&w=3840&q=100)
What triggered the Los Angeles immigration protests? A rumour
Los Angeles is in turmoil right now. People are on the streets, cars are on fire, and the National Guard has been deployed. Democratic representatives, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, have taken US President Donald Trump to task over his actions to deploy the troops, claiming that he has violated state sovereignty. But how did the protests start? read more
Protesters attempt to light a Molotov cocktail as a firework explodes during a protest in Compton, California on Saturday. AP
Los Angeles is in turmoil right now.
People are on the streets, cars are on fire and the National Guard has been deployed.
Democratic representatives including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Las Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have taken US President Donald Trump to task over his actions to deploy the National Guard, claiming that he has violated state sovereignty.
But what happened at the hardware store at the centre of the protests?
Let's take a closer look
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
What happened?
It all began around 9 am on Saturday in the working-class Latino suburb of Paramount. Border agents were reportedly seen across the street from the Home Depot store.
This came a day after federal agents arrested immigrants in the parking lot of a hardware store in Los Angeles as well as several other locations.
Soon, videos of agents purportedly near the store went viral. Firstpost has not independently verified the veracity of these videos.
There were also reports of raids being conducted at the Home Depot – where illegal immigrants often congregate to find work – and of arrests being made.
However, the border agents weren't actually at the store – instead, they had gathered inside a gated industrial office park.
Soon, the site became a magnet for protesters. People driving by honked their horns In protest. The Home Depot quickly closed for the day.
As per Los Angeles Times, José Luis Solache Jr of the California State Assembly was on his way to an event when he spotted border patrol vehicles.
Los Angeles County Sheriffs stand during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)
Solache, whose parents immigrated to the US from Guanajuato, Mexico, followed the caravan to the Paramount Business Center – which is right across the street from the Home Depot.
'I saw a border agent get off the freeway here off of Alondra. I was like, No, it can't be happening,' Solache said on Instagram.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
'This is horrible,' he added. 'I am literally shaking.'
'I don't know what they're doing inside. But, I mean, why were they in Paramount?' he asked.
'This is the situation,' Solache told his followers. 'The community is coming out strong to show that they are not welcome in our community. 'No en mi distrito. Not in my district. Vámonos pa' fuera (let's go, get out of here).'
Meanwhile protesters and authorities faced off.
Demonstrators began throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails, while the border agents employed flash-bang grenades, rubber bullets and pepper spray against the crowd.
'What the hell are you doing?! Nobody's hurting you, nobody's doing anything but making noise, are you intimidated by f— noise?!' one protestor was heard yelling at the agents, as per Los Angeles Times.
The protest was declared an unlawful assembly around 4 pm – crowds were ordered to disperse in both English and Spanish.
However, the clashes continued late into the night with multiple fires being set and at least one car being torched.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
The protesters began dispersing only around midnight.
Meanwhile US President Donald Trump called in the National Guard.
Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.'
In doing so Trump usurped the authority of Newsom – who as California governor is technically in charge of the National Guard.
Authorities claim to have made multiple arrests.
'Multiple arrests have already been made for obstructing our operations,' FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino wrote on X. 'More are coming. We are pouring through the videos for more perpetrators. You bring chaos, and we'll bring handcuffs.'
A car burns during a protest in Compton, California on Saturday. AP
The rumours continue to do the rounds in Los Angeles.
'No-one really knows what happened. Everyone is afraid,' Juan, who was in the parking lot of the Home Depot, told the BBC.
Los Angeles resident Dora Sanchez called the development a 'breaking point' for the entire community.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Maria Gutierrez, who was part of the protests, added, 'It was time to stand up. These are my people. This is LA. It touches us all. Everyone has family or knows someone who doesn't have papers.'
Raid or no raid?
Interestingly, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has dismissed the reports of a raid on the Home Depot store on Saturday as misinformation.
'Despite false reports, there was no ICE 'raid' at a Home Depot in LA,' the DHS told the BBC.
The DHS added that authorities were using the location 'as a staging area and rioters found it'.
They claim to have arrested 118 illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles this week, including five suspected gang members.
Fox News reporter Bill Melugin of Fox News cited federal sources as saying that, contrary to local claims, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) had not conducted raids on the Home Depot.
'Per federal sources, despite local claims, there was no ICE 'raid' at a Home Depot in LA today. DHS has a nearby office in Paramount that they are using as a staging area. Protesters found it and began gathering. ICE will conduct targeted enforcement around LA today, serving criminal judicial warrants and enforcing final orders of removal/deportation orders,' Melugin wrote on X.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Meanwhile, Newsom has urged Trump to remove the National Guard from Los Angeles.
A person carries an injured protester to cover during a protest in Compton, California. AP
Newsom in a letter to Trump called the development a 'serious breach of state sovereignty.'
Newsom has has received support from Mayor Karen Bass.
'What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,' she said in an afternoon press conference. 'This is about another agenda, this isn't about public safety,' Bass said.
However, the White House seems to be undeterred.
Trump on Sunday said he had deployed 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles.
He said there were 'violent people' in Los Angeles 'and they're not gonna get away with it.'
'We're gonna have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country. We're not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden,' Trump added.
'It's a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said.
STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD
Ex-Vice-President Kamala Harris, a resident of Los Angeles, said the immigration arrests and Guard deployment were designed as part of a 'cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.'
She said she supports those 'standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms.'
With inputs from agencies
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
20 minutes ago
- Time of India
Harvard's enduring leftist leanings: From Castro to campus controversies
Fidel Castro. (Getty Images) Harvard university, a beacon of liberal academia and a prominent US academic leader, has long displayed a discernible inclination towards leftist ideologies, a trend that has recently drawn sharp criticism from the Trump administration. This perceived political alignment intensified as President Donald Trump, citing Harvard's opposition to his policies and personal history, began imposing restrictions on the university's federal funding. While Trump denied personal resentment from any alleged Harvard rejection, the antipathy deepened significantly following the university community's response to the October 7 Hamas attack. The institution faced widespread condemnation for its "disgraceful display of anti-Israel vitriol and tacit endorsement of violent messaging," which then-president Claudine Gay initially refused to condemn, ultimately leading to her resignation, as reported by The Hill. This incident provided ample opportunity for Trump to lambast Harvard, given that approximately 90 percent of its student body and faculty reportedly supported his Democratic opponents in the three most recent presidential elections, as stated by The Hill. The Trump administration's scrutiny broadened further when Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa revocations for Chinese students with Communist Party ties or those studying in "critical fields." Later, Trump issued a proclamation limiting the entry of international students to Harvard for study and research, as reported by The Hill. A soft spot for leftist leaders Harvard's historical leanings are not a new phenomenon. In 1959, the university notably hosted Fidel Castro, the young Cuban revolutionary who had just overthrown the right-wing dictator Fulgencio Batista. During his visit, Castro delivered a fiery speech extolling his revolution. In a question-and-answer session, when confronted with reports of summary executions without trials, Castro vehemently denied any extra-judicial killings, as reported by The Hill. Less than two years later, despite his repeated claims of "I am not a Communist," Castro declared his Marxist-Leninist ideology and Cuba's alliance with the Soviet Union, as observed by The Hill. Vietnam war and Communist influence The Vietnam War era further underscored Harvard's evolving political landscape. Despite the conflict's origins under Harvard alumnus John F. Kennedy, the faculty and student body progressively turned against escalating US intervention under Lyndon Johnson. They increasingly viewed North Vietnam's Communist dictator, Ho Chi Minh, as merely an "agrarian reformer" and the Communist Vietcong as "oppressed democrats" rather than agents of North Vietnam's invasion, as reported by The Hill. In May 1965, when Johnson's Secretary of State Dean Rusk criticized the academic community for its "stubborn disregard of plain facts," Harvard led numerous Boston and Cambridge colleges in drafting a unified response to Rusk, as stated by The Hill. This period demonstrated how U.S. universities, including Harvard, became fertile ground for communist influence operations, a fact that China, North Vietnam's primary supporter, exploited for decades. Countering malign activities on US campuses The House Select Committee on China has since detailed the Chinese Communist Party's extensive efforts to leverage the openness of American society, particularly in acquiring technical and scientific information. A notable instance occurred in 2021 when Harvard professor Charles Lieber was convicted of selling classified information to Chinese university colleagues and lying to federal investigators about it, as reported by The Hill. Such incidents have cast a shadow over many international scholars in the US. University officials and government investigators now face the challenge of cooperating to counter "malign activities on US campuses without damaging America's reputation for free speech and open idea exchange," as noted by The Hill – an outcome that would be a strategic victory for Beijing. This dilemma extends beyond academia, as decades of US Defense Department military exercises with the People's Liberation Army, intended to build mutual understanding, have arguably ignored the underlying reality that in China's totalitarian system, "everything in academia, economics, and the military is subservient not to the needs and interests of the Chinese people but to the Chinese Communist Party," as stated by The Hill. Joseph Bosco, who served as China country director for the Secretary of Defense, emphasized that changing China remains a daunting challenge, and the "wishful thinking of unconditional engagement" has proven both futile and increasingly perilous, as quoted by The Hill. Both Harvard and the US government must now dedicate their best minds to this complex endeavor. Is your child ready for the careers of tomorrow? Enroll now and take advantage of our early bird offer! Spaces are limited.
Mint
27 minutes ago
- Mint
Who is Nicole Daedone, the woman convicted of forcing employees into sexual acts?
The founder of sexual wellness company, OneTaste Inc., and its former sales head have been convicted of forced labour charges by a Brooklyn court. The California-based company promoted 'orgasmic meditation', or 'OM', which was carried out by men manually stimulating women in a group setting. Following a five-week trial, the court on Monday found Nicole Daedone, 57, founder of OneTaste, and Rachel Cherwitz, 44, the former sales director, guilty after deliberating for less than two days, reported news agency AP. The two accused could face up to 20 years in prison. During the case hearing, prosecutors argued that Nicole and Rachel ran a years-long scheme that groomed adherents, many of them victims of sexual trauma, to do their bidding, the AP report said. The two women used economic, sexual and psychological abuse, intimidation and indoctrination to force OneTaste members into sexual acts such as having sex with prospective investors or clients. Assistant US Attorney Nina Gupta, in her closing statement last week, said the defendants 'built a business on the backs' of victims who 'gave everything' to them, including 'their money, their time, their bodies, their dignity, and ultimately their sanity,' according to the AP report. 'The jury's verdict has unmasked Daedone and Cherwitz for who they truly are: grifters who preyed on vulnerable victims by making empty promises of sexual empowerment and wellness only to manipulate them into performing labor and services for the defendants' benefit,' said Joseph Nocella, US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York. Nicole Daedone of New York co-founded OneTaste in San Francisco in 2004 as a sort of self-help commune that viewed female orgasms as key to sexual and psychological wellness and interpersonal connection. Portrayed as a cutting-edge enterprise that prioritised women's sexual pleasure, the sexual wellness company generated revenue by providing courses, coaching, OM events, and other sexual practices for a fee. OneTaste enjoyed glowing media coverage in the 2010s and quickly opened centres from Los Angeles to London. Nicole sold her stake in OneTaste in 2017 for $12 million, a year before the company's marketing and labour practices were criticised. OneTaste's current owners, who have rebranded it as the Institute of OM Foundation, said its work has been misconstrued, and the charges against its former executives were unjustified.
Time of India
37 minutes ago
- Time of India
‘We were well aware of risks': Greta Thunberg on Gaza aid mission after being deported, calls Israeli action a ‘kidnapping'
Greta Thunberg on Gaza aid mission after being deported, calls Israeli action a 'kidnapping' (Picture credit: AP) Greta Thunberg , the renowned climate activist, was deported from Israel on Tuesday after being detained along with other activists aboard the Gaza-bound aid boat, the Madleen. Upon her arrival at Paris' Charles de Gaulle Airport, Thunberg spoke about the situation, calling the Israeli action a "kidnapping" and an "intentional violation of rights." She emphasised that while her own experience was troubling, it paled in comparison to the dire circumstances faced by the people in Palestine, particularly in Gaza. "The conditions we faced are absolutely nothing compared to what people are going through in Palestine and especially Gaza right now," she said, urging her supporters to take action. Thunberg's deportation comes in the wake of Israeli military forces intercepting the vessel in international waters, an action she has vehemently condemned as a violation of rights. Thunberg, who has eschewed air travel for years to minimise her carbon footprint, explained that the aim of the mission was to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. "We were well aware of the risks of this mission," she said. "The aim was to get to Gaza and to be able to distribute the aid." She expressed her disappointment at being forced to leave but added, 'Why would I want to stay in an Israeli prison more than necessary?' Alongside her deportation, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition said that three activists, including Thunberg, were expelled, while others chose to remain and face legal proceedings in Israel. Thunberg called for the release of the remaining activists, advocating for their right to continue their journey to deliver aid. She urged governments worldwide to mobilise for humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza and to recognise Palestine as a critical step towards alleviating the ongoing humanitarian crisis. The Israeli foreign ministry announced Thunberg's deportation, which took place after the Madleen was seized about 200 kilometres off the coast of Gaza. Israel justified its actions by stating the ship was attempting to breach a lawful naval blockade, a claim disputed by human rights groups and legal advocates who argue that the interception in international waters is a breach of international law. Thunberg's presence on the ship, which included a diverse group of activists from various countries, aimed to highlight the humanitarian crisis exacerbated by the ongoing conflict. "This is yet another intentional violation of rights that is added to the list of countless other violations that Israel is committing," she asserted. She further emphasised the urgent need for humanitarian aid and an end to the systemic oppression faced by Palestinians, saying that recognising Palestine is 'the very, very, very minimum' that governments can do to assist.
