On June 14^th, across the United States, demonstrations against the Trump administration and its anti-migrant policies broke out. These demonstrations, organized by a coalition of over 200 organizations – the ACLU, MoveOn, and Indivisible, notable among them – were called the ‘No Kings’ protests and were organized as a direct response to Trump’s farcical birthday military parade. A focal point and one of the largest sites of demonstration was Los Angeles, a city terrorized by the Trump Administration’s policies of mass deportations carried out by ICE – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE, an organization established in 2003, has rapidly become Trump and his cronies’ preferred tool of political terror and state repression, given blanket power to arrest, detain, and disappear people seemingly at will. The detention of Mahmoud Khalil, a key figure in the protests against the Israeli genocide in Palestine at Columbia University and a U.S. permanent resident, is one particularly high-profile example of the administration’s mobilization of ICE as a tool for political terrorism. The national climate of unrest stoked by this use of ICE, coupled with the particularly aggressive targeting of the Los Angeles migrant community, made the Los Angeles protests one of the largest in the United States.

The protest itself brought a large swath of the population of Los Angeles out into the streets. In addition to people involved in community defense demonstrations against ICE in the weeks leading up to the 14^th, the ‘No Kings’ rally also drew out families with children, students, and old people. Signs bearing slogans like ‘ICE out of L.A.’, mixed with a general anti-Trumpist sentiment. Some demonstrators carried upside down American flags; Palestinian flags, LGBTQ flags, and trans flags were also common – chants of ‘Fuck ICE’ mixed with ‘Free Palestine’, ‘Viva Viva Palestina’, and a fair few ‘Hands off Iran.’ While the largest prevailing sentiment was support for and solidarity with the large immigrant community in Los Angeles, there was a large labor union, pro-Palestine, feminist, and LGBTQ+ presence. In addition to more moderate, even liberal forces, a large number of radical revolutionary organizations, including the IMHO, were out in force. The atmosphere on the ground was jovial; in some places, a festival-like atmosphere prevailed. Live music was performed along the planned route the march took, and while there was some scorn heaped on the national guard goons scandalously called in by the Trump Administration, the atmosphere was through the morning and the early afternoon was overwhelmingly peaceful. However, after the main rally broke up around 2 pm, some demonstrators attempted to reach the nearby ICE detention center. They were blocked by the California Highway Patrol and swiftly afterwards met with the brutal response from the police that has characterized how demonstrations across the country have been handled in the lead up to June 14^th.

The sudden reaction on the ground can be attributed to the contradictions in the official response to the demonstrations in Los Angeles. On the one hand, the City seemed to welcome the protests, granting them a permit. On the other hand, every other action taken by the local officialdom in Los Angeles seemed aimed at creating an atmosphere of fear and hostility. Metro stations were shut down, along with at least four exits along the highway. Public bathrooms were also notably inaccessible – this was especially onerous for a protest that included children and older people. In addition, a large number of local businesses were boarded up and shuttered, including the Broad Museum, run by the slimy capitalist Eli Broad (notable for his plans to ‘charterize’ 50% of Los Angeles’s high schools). On the one hand, the city seemed to welcome the demonstrations, on the other, it seemed like the unspoken policy was to limit attendance as much as possible. This impression is only furthered by the murky situation on the ground in terms of police presence and responsibility. The L.A.P.D. was out in force as a local response, but the California Highway Patrol was also heavily involved. At the largest level, ICE and the National Guard represented a contingent of federal government attention. This mixed response was doubtless intentional as a way to obscure who precisely was responsible for the brutal repression aimed at largely peaceful demonstrators. What remains to be seen is how far this local hybridized and muddled response will be taken as protests continue and increase in intensity across the country and in Los Angeles, especially with rumors of work stoppages heading into an already struggling summer tourism season.