'Trump wants chaos': On the frontline of the LA protests

1News

a day ago

Rubber bullets. Tear gas. Fireworks. Graffiti. The never-ending chanting. This is Downtown Los Angeles, which has found itself the epicentre of protests against immigration raids. US Correspondent Logan Church reports from the front lines in Los Angeles.
This all kicked off when federal immigration agents – colloquially referred to here as "ICE" – began raiding businesses and arrested dozens of "illegal immigrants".
Donald Trump's administration calls these people "violent criminals" and "terrorists".
Some are. Some are not. Some are just dads. Members of the community with people who love them.
All of them, though, live in what is probably the most migrant friendly city in America – Los Angeles.
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And Angelinos are furious.
Speaking from Los Angeles, 1News US correspondent Logan Church said "people here are deeply angry". (Source: Breakfast)
As soon as I drove into the centre of the city, the first thing I noticed was the graffiti. Everywhere. All federal buildings were covered in messages – the most common being the simple "f*** ICE". People were casually adding more as I walked past, not caring if I filmed them. Most welcomed it.
The second thing I noticed was the huge numbers of police and federal guards. They surrounded all those buildings like an army. And when protestors got too close – or the odd one threw something – they shot rubber bullets and tear gas.
Standing a few blocks from the front line, a young protestor came running up, asking if I had seen a medic. He pointed frantically to an older man sitting on a bench with blood pouring down his tattered trousers. He'd just been shot with a rubber bullet. What was more surreal was seeing the line of police less than 5m away, doing nothing to help.
1News US Correspondent Logan Church reports from the front lines in downtown Los Angeles. (Source: 1News)
Talking to protestors this week, they told me they were furious about the ICE raids – and that was why they were there. But they were even more angry about what they called a heavy-handed police response directed by Trump.
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"He's wanting to cause chaos," one protestor told me. "He's wanting to incite fear and cause violence in order to do martial law on us. He wants to enact something so he can have more rule over us and I don't stand for that."
Another man said the reason he'd come out to protest was simple.
"Everything they are doing is illegal, so when someone breaks the law you've gotta come and make sure they follow the law."
Authorities stand in tear gas while trying to clear protesters at the metropolitan detention centre in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night's immigration raid protest. (Source: Associated Press)
Perhaps the most fascinating chat I had though was with a pair of Kiwis who just happened to walk past where I was filming. They'd decided to join the demonstrators as they marched around the city.
"We just arrived in LA about an hour ago, we are staying in downtown LA and we could hear the sirens, we could hear the helicopters, so we decided to go for a walk to check it out," said Tiana Griffin.
"We had to join because this is the equivalent of the Te Tiriti Hikoi, fighting for the greater good, fighting for the most vulnerable communities. The people that are serving this country, it makes you want to sob at the mamae that you feel for these people is the same mamae that you feel for Māori in Aotearoa at the moment. So we had to. We were just drawn to it."
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"This felt like home," added Meretini.
"We are standing in the middle of something that resonated for the both of us, having walked the hikoi down to government and this is their form of it — and everyone is really worried at home about how it would be for us in LA, but really this has been the best introduction to LA – to be able to stand with their people."
For the pair, joining the marchers was an easy decision.
"It's meaningful – our children are telling us to stay safe and stay out of trouble – but this is so peaceful. This is exactly like the Te Tiriti marches that we had in Aotearoa. Everyone is carrying their flags calling out in Spanish – I wish I knew what they were saying so we can join in but it's the same feeling, it's the same aroha as our marches back home."
In my travels throughout America, I have met many people who believe that illegal immigrants are the cause of much of the country's woes. They're concerned about jobs not being available, housing costs rising, and crime.
I've also met people deeply concerned about their friends, family, and neighbours, being increasingly treated as lesser beings by this country's leaders.
As a reporter who has covered countless protests at home and here in America, I can confidently say this one in Los Angeles feels different.
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It's a city that has birthed protest movements that have swept the nation, and this feels just like that.