FACT FOCUS: A Craigslist ad is not proof of paid protesters in LA. It was posted as a prank
As demonstrations in Los Angeles over immigration raids unfolded in recent days, social media users falsely cited a Craigslist ad as evidence that protesters had been paid to participate.
'We are forming a select team of THE TOUGHEST dudes in the area,' the ad, which is no longer live, read. 'This unit will be activated only when the situation demands it — BUT YOU GET PAID EVERY WEEK NO MATTER WHAT. high-pressure, high-risk, no room for hesitation. We need individuals who do not break, panic, or fold under stress and are basically kickass dudes.' It offered $6,500-$12,500 in compensation per week.
Here's a closer look at the facts.
CLAIM: A Craigslist ad seeking 'the toughest badasses in the city' is proof that Los Angeles demonstrations over immigration raids are made up of paid protesters.
THE FACTS: This is false. The ad, which appeared in Craigslist's Los Angeles section for general labor jobs, was bait for a prank show and had nothing to do with the protests in Los Angeles, the ad's creator told The Associated Press. It was posted on Thursday, the day before the protests began. In a livestreamed episode on Friday, the show's hosts called and spoke with people who responded to the ad.
'I literally had no idea it was ever going to be connected to the riots. It was a really weird coincidence,' said Joey LaFleur, who posted the ad on Craigslist.
The ad was developed as part of a new prank show called 'Goofcon1,' said LaFleur, who hosts the podcast with Logan Quiroz. On their show Friday, the day protests began, they spoke live on the phone with people who responded during Goofcon1's third episode. LaFleur noted during the episode that he also posted a more 'militaristic' version of the ad in Craigslist's Austin section, but didn't get many responses.
Screenshots of the ad were used in social media posts on multiple platforms, cited as proof that those involved in the Los Angeles protests had been paid. The posts gained tens of thousands of likes, shares, and views.
'CALIFORNIA RIOT IS A FUNDED OPERATION,' reads one X post sharing the ad. 'Destabilizing the Trump administration and the United States in general is the goal. Then, they receive billions of federal funding to 'fix' the damage and pocket the money.'
A TikTok video sharing the ad viewed approximately 14,100 times called protesters 'paid agitators' who are turning 'what was initially a peaceful protest of just marching into a full-blown riot.'
Others pointed to the ad as evidence that the protests 'aren't organic' or have been faked by Democrats.
'Accidentally goofed the entire nation on the latest @goofcon1,' one post reads. In another, he muses: 'I don't really know what to do with any of this. I guess get on Newsmax, or something. If I get on Newsmax, that could be funny.'
False claims about paid protesters regularly spread around demonstrations, especially those that attract national or international attention. Similar false claims spread widely in 2020 during demonstrations over George Floyd's death at the hands of Minneapolis police.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘We will kill you': Democrats, Republicans at odds over protest warning language
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — More than a dozen protests are planned in Tampa Bay over the weekend following a series of protests in Southern California. It's just a small fraction of the larger 'No Kings Day' demonstrations expressing their concerns about Trump Administration policies, specifically the way the president handles immigration enforcement. Florida has also become a state that is known for helping the Trump Administration manage ICE raids and deportations. Republican leaders, political and law enforcement, have issued stern warnings to protestors. Some of those warnings involved giving examples that could end in arrest or other deadly consequences. Apopka daughter asks for fair chance after parents detained, father deported Democrats are also giving advice to protestors, like Florida House Minority Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell, of Hillsborough County. 'Keep your protests peaceful, do not be afraid to exercise your constitutional right, but just mind yourself, be aware of your surroundings,' Driskell said. Following protests in California and ahead of demonstrations across the state, some Republican officials took a more forceful approach after they said ICE agents and other law enforcement were threatened during protests in California. Gov. Ron DeSantis appeared on The Rubin Report conservative podcast this week. 'We also have a policy that if you're driving on one of those streets and a mob comes and surrounds your vehicle and threatens you, you have the right to flee for your safety. If you drive off and you hit one of these people, that's their fault for impinging on you,' DeSantis said. Brevard Sheriff Wayne Ivey issued a warning on Thursday about Florida being an 'anti-riot state' after lawmakers passed the Combating Public Disorder Act in 2021. 'If you throw a brick, a firebomb, or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your families where to collect your remains at because we will kill you graveyard dead,' Ivey said. Driskell responded by saying this type of language is not about safety. 'All of the tough rhetoric is designed to scare people and keep them at home. It's meant to prevent people from exercising their constitutional rights and to distract from Republicans owned failed policies on immigration,' Driskell Attorney General James Uthmeier spoke at the same news conference as Ivey. The state's top law enforcement official said voters elected republicans to enforce laws and curb the number of migrants who are undocumented. 'The voters last November made loud and clear that we want to ensure law and order, we want to enforce against illegal immigration,' Uthmeier said. So far, social justice groups like the ACLU are not aware anyone has been charged under Florida's anti-riot law, which increased penalties for violent protestors and expanded the definition of a riot. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
33 minutes ago
- Yahoo
'Social chaos': GOP, Dem lawmakers sound off on Los Angeles unrest
Lawmakers are split over who bears responsibility for the chaos in Los Angeles after President Donald Trump federalized the National Guard for the first time in 60 years. Protests rejecting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations erupted in downtown LA last weekend, and the Trump administration ordered National Guardsmen and Marines to the city following days of escalating anti-ICE protests and riots. "The riots that we are seeing in LA are a direct reflection" of sanctuary city policies, Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., told Fox News Digital. Republicans have largely condemned the violence in Los Angeles as Democrats accused the Trump administration of escalating tensions. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, considered a potential 2028 presidential candidate, has led the Democrats' rejection of the Trump administration's action in LA. Trump Sends Clear Message Federalizing National Guard For La Riots: This Is Not 2020 "We really need to have accountability for the administration that has decided to intentionally uncork this chaos," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., also rumored to harbor 2028 presidential ambitions, told Fox News Digital. Read On The Fox News App Newsom Files Emergency Motion To 'Immediately Block' Trump's Use Of Military To Stop La Riots "The Trump administration owns this," Ocasio-Cortez added. "The Trump administration, Donald Trump and [White House advisor] Stephen Miller know that when you violently raid elementary schools, Home Depots and start ripping kids out of people's arms, it's going to create and stoke social chaos." "This administration is intentionally creating chaos," she said. Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., added fuel to Democrats' fire on Thursday when he was forcibly removed and handcuffed by authorities after trying to confront Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem at a press conference in LA. Republicans once again condemned Padilla, while Democrats raged against the Trump administration. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., told Fox News Digital that Democrats' anti-ICE rhetoric is "dangerous." "It's going to get somebody killed," Mace said. The last time a sitting U.S. president used his federal authority to deploy the National Guard without the governor's request was during the civil rights march in Alabama from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., the only Palestinian American in Congress who was censured last year for her criticism of U.S. policy on the war in Gaza, said the protests are not "anti-ICE." "It's not anti-ICE, it's pro-constitutional rights, pro-due process, pro-making sure that people are following the law," Tlaib told Fox News Digital, adding, "The immigrant communities have been saying since 2003 that ICE has been rogue, and it has not followed people's constitutional rights." A federal judge on Thursday ruled that Trump must return control of the California National Guard to Newsom, but an appeals court quickly reversed that decision. The White House said the order "puts our brave federal officials in danger." "The district court has no authority to usurp the President's authority as Commander in Chief. The President exercised his lawful authority to mobilize the National Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel in Gavin Newsom's lawless Los Angeles," said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly. Fox News Digital's Jasmine Baehr contributed to this report. Original article source: 'Social chaos': GOP, Dem lawmakers sound off on Los Angeles unrest
Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
Measure before Gov. JB Pritzker would streamline firearms ID process for low-level gun offenders
On the final day of the spring legislative session, the Democrat-led Illinois General Assembly passed a measure intended to make it easier for people who have been arrested for carrying guns illegally to obtain a state firearm permit so they would be allowed to own firearms. The bipartisan bill marked a rare instance in which Democrats and Republicans largely agreed on a measure involving guns. Democrats have been criticized by the GOP for promoting measures that restrict the flow of guns to the point where they negatively affect law-abiding gun owners. But Democrats say this legislation, which awaits Gov. JB Pritzker's signature, encourages the legal ownership of firearms while still emphasizing accountability. 'Getting guns off the streets, yes, absolutely, to me that means stopping the flow of illegal weapons into our streets. That means keeping weapons out of the hands of people who wish to do harm,' said state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat who supports the bill. 'That doesn't mean preventing people from owning a tool that is used for both personal protection and sport.' The legislation applies to participants in diversion programs that serve as alternatives to prosecution. Cook County's Democratic state's attorney, Eileen O'Neill Burke, pushed legislators to expand the programs to include a more streamlined opportunity for their participants to obtain a firearm owner's identification, or FOID, card — the form required by the Illinois State Police for state residents to be allowed to legally own guns. The legislation would apply to people eligible for placement in the diversion programs and charged with gun crimes designated as Class 4 felonies, offenses that can carry one-to-three-year prison sentences but are the least severe level of felonies. Under the measure, a person charged with those low-level gun felonies would be able to apply for a FOID card once receiving a court order attesting to their completion of a diversion program, enabling the state police to perform a background check as part of the process of granting them the card. Once the felony case is officially dropped, the state police would grant that individual a FOID card if they pass the background check, the measure would allow. As it stands now, state police can't start the process for someone requesting a FOID card until their felony case is dropped, which may not be until well after the applicant completes the diversion program. The legislation is aimed at helping people like Shamyia Phillips, who was arrested in November 2023 on a felony gun charge. When police stopped her in a car that she said had been reported stolen, she had a handgun in her purse that she said she purchased legally in Texas, an open-carry state where she lived for a time. Unaware of Illinois' gun laws, she didn't have a FOID card or concealed carry license. 'It was just to protect me and my daughter,' said Phillips, a 26-year-old single mother. 'I wasn't using it to harm anyone or anything.' Unemployed at the time, Phillips said she entered a diversion program that helped her get a job and led to the charges being dropped. Seeking work in the security field, she plans to apply for a FOID card and concealed carry license. During a visit to the Tribune Editorial Board earlier this month, O'Neill Burke said one factor motivating the legislation was that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were major delays for people applying for FOID cards through the state police. At the same time a lot of people acquired guns illegally because of fears stoked by a nationwide rise in violent crime. 'So, we were putting people in a catch-22,' said O'Neill Burke, who took office at the end of last year. 'Suddenly we had this large population of otherwise law-abiding people who are now charged with a Class 4 felony.' The solution, she said, is part of her office's balanced approach toward gun prosecutions: Prioritizing gun cases that involve the use of 'switches,' rapid-fire devices that can convert semiautomatic guns to fully automatic use, while at the same time ensuring that others entitled to have firearms are following the law. 'It's two very different approaches to gun crimes because they're treated very differently under the law,' O'Neill Burke said. 'The goal is to get as many people into compliance with the regulation as possible, while at the same time addressing the very real threat that automatic weapons pose.' More than 2.4 million Illinoisans have FOID cards. The state police has 20 employees processing FOID applications while additional employees handle applications for concealed carry licenses, which allow for a gun owner to carry a firearm outdoors. The state police said the same participants in diversion programming who may be eligible for a FOID may also acquire a CCL, though the qualifications are different. The state police said system improvements over the years have brought down processing times for new FOID applications to an average of about 12 days. During the pandemic, staffing ranged between 17 and 28 employees dedicated to FOID card application processing, in addition to temporary contractors, the state police said. In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, the state police processed 190,693 new FOID applications with an average processing time of 83 days, the state police said. The following year, 292,523 new FOID applications were processed. The final amendment of the diversion program legislation passed through the Senate by a 55-0 vote on May 31, the final scheduled day of session. The bill was approved in the House on May 23 by a vote of 97-11. When state Sen. Elgie Sims presented the final amendment on the Senate floor on May 31, he said there was a 'unique set of proponents to the bill.' In addition to the Cook County state's attorney's office, those proponents included the Cook County public defender's office, Illinois State's Attorneys Association, Illinois State Rifle Association and Gun Violence Prevention PAC. Sims, the bill's main Senate sponsor, said in an interview that the legislation is meant to help people caught up in the criminal justice system for nonviolent gun infractions so they don't get arrested again. 'We're trying to make sure that for somebody who might have a firearm in their possession, but they've gone through the process, they've taken the steps to atone for the mistake (so) that they are able to get their FOID card,' the Chicago Democrat said. 'It was to encourage people to be law-abiding gun owners.' Among other supporters of the bill was the Gun Violence Prevention PAC, which works to stem gun violence and illegal gun access. John Schmidt, an executive board member of the group, said there's room for a balanced approach within firearm policies to respect the rights of people wanting to own a gun legally. 'G-PAC works to keep illegal guns out of the hands of unqualified owners. But we have no trouble making common ground to support laws that enable people who successfully complete diversion programs to resume their right like other citizens to own lawful guns,' said Schmidt, a former U.S. associate attorney general. Republican legislators have long accused the Democratic majority of infringing on the Second Amendment right to bear arms through laws such as the 2023 assault weapons ban, which remains under court challenge. In the new gun bill, many GOP lawmakers supported the Democrats' legislative fix around diversion programming and FOID cards. Senate Republican leader John Curran, a former assistant Cook County state's attorney, agreed with Sims' rationale behind it. 'Ultimately, if someone's going to possess a gun again down the road, they should have a FOID in Illinois. It's the law of the land. So, we should encourage that behavior. This bill does,' said Curran, of Downers Grove. State Rep. John Cabello of Machesney Park was one of 11 House members to vote against the new legislation. A Republican who has worked as a police detective, he said he's been supportive of diversion programs but was skeptical of the Democrats' motivation for this legislation. 'What they're doing in Springfield, is they take baby steps to what their final goal is. What is their final goal? Is their final goal to make sure that we can't charge felons with possession of a (gun) any longer?' Cabello said. The legislation would apply to various diversion programs for people arrested on Class 4 felony gun charges, including Cook County prosecutors' first-time weapon offense program. People charged with such crimes are eligible for the diversion program only if they've gotten permission from a judge, with the consent of the state's attorney. O'Neill Burke's office said Cook County had roughly 2,800 Class 4 felony gun cases last year of which defendants in some 1,200 were put in gun diversion programs, most of them in the first-time weapon offense program. The program was initially established by the General Assembly in 2018 as a pilot and limited to defendants under 21, while also being part of a law allowing for penalty enhancements for certain people convicted of repeatedly carrying illegal firearms. But in the last several years, especially with the makeup of the General Assembly becoming more progressive, lawmakers let the penalty enhancement provisions expire, made the diversion program permanent and removed its age restriction. Participation in the program could last from six months to two years, according to the law, and to stay in the program, the defendant must not break any laws or use any guns or other weapons. The law doesn't allow someone in the program if they've been arrested for a felony gun crime that was committed during the commission of a violent offense; if they've been previously convicted or placed on probation or conditional discharge for any violent crime; if they've completed the program in the past; or if they have an existing order of protection issued against them. Cook County Public Defender Sharone R. Mitchell Jr. said the legislation's emphasis on obtaining FOID cards is an acknowledgement by the government that the people who often get in trouble for illegal gun possession are not dangerous criminals. But if they have a blemish on their record like a Class 4 felony, that could hurt their chances to get a job and potentially be deprived of other opportunities. But Mitchell says many people might not acquire FOID cards or CCLs for a host of reasons, including ignorance of the law or a criminal conviction from decades ago preventing them from owning a gun. 'People's baseline need is to keep themselves safe and some individuals have made the decision in our community that carrying a gun is their only path toward that safety,' he said. 'People are making really tough decisions based upon safety.' Mitchell couldn't say whether the new legislation would increase awareness for the public to obtain FOID cards but said his office is hopeful the law helps change how illegal gun possession offenses are treated in the criminal justice system. 'Our hope is that this law is a first step, but that we take a more informed and measured approach to all gun possession cases,' he said.
