‘That f***ed my hair up': Twitch streamer Hasan Piker stunned by flashbang in LA riots
Piker, who lives in LA and is known for posting YouTube videos under the moniker 'HasanAbi', was interrogated by border agents last month upon returning from overseas over his anti-Trump political views.
On Monday, photos and footage of him attending the protests were shared on social media.
'They're firing into the crowd now. I don't think that's fireworks, buddy,' Piker is heard saying as he streamed from the scene.
'They're already deploying flashbangs. Not great. Look, what they're going to try and do is close down the other side of the road,' he said while standing in a throng of protestors on a highway underneath a bridge.
'I think they're going to push in from this side of the road. Oh ****, oh *****. That *f***ed my hair up,' he adds as loud bangs are heard. Piker continues to walk through the crowd, as the loud bangs continue and fans are seen approaching him to shake his hand and take selfies.
The riots erupted on Friday after federal immigration officers arrested large groups of undocumented immigrants in areas of the city with large Latino populations. What began as a peaceful protest has since escalated with dozens of arrests and reports of looting.
President Donald Trump responded to the riots by deploying 2,000 National Guard troops to the city, followed by 700 marines on Monday.
California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed his decision, calling it 'reckless' and 'pointless,' claiming that only a few hundred of the original Guard troops have been deployed, despite the president's insistence that thousands are there.
Newsom has said that California will sue the government for its deployment of the National Guard to quell the protests.
'Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight. He's exacerbated the conditions. He's, you know, lit the proverbial match.
'He's putting fuel on this fire, ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard — an illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act,' Newsom said on MSNBC Sunday evening.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Haberman warns Democrats against pushback on Trump's DC crime claims
New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman warned Democrats run a risk of alienating voters if they push back on President Trump's attempt to crack down in crime in Washington, D.C. and other large cities run by members of the party. 'I think you see that in terms of [DC] Mayor [Muriel] Bowser, how she has reacted,' Haberman, who is also a contributor to CNN, said during an appearance on the network on Tuesday. 'There is a crime problem everywhere, in multiple cities. Big cities have traditionally had crime problems.' 'There are a lot of people who feel unsafe in big cities,' she continued. 'And so if the mayor pushes back on the president, she sounds like she's not addressing concerns of constituents.' The journalist's comments were first highlighted by Mediaite. Trump on Monday declared a state of emergency over crime in the district, taking control of its police force and deploying National Guard troops to help law enforcement on city streets. Bowser, a democrat, on Monday called Trump's actions 'unprecedented' and 'unsettling' but has said she welcomes help to fight crime in the district, meeting this week with Attorney General Pam Bondi about the administration's moves. Other Democrats have vocally condemned Trump's actions, citing statistics showing crime declining in D.C. in recent years and arguing the president is overstepping his authority for political reasons. 'Violent crime in Washington, D.C. is at a thirty-year low,' House Minority Leader Hakeen Jeffries (D-N.Y.) posted on social platform X. 'Donald Trump has no basis to take over the local police department. And zero credibility on the issue of law and order. Get lost.' Trump has suggested federal agencies and the military could also deploy to other major U.S. cities, naming Chicago, New York City and Baltimore as possible targets.
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Schumer: ‘No f—ing way' Dems will back Trump DC takeover extension
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) declared on Wednesday that Democrats will not go along with a potential request by President Trump to extend federal control of the Washington, D.C., police department and deployment of the National Guard in the District. Trump can unilaterally control the department for up to 30 days, but any extension beyond that period is up to Congress, meaning it would require the support of Senate Democrats. Schumer made clear in an interview on Wednesday that wouldn't happen. 'No f—ing way,' Schumer told host Aaron Parnas. 'We'll fight him tooth and nail. … He needs to get Congress to approve it, and not only are we not going to approve it, but there are some Republicans who don't like either.' 'This is, again, just a distraction. He's afraid of Epstein,' Schumer continued, referring to the push to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the disgraced financier who died awaiting federal trial on sex trafficking charges. 'He's afraid of all that, and we are not going to give up on Epstein.' Trump on Wednesday said that he is seeking a 'long-term extension' of the federalization of the Metropolitan Police Department. 'If it's a national emergency, we can do it without Congress,' Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Center. 'But we expect to be before Congress very quickly.' He added that he plans to push for congressional backing of a crime bill that would 'pertain initially to D.C.,' but ultimately become a 'very positive example' for other cities. Both Maryland senators on Wednesday also told Semafor that they will not support any further plan to federalize the MPD. 'What Donald Trump is doing is, in some ways, a dress rehearsal for going after others around the country. And I think we need to stop this — certainly by the end of the 30 days,' said Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.). 'This should never have started, so I definitely want to make sure it doesn't continue.'
The Hill
14 minutes ago
- The Hill
Trump presses Nobel Peace Prize case: ‘The pressure's on'
President Trump is raking up global support in his push for a Nobel Peace Prize — garnering nominations from Pakistan, Cambodia, Israel and GOP lawmakers as he touts his role in talks to end various global conflicts. Friday may be Trump's biggest diplomatic test yet when he sits down with Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about ending the war in Ukraine, something the president has struggled to settle between the two adversaries. But Trump has succeeded in other long-standing conflicts. The leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan, who have been at war over territory shared by their two countries for decades, floated a joint nomination for Trump when they visited the White House recently for a U.S.-brokered peace summit. The White House is publicly arguing it is 'well past time' Trump gets the prize. A source close to Trump World said the White House is 'very serious' about getting Trump the prize, adding that 'on the merits, it's pretty straightforward.' The list of those who agree has been growing. Pakistan nominated Trump for the prize for his mediation of a ceasefire between the country and India in May. After he ended another conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, the former said this month it would nominate Trump for the prize. Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in March said he would nominate Trump for the award, and Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.) nominated him in June, citing his role in brokering a ceasefire agreement between Iran and Israel. The award is given annually in December by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to someone who has worked to establish peace between nations. A former aide in Trump's first term said senior State Department officials have the Nobel Peace Prize in the back of their heads at all times, an idea that shapes how they think about the big picture. 'There's no question the pressure's on,' the former aide said. 'Trump sees this prize as the ultimate capstone to how history will remember him.' Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet lauded Trump's 'historic contributions to advancing world peace,' in an announcement this week on the Nobel nomination. Similarly, Pakistan praised Trump for 'pragmatic diplomacy and effective peace-building' when it nominated him. India has denied that Trump played a role in its military decisions. White House trade adviser Peter Navarro in July said Trump deserves a Nobel Prize specifically for restructuring the international trade environment with his aggressive tariff plan. And the president himself said he deserved the prize after a deal was announced in June to end the conflict between Rwanda and Congo. 'I'm not politicking for it. I have a lot of people that are,' Trump said Friday about the award. However, peace in two of the world's major wars — between Russia and Ukraine, and Israel and Hamas — has proven elusive for Trump, who set high expectations for his negotiating acumen. Trump has increasingly grown frustrated that he can't end the fighting in Ukraine after promising on the campaign trail to achieve peace 'on Day 1.' He has pulled various levers, like imposing new sanctions on Russia and sanctions on India for buying Russian oil. The White House has tempered expectations for the Trump-Putin meeting in Alaska on Friday, at times calling it a 'listening session.' Trump has said this week that he would know in a matter of minutes whether Putin was serious about a peace deal. The White House has also largely avoided predicting any deliverables. When it comes to Israel, Trump showed rare daylight with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during recent remarks in which he acknowledged the starvation in Gaza, vowing to increase aid. Netanyahu in July, on a visit to the White House, presented Trump with a letter he sent to the Nobel Prize committee. 'It's nominating you for the peace prize, which is well-deserved. And you should get it,' Netanyahu said. The two leaders have not always seen eye-to-eye in public over the war in Gaza, which like in Ukraine, has no end in site with several ceasefire proposals falling apart this year. Bill O'Reilly recently told NewsNation that Trump feels the Ukraine-Russia war is the key to his prize. 'I know exactly what Trump is aiming for. He would like to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize,' O'Reilly said on NewsNation's ' On Balance.' 'That may or may not happen. That's not the most honest organization over in Norway, but he wants to get this thing settled.' Other conservatives also questioned if the effort is worth it. 'Trump is obsessed with the Nobel Prize. He shouldn't be. He talks about a new type of leadership so why does he need an affirmation by a bunch of Norwegian progressives? He needs to decide whether he wants to Make America Great Again, or if he wants to be Jimmy Carter v. 2.0,' Michael Rubin, senior fellow with the conservative Washington think tank the American Enterprise Institute, told The Hill. Former President Carter was awarded the prize post-presidency, in 2002, for his work to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts. Former President Obama received the award in the first year of his presidency, in 2009, for his work to strengthen international diplomacy. Only two other presidents have won it — former President Wilson in 1920 and former President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. Former Vice President Al Gore won it in 2007 for his work on combating climate change. 'Trump seems much more ideologically flexible than I think a lot of Republicans in D.C. would like him to be. And it's drive in pursuit of ego and the idea that he clearly wants to go down in history as some kind of celebrated deal-maker,' one former national security aide to former President Biden said. The former aide added, 'He promised to end the Russia-Ukraine war famously in 24 hours, failure. He inherited a ceasefire in Gaza, failure. That's fallen apart … he said he would try to get a nuclear deal with Iran, failure.' Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Health, argued in an op-ed this week that Trump deserves the prize for Operation Warp Speed, which got the COVID-19 vaccine off the ground at the end of his first term. On the foreign policy front, Trump has sought to bring an end to both erupting conflicts and long-simmering disputes. The White House on Friday touted the Armenia and Azerbaijan peace deal to end a decades-long conflict in the south Caucuses. At that event, the leaders of Armenia and Azerbaijan argued Trump would be worthy of the Nobel Prize for his efforts. 'I think President Trump deserves to have the Nobel Peace Prize. … We will promote for that,' Armenia Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said. 'President Trump deserves the Nobel Peace Prize many times over – his direct involvement in major conflicts, leveraging tools from America's military might to our superior consumer market, has brought peace to decades-long wars around the world,' spokesperson Anna Kelly said, adding the 'success is exemplified' by the Azerbaijan-Armenia peace summit. 'The President's legacy is already cemented as Peacemaker-in-Chief, and he has received multiple nominations because America is respected again with him in office,' she said. The former Biden national security aide argued that the previous administration had done the vast majority of the groundwork in many diplomatic deals, adding that Trump 'parachuted in' to close them. 'I think he's interested in any deal he can slap his name on and say look what I got done,' the former aide said.
