Pro-Kremlin Media Hail Los Angeles Unrest As ‘Civil War'
Kremlin-friendly pundits and programs have been savoring every shot of protesters in Los Angeles this week, some proclaiming that the United States must be in midst of a new 'civil war.'
Prominent state-run Rossia-1 TV host Vladimir Solovyov put it bluntly: 'I'm enjoying what I see.'
He was not alone.
'Congratulations on the beginning of a civil war in the United States of America,' pro-Kremlin TV personality Sergei Mardan said. 'Unfortunately, I'm joking,' he added mirthlessly.
Andrey Cherkasov of RFE/RL's Current Time surveyed the Kremlin-friendly media landscape over the past few days and found it rife with pronouncements of widespread pandemonium in the United States.
'In reality, the unrest in Los Angeles is limited to a small area,' Cherkasov said, 'but the propagandists describe it as a nationwide catastrophe.'
The key scenes and images appearing so far are generally those of street demonstrations in the Los Angeles area, which were sparked by recent high-profile arrests of suspected undocumented immigrants by agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Locals have demanded an end to ICE raids and enforcement actions there, including Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
ICE said it arrested over 40 suspected undocumented migrants at a work site and another 77 people were reportedly arrested by ICE and federal partners across the greater L.A. area on June 6, which appeared to be the focus of the protests.
'This is a city of immigrants,' Bass said. 'This is a city that wants to help you get your legal status. This is a city that embraces everybody that is here, regardless of when you got here or where you came from.'
Kremlin-friendly journalists have been airing a far more alarmist viewpoint — but at times are also gleeful.
'I can't help gloating over it all, I admit,' Mardan said on-air on Rossia-1. 'The worse it is for the United States, the better it is for us.'
As Cherkasov pointed out, 'Cheering over unrest in the United States is standard fare for the Kremlin and Kremlin-friendly media.'
The rhetoric is well-practiced and hardly new, he added.
'These outlets have, after all, come up with surveys that purportedly show America as their country's main adversary for the last 20 years.'
Much of the pro-Putin coverage that depicts the Los Angeles area as 'apocalyptic,' Cherkasov said.
But he noted that some broadcasters in the United States have been using similar language, at least some of the time.
Viewers of CBS's Face the Nation heard reports with a voiceover that said: 'Chaos erupted in the Los Angeles area over the weekend following increased activity across the country by ICE.'
But the Kremlin-aligned outlets have shown a passion for the most tabloid elements, Cherkasov said. 'Russian presenters are savoring every detail: flying rocks, smoke, and rubber bullets.
Three he cited were succinct: 'Chaos in Los Angeles,' proclaimed Russia-1 TV, 'Fighting, violence, and provocations,' said a TVC host, and 'The tension is rising,' announced another Russia-1 TV presenter.
Another usual angle in the Putin-approved media, Cherkasov said, was the invocation of Ukraine's Euromaidan protest movement, sparked a decade ago when pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych blocked progress toward EU membership.
'Just remember the Kyiv Maidan in 2014: It was a war zone,' said a commentator on Russia's Vesti FM.
Suggesting deliberate conspiracies behind the Los Angeles demonstrations is also standard pro-Kremlin fare, said Cherkasov.
'The Kremlin has always tried to suggest there's foreign backing behind any civil protest.'
So-called color revolutions are also said to be the work of US agents, he said, such as Georgia's 2003 Rose Revolution and Ukraine's 2004 Orange Revolution.
As if on cue, a presenter on Russia's Channel 5 summed up the L.A. protests this way: 'All the elements of a color revolution are there.'
Another, a guest on Solovyov's program, Solovyov Live, proclaimed, 'This did not happen spontaneously.'
According to Western sources, since June 6, nearly 400 people have been arrested in Los Angeles, including 330 undocumented migrants and 157 people charged with assault and obstruction — including one charged with attempted murder of a police officer.
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