Israel seizes Gaza aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg
Israeli naval forces have boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel.
The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the coalition said on its Telegram account.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed it was under Israeli control.
"The 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries," the ministry wrote on X.
All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added.
"They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over."
Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
"The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am," Hassan posted on X.
A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.
The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.
The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza.
"The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.
Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West.
The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the Madleen operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.
"Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over," she wrote on X.
"Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza."
Israeli naval forces have boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel.
The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the coalition said on its Telegram account.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed it was under Israeli control.
"The 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries," the ministry wrote on X.
All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added.
"They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over."
Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
"The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am," Hassan posted on X.
A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.
The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.
The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza.
"The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.
Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West.
The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the Madleen operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.
"Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over," she wrote on X.
"Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza."
Israeli naval forces have boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel.
The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the coalition said on its Telegram account.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed it was under Israeli control.
"The 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries," the ministry wrote on X.
All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added.
"They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over."
Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
"The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am," Hassan posted on X.
A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.
The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.
The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza.
"The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.
Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West.
The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the Madleen operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.
"Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over," she wrote on X.
"Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza."
Israeli naval forces have boarded and seized a charity vessel that had tried to break a naval blockade of the war-torn Gaza Strip and the boat with its crew of 12, including activist Greta Thunberg, is now heading to a port in Israel.
The British-flagged yacht, Madleen, operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition, was aiming to deliver a symbolic amount of aid to Gaza later on Monday and raise international awareness of the humanitarian crisis there.
However, the boat was boarded during the night before it could reach shore, the coalition said on its Telegram account.
The Israeli Foreign Ministry later confirmed it was under Israeli control.
"The 'selfie yacht' of the 'celebrities' is safely making its way to the shores of Israel. The passengers are expected to return to their home countries," the ministry wrote on X.
All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry later added.
"They were provided with sandwiches and water. The show is over."
Among the 12-strong crew are Swedish climate campaigner Thunberg and Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
"The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am," Hassan posted on X.
A photograph showed the crew seated on the boat, all wearing life jackets, with their hands in the air.
The yacht is carrying a small shipment of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula.
The Foreign Ministry said it would be taken to Gaza.
"The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," it wrote.
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz ordered the military on Sunday to prevent the Madleen from reaching Gaza, calling the mission a propaganda effort in support of Hamas.
Katz said he had instructed that upon the boat's arrival at Ashdod port, the activists will be shown videos of atrocities committed during the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, which triggered the Gaza war.
Hamas condemned the seizure of the boat as "state terrorism" and said it salutes its activists.
Israel imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007 to stop weapons from reaching the militant group, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by Israel and the West.
The blockade has remained in place through multiple conflicts, including the current war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages, by Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza and left its more than 2 million population largely displaced and at risk of famine, according to the United Nations.
The United Nations' special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, has supported the Madleen operation and on Sunday, urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.
"Madleen's journey may have ended, but the mission isn't over," she wrote on X.
"Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
AU Financial Review
an hour ago
- AU Financial Review
Australia and allies sanction far-right Israeli ministers
Britain and other allies imposed sanctions on two far-right Israeli ministers, Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, on Tuesday over 'their repeated incitements of violence against Palestinian communities', the UK's foreign ministry said. Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Norway joined Britain in freezing the assets and imposing travel bans on Israel's national security minister Ben-Gvir - a West Bank settler - and finance minister Smotrich.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Israel deports Greta Thunberg after seizing Gaza boat
Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg has been deported from Israel, the nation's foreign ministry says, the day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza. Thunberg, 22, was put on a flight to France on Tuesday, the ministry said, adding that she would travel on to Sweden from there. Three other people who had been aboard the charity vessel also agreed to immediate repatriation. Eight other crew members are contesting their deportation order, said a statement from Israeli rights group Adalah that advised them. They will be held in a detention centre ahead of a court hearing. It was not immediately clear when that would happen. Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through Israel's longstanding naval blockade, which has gained international attention since Israel also cut off land access to the strip in March. Israel now allows in only limited supplies of food distributed by a group it backs. The British-flagged yacht was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod and the 12-strong crew were transferred overnight to Ben Gurion airport. The activists had been carrying a small cargo of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, and said they wanted to raise international awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been devastated by months of war. Israel dismissed the voyage as a pro-Hamas publicity stunt. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," the Foreign Ministry said. Israel released an image of Thunberg sitting on a plane ahead of its departure for Paris. She usually refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions of the airline industry. Organisers released a video of Thunberg on Monday, filmed on board the vessel before it was captured, in which she said that if it were taken that would mean Israel had kidnapped her and the rest of the crew in international waters. US President Donald Trump mocked this: "I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg," he said. "She's a young, angry person ... I think she has to go to an anger management class." Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. Israel says it aims to stop weapons from reaching Hamas. The blockade has remained in place through conflicts including the present war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, and destroyed most of the homes of its 2.3 million residents. In March Israel imposed a total blockade of all supplies reaching Gaza, which the United Nations says has driven the population to the brink of famine. Over the past two weeks Israel has allowed in limited food supplies to be distributed by a new Israeli-backed group, a step Israel says is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid. Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg has been deported from Israel, the nation's foreign ministry says, the day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza. Thunberg, 22, was put on a flight to France on Tuesday, the ministry said, adding that she would travel on to Sweden from there. Three other people who had been aboard the charity vessel also agreed to immediate repatriation. Eight other crew members are contesting their deportation order, said a statement from Israeli rights group Adalah that advised them. They will be held in a detention centre ahead of a court hearing. It was not immediately clear when that would happen. Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through Israel's longstanding naval blockade, which has gained international attention since Israel also cut off land access to the strip in March. Israel now allows in only limited supplies of food distributed by a group it backs. The British-flagged yacht was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod and the 12-strong crew were transferred overnight to Ben Gurion airport. The activists had been carrying a small cargo of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, and said they wanted to raise international awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been devastated by months of war. Israel dismissed the voyage as a pro-Hamas publicity stunt. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," the Foreign Ministry said. Israel released an image of Thunberg sitting on a plane ahead of its departure for Paris. She usually refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions of the airline industry. Organisers released a video of Thunberg on Monday, filmed on board the vessel before it was captured, in which she said that if it were taken that would mean Israel had kidnapped her and the rest of the crew in international waters. US President Donald Trump mocked this: "I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg," he said. "She's a young, angry person ... I think she has to go to an anger management class." Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. Israel says it aims to stop weapons from reaching Hamas. The blockade has remained in place through conflicts including the present war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, and destroyed most of the homes of its 2.3 million residents. In March Israel imposed a total blockade of all supplies reaching Gaza, which the United Nations says has driven the population to the brink of famine. Over the past two weeks Israel has allowed in limited food supplies to be distributed by a new Israeli-backed group, a step Israel says is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid. Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg has been deported from Israel, the nation's foreign ministry says, the day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza. Thunberg, 22, was put on a flight to France on Tuesday, the ministry said, adding that she would travel on to Sweden from there. Three other people who had been aboard the charity vessel also agreed to immediate repatriation. Eight other crew members are contesting their deportation order, said a statement from Israeli rights group Adalah that advised them. They will be held in a detention centre ahead of a court hearing. It was not immediately clear when that would happen. Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through Israel's longstanding naval blockade, which has gained international attention since Israel also cut off land access to the strip in March. Israel now allows in only limited supplies of food distributed by a group it backs. The British-flagged yacht was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod and the 12-strong crew were transferred overnight to Ben Gurion airport. The activists had been carrying a small cargo of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, and said they wanted to raise international awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been devastated by months of war. Israel dismissed the voyage as a pro-Hamas publicity stunt. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," the Foreign Ministry said. Israel released an image of Thunberg sitting on a plane ahead of its departure for Paris. She usually refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions of the airline industry. Organisers released a video of Thunberg on Monday, filmed on board the vessel before it was captured, in which she said that if it were taken that would mean Israel had kidnapped her and the rest of the crew in international waters. US President Donald Trump mocked this: "I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg," he said. "She's a young, angry person ... I think she has to go to an anger management class." Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. Israel says it aims to stop weapons from reaching Hamas. The blockade has remained in place through conflicts including the present war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, and destroyed most of the homes of its 2.3 million residents. In March Israel imposed a total blockade of all supplies reaching Gaza, which the United Nations says has driven the population to the brink of famine. Over the past two weeks Israel has allowed in limited food supplies to be distributed by a new Israeli-backed group, a step Israel says is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid. Swedish campaigner Greta Thunberg has been deported from Israel, the nation's foreign ministry says, the day after the Israeli navy prevented her and a group of fellow pro-Palestinian activists from sailing to Gaza. Thunberg, 22, was put on a flight to France on Tuesday, the ministry said, adding that she would travel on to Sweden from there. Three other people who had been aboard the charity vessel also agreed to immediate repatriation. Eight other crew members are contesting their deportation order, said a statement from Israeli rights group Adalah that advised them. They will be held in a detention centre ahead of a court hearing. It was not immediately clear when that would happen. Israeli forces boarded the charity vessel as it neared Gaza early on Monday, trying to break through Israel's longstanding naval blockade, which has gained international attention since Israel also cut off land access to the strip in March. Israel now allows in only limited supplies of food distributed by a group it backs. The British-flagged yacht was taken to the Israeli port of Ashdod and the 12-strong crew were transferred overnight to Ben Gurion airport. The activists had been carrying a small cargo of humanitarian aid, including rice and baby formula, and said they wanted to raise international awareness about the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, which has been devastated by months of war. Israel dismissed the voyage as a pro-Hamas publicity stunt. "The tiny amount of aid that was on the yacht and not consumed by the 'celebrities' will be transferred to Gaza through real humanitarian channels," the Foreign Ministry said. Israel released an image of Thunberg sitting on a plane ahead of its departure for Paris. She usually refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions of the airline industry. Organisers released a video of Thunberg on Monday, filmed on board the vessel before it was captured, in which she said that if it were taken that would mean Israel had kidnapped her and the rest of the crew in international waters. US President Donald Trump mocked this: "I think Israel has enough problems without kidnapping Greta Thunberg," he said. "She's a young, angry person ... I think she has to go to an anger management class." Israel has imposed a naval blockade on the coastal enclave since Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007. Israel says it aims to stop weapons from reaching Hamas. The blockade has remained in place through conflicts including the present war, which began when Hamas-led militants rampaged through southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing more than 1200 people and taking 251 hostages by Israeli tallies. Israel's retaliatory offensive against Hamas has since killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to health officials in Hamas-run Gaza, and destroyed most of the homes of its 2.3 million residents. In March Israel imposed a total blockade of all supplies reaching Gaza, which the United Nations says has driven the population to the brink of famine. Over the past two weeks Israel has allowed in limited food supplies to be distributed by a new Israeli-backed group, a step Israel says is necessary to prevent Hamas from diverting aid.
The Advertiser
2 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Trump has long speculated about using force against his own people. Now he has the pretext to do so
"You just [expletive] shot the reporter!" Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was in the middle of a live cross, covering the protests against the Trump administration's mass deportation policy in Los Angeles, California. As Tomasi spoke to the camera, microphone in hand, an LAPD officer in the background appeared to target her directly, hitting her in the leg with a rubber bullet. Earlier, reports emerged that British photojournalist Nick Stern was undergoing emergency surgery after also being hit by the same "non-lethal" ammunition. The situation in Los Angeles is extremely volatile. After nonviolent protests against raids and arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began in the suburb of Paramount, US President Donald Trump issued a memo describing them as "a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States". He then deployed the National Guard. As much of the coverage has noted, this is not the first time the National Guard has been deployed to quell protests in the US. In 1970, members of the National Guard shot and killed four students protesting the war in Vietnam at Kent State University. In 1992, the National Guard was deployed during protests in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four police officers (three of whom were white) in the severe beating of a Black man, Rodney King. Trump has long speculated about violently deploying the National Guard and even the military against his own people. During his first administration, at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, former Secretary of Defence Mark Esper alleged that Trump asked him, "Can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?" Trump has also long sought to other those opposed to his radical agenda to reshape the United States and its role in the world. He's classified them as "un-American" and, therefore, deserving of contempt and, when he deems it necessary, violent oppression. During last year's election campaign, he promised to "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country". Even the Washington Post characterised this description of Trump's "political enemies" as "echoing Hitler, Mussolini". In addition, Trump has long peddled baseless conspiracies about "sanctuary cities", such as Los Angeles. He has characterised them as lawless havens for his political enemies and places that have been "invaded" by immigrants. As anyone who has ever visited these places knows, that is not true. It is no surprise that in the same places Trump characterises as "disgracing our country", there has been staunch opposition to his agenda and ideology. That opposition has coalesced in recent weeks around the activities of ICE agents, in particular. These agents, wearing masks to conceal their identities, have been arbitrarily detaining people, including US citizens and children, and disappearing people off the streets. They have also arrested caregivers, leaving children alone. As Adam Serwer wrote in The Atlantic during the first iteration of Trump in America, "the cruelty is the point". The Trump administration's mass deportation program is deliberately cruel and provocative. It was always only a matter of time before protests broke out. In a democracy, nonviolent protest by hundreds or perhaps a few thousand people in a city of 10 million is not a crisis. But it has always suited Trump and the movement that supports him to manufacture crises. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a key architect of the mass deportations program and a man described by a former adviser as "Waffen SS", called the protests "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States". Trump himself also described protesters as "violent, insurrectionist mobs". Nowhere does the presidential memo deploying the National Guard name the specific location of the protests. This, and the extreme language coming out of the administration, suggests it is laying the groundwork for further escalation. The administration could be leaving space to deploy the National Guard in other places and invoke the Insurrection Act. Incidents involving the deployment of the National Guard are rare, though politically cataclysmic. It is rarer still for the National Guard to be deployed against the wishes of a democratically elected leader of a state, as Trump has done in California. This deployment comes at a time of crisis for US democracy more broadly. Trump's longstanding attacks against independent media - what he describes as "fake news" - are escalating. There is a reason that during the current protests, a law enforcement officer appeared so comfortable targeting a journalist, on camera. The Trump administration is also actively targeting independent institutions such as Harvard and Columbia universities. It is also targeting and undermining judges and reducing the power of independent courts to enforce the rule of law. Under Trump, the federal government and its state-based allies are targeting and undermining the rights of minority groups - policing the bodies of trans people, targeting reproductive rights, and beginning the process of undoing the Civil Rights Act. Trump is, for the moment, unconstrained. Asked overnight what the bar is for deploying the Marines against protesters, Trump responded: "the bar is what I think it is". As New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie recently observed:" We should treat Trump and his openly authoritarian administration as a failure, not just of our party system or our legal system, but of our Constitution and its ability to meaningfully constrain a destructive and system-threatening force in our political life." While the situation in Los Angeles is unpredictable, it must be understood in the broader context of the active, violent threat the Trump administration poses to the US. As we watch, American democracy teeters on the brink. This article was updated on June 9, 2025 to correct information about Rodney King. "You just [expletive] shot the reporter!" Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was in the middle of a live cross, covering the protests against the Trump administration's mass deportation policy in Los Angeles, California. As Tomasi spoke to the camera, microphone in hand, an LAPD officer in the background appeared to target her directly, hitting her in the leg with a rubber bullet. Earlier, reports emerged that British photojournalist Nick Stern was undergoing emergency surgery after also being hit by the same "non-lethal" ammunition. The situation in Los Angeles is extremely volatile. After nonviolent protests against raids and arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began in the suburb of Paramount, US President Donald Trump issued a memo describing them as "a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States". He then deployed the National Guard. As much of the coverage has noted, this is not the first time the National Guard has been deployed to quell protests in the US. In 1970, members of the National Guard shot and killed four students protesting the war in Vietnam at Kent State University. In 1992, the National Guard was deployed during protests in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four police officers (three of whom were white) in the severe beating of a Black man, Rodney King. Trump has long speculated about violently deploying the National Guard and even the military against his own people. During his first administration, at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, former Secretary of Defence Mark Esper alleged that Trump asked him, "Can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?" Trump has also long sought to other those opposed to his radical agenda to reshape the United States and its role in the world. He's classified them as "un-American" and, therefore, deserving of contempt and, when he deems it necessary, violent oppression. During last year's election campaign, he promised to "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country". Even the Washington Post characterised this description of Trump's "political enemies" as "echoing Hitler, Mussolini". In addition, Trump has long peddled baseless conspiracies about "sanctuary cities", such as Los Angeles. He has characterised them as lawless havens for his political enemies and places that have been "invaded" by immigrants. As anyone who has ever visited these places knows, that is not true. It is no surprise that in the same places Trump characterises as "disgracing our country", there has been staunch opposition to his agenda and ideology. That opposition has coalesced in recent weeks around the activities of ICE agents, in particular. These agents, wearing masks to conceal their identities, have been arbitrarily detaining people, including US citizens and children, and disappearing people off the streets. They have also arrested caregivers, leaving children alone. As Adam Serwer wrote in The Atlantic during the first iteration of Trump in America, "the cruelty is the point". The Trump administration's mass deportation program is deliberately cruel and provocative. It was always only a matter of time before protests broke out. In a democracy, nonviolent protest by hundreds or perhaps a few thousand people in a city of 10 million is not a crisis. But it has always suited Trump and the movement that supports him to manufacture crises. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a key architect of the mass deportations program and a man described by a former adviser as "Waffen SS", called the protests "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States". Trump himself also described protesters as "violent, insurrectionist mobs". Nowhere does the presidential memo deploying the National Guard name the specific location of the protests. This, and the extreme language coming out of the administration, suggests it is laying the groundwork for further escalation. The administration could be leaving space to deploy the National Guard in other places and invoke the Insurrection Act. Incidents involving the deployment of the National Guard are rare, though politically cataclysmic. It is rarer still for the National Guard to be deployed against the wishes of a democratically elected leader of a state, as Trump has done in California. This deployment comes at a time of crisis for US democracy more broadly. Trump's longstanding attacks against independent media - what he describes as "fake news" - are escalating. There is a reason that during the current protests, a law enforcement officer appeared so comfortable targeting a journalist, on camera. The Trump administration is also actively targeting independent institutions such as Harvard and Columbia universities. It is also targeting and undermining judges and reducing the power of independent courts to enforce the rule of law. Under Trump, the federal government and its state-based allies are targeting and undermining the rights of minority groups - policing the bodies of trans people, targeting reproductive rights, and beginning the process of undoing the Civil Rights Act. Trump is, for the moment, unconstrained. Asked overnight what the bar is for deploying the Marines against protesters, Trump responded: "the bar is what I think it is". As New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie recently observed:" We should treat Trump and his openly authoritarian administration as a failure, not just of our party system or our legal system, but of our Constitution and its ability to meaningfully constrain a destructive and system-threatening force in our political life." While the situation in Los Angeles is unpredictable, it must be understood in the broader context of the active, violent threat the Trump administration poses to the US. As we watch, American democracy teeters on the brink. This article was updated on June 9, 2025 to correct information about Rodney King. "You just [expletive] shot the reporter!" Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was in the middle of a live cross, covering the protests against the Trump administration's mass deportation policy in Los Angeles, California. As Tomasi spoke to the camera, microphone in hand, an LAPD officer in the background appeared to target her directly, hitting her in the leg with a rubber bullet. Earlier, reports emerged that British photojournalist Nick Stern was undergoing emergency surgery after also being hit by the same "non-lethal" ammunition. The situation in Los Angeles is extremely volatile. After nonviolent protests against raids and arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began in the suburb of Paramount, US President Donald Trump issued a memo describing them as "a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States". He then deployed the National Guard. As much of the coverage has noted, this is not the first time the National Guard has been deployed to quell protests in the US. In 1970, members of the National Guard shot and killed four students protesting the war in Vietnam at Kent State University. In 1992, the National Guard was deployed during protests in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four police officers (three of whom were white) in the severe beating of a Black man, Rodney King. Trump has long speculated about violently deploying the National Guard and even the military against his own people. During his first administration, at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, former Secretary of Defence Mark Esper alleged that Trump asked him, "Can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?" Trump has also long sought to other those opposed to his radical agenda to reshape the United States and its role in the world. He's classified them as "un-American" and, therefore, deserving of contempt and, when he deems it necessary, violent oppression. During last year's election campaign, he promised to "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country". Even the Washington Post characterised this description of Trump's "political enemies" as "echoing Hitler, Mussolini". In addition, Trump has long peddled baseless conspiracies about "sanctuary cities", such as Los Angeles. He has characterised them as lawless havens for his political enemies and places that have been "invaded" by immigrants. As anyone who has ever visited these places knows, that is not true. It is no surprise that in the same places Trump characterises as "disgracing our country", there has been staunch opposition to his agenda and ideology. That opposition has coalesced in recent weeks around the activities of ICE agents, in particular. These agents, wearing masks to conceal their identities, have been arbitrarily detaining people, including US citizens and children, and disappearing people off the streets. They have also arrested caregivers, leaving children alone. As Adam Serwer wrote in The Atlantic during the first iteration of Trump in America, "the cruelty is the point". The Trump administration's mass deportation program is deliberately cruel and provocative. It was always only a matter of time before protests broke out. In a democracy, nonviolent protest by hundreds or perhaps a few thousand people in a city of 10 million is not a crisis. But it has always suited Trump and the movement that supports him to manufacture crises. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a key architect of the mass deportations program and a man described by a former adviser as "Waffen SS", called the protests "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States". Trump himself also described protesters as "violent, insurrectionist mobs". Nowhere does the presidential memo deploying the National Guard name the specific location of the protests. This, and the extreme language coming out of the administration, suggests it is laying the groundwork for further escalation. The administration could be leaving space to deploy the National Guard in other places and invoke the Insurrection Act. Incidents involving the deployment of the National Guard are rare, though politically cataclysmic. It is rarer still for the National Guard to be deployed against the wishes of a democratically elected leader of a state, as Trump has done in California. This deployment comes at a time of crisis for US democracy more broadly. Trump's longstanding attacks against independent media - what he describes as "fake news" - are escalating. There is a reason that during the current protests, a law enforcement officer appeared so comfortable targeting a journalist, on camera. The Trump administration is also actively targeting independent institutions such as Harvard and Columbia universities. It is also targeting and undermining judges and reducing the power of independent courts to enforce the rule of law. Under Trump, the federal government and its state-based allies are targeting and undermining the rights of minority groups - policing the bodies of trans people, targeting reproductive rights, and beginning the process of undoing the Civil Rights Act. Trump is, for the moment, unconstrained. Asked overnight what the bar is for deploying the Marines against protesters, Trump responded: "the bar is what I think it is". As New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie recently observed:" We should treat Trump and his openly authoritarian administration as a failure, not just of our party system or our legal system, but of our Constitution and its ability to meaningfully constrain a destructive and system-threatening force in our political life." While the situation in Los Angeles is unpredictable, it must be understood in the broader context of the active, violent threat the Trump administration poses to the US. As we watch, American democracy teeters on the brink. This article was updated on June 9, 2025 to correct information about Rodney King. "You just [expletive] shot the reporter!" Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi was in the middle of a live cross, covering the protests against the Trump administration's mass deportation policy in Los Angeles, California. As Tomasi spoke to the camera, microphone in hand, an LAPD officer in the background appeared to target her directly, hitting her in the leg with a rubber bullet. Earlier, reports emerged that British photojournalist Nick Stern was undergoing emergency surgery after also being hit by the same "non-lethal" ammunition. The situation in Los Angeles is extremely volatile. After nonviolent protests against raids and arrests by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents began in the suburb of Paramount, US President Donald Trump issued a memo describing them as "a form of rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States". He then deployed the National Guard. As much of the coverage has noted, this is not the first time the National Guard has been deployed to quell protests in the US. In 1970, members of the National Guard shot and killed four students protesting the war in Vietnam at Kent State University. In 1992, the National Guard was deployed during protests in Los Angeles following the acquittal of four police officers (three of whom were white) in the severe beating of a Black man, Rodney King. Trump has long speculated about violently deploying the National Guard and even the military against his own people. During his first administration, at the height of the Black Lives Matter protests, former Secretary of Defence Mark Esper alleged that Trump asked him, "Can't you just shoot them, just shoot them in the legs or something?" Trump has also long sought to other those opposed to his radical agenda to reshape the United States and its role in the world. He's classified them as "un-American" and, therefore, deserving of contempt and, when he deems it necessary, violent oppression. During last year's election campaign, he promised to "root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country". Even the Washington Post characterised this description of Trump's "political enemies" as "echoing Hitler, Mussolini". In addition, Trump has long peddled baseless conspiracies about "sanctuary cities", such as Los Angeles. He has characterised them as lawless havens for his political enemies and places that have been "invaded" by immigrants. As anyone who has ever visited these places knows, that is not true. It is no surprise that in the same places Trump characterises as "disgracing our country", there has been staunch opposition to his agenda and ideology. That opposition has coalesced in recent weeks around the activities of ICE agents, in particular. These agents, wearing masks to conceal their identities, have been arbitrarily detaining people, including US citizens and children, and disappearing people off the streets. They have also arrested caregivers, leaving children alone. As Adam Serwer wrote in The Atlantic during the first iteration of Trump in America, "the cruelty is the point". The Trump administration's mass deportation program is deliberately cruel and provocative. It was always only a matter of time before protests broke out. In a democracy, nonviolent protest by hundreds or perhaps a few thousand people in a city of 10 million is not a crisis. But it has always suited Trump and the movement that supports him to manufacture crises. White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, a key architect of the mass deportations program and a man described by a former adviser as "Waffen SS", called the protests "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States". Trump himself also described protesters as "violent, insurrectionist mobs". Nowhere does the presidential memo deploying the National Guard name the specific location of the protests. This, and the extreme language coming out of the administration, suggests it is laying the groundwork for further escalation. The administration could be leaving space to deploy the National Guard in other places and invoke the Insurrection Act. Incidents involving the deployment of the National Guard are rare, though politically cataclysmic. It is rarer still for the National Guard to be deployed against the wishes of a democratically elected leader of a state, as Trump has done in California. This deployment comes at a time of crisis for US democracy more broadly. Trump's longstanding attacks against independent media - what he describes as "fake news" - are escalating. There is a reason that during the current protests, a law enforcement officer appeared so comfortable targeting a journalist, on camera. The Trump administration is also actively targeting independent institutions such as Harvard and Columbia universities. It is also targeting and undermining judges and reducing the power of independent courts to enforce the rule of law. Under Trump, the federal government and its state-based allies are targeting and undermining the rights of minority groups - policing the bodies of trans people, targeting reproductive rights, and beginning the process of undoing the Civil Rights Act. Trump is, for the moment, unconstrained. Asked overnight what the bar is for deploying the Marines against protesters, Trump responded: "the bar is what I think it is". As New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie recently observed:" We should treat Trump and his openly authoritarian administration as a failure, not just of our party system or our legal system, but of our Constitution and its ability to meaningfully constrain a destructive and system-threatening force in our political life." While the situation in Los Angeles is unpredictable, it must be understood in the broader context of the active, violent threat the Trump administration poses to the US. As we watch, American democracy teeters on the brink. This article was updated on June 9, 2025 to correct information about Rodney King.
