The violence in 1992 was also fueled by tensions between the Black and Korean American communities in the area, and by the shooting death of a Black girl by a Korean American shopkeeper. It got so far out of control that major-league sports events were postponed or moved to safer locations, dusk-to-dawn curfews were imposed, schools were closed and mail delivery was withheld in some neighborhoods.
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Demonstrators protest the verdict in the Rodney King beating case in front of the Los Angeles Police Department headquarters in Los Angeles.
Nick Ut/Associated Press
On the third day of the violence, President George H.W. Bush activated the National Guard at the request of Gov. Pete Wilson and Mayor Tom Bradley of Los Angeles. Thousands of Army and Marine troops were sent into Los Angeles as well. Caravans including Humvees and other armored vehicles rolled into the city along the freeways.
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The protests of 2025 bear little if any comparison to the widespread upheaval and violence of 1992. The protesters have directed their anger mainly at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, not at fellow residents, and the demonstrations have so far done relatively little damage to buildings or businesses.
'It doesn't appear to me that they're anywhere near close to needing the National Guard now,' said Joe Domanick, an author who has written extensively about the Los Angeles police. 'It looks like an opportunity for Trump to clamp down and use the military in ways that aren't necessary yet.'
Much of the anger today is emanating from Latinos, the main group being targeted by federal immigration agents.
Latinos make up a plurality of Los Angeles residents, hold many powerful political positions in the region and account for nearly half of the officers in the Los Angeles Police Department and Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.
'These organizations are going to be caught in the middle,' Domanick said. 'They've invested in community policing, to the extent that they could, and many of these officers have parents and grandparents who were probably undocumented. It's a very complex situation.'
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