Trump's Manufactured Crisis in LA
Trump wants you to think LA is burning. Here's the reality on the ground. Plus some other breaking news you might have missed.
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When I started my news career in Orlando, Florida, I was what they call a "one-man-band reporter.” I didn't just report the story or go on camera — I booked interviews, shot video, conducted interviews, and wrote and edited scripts. I learned from the beginning how to tell a compelling television news story, and one of the first lessons was: Fire gets eyeballs. Conflict holds attention.
So I learned the craft. Show up at a riot or protest, and you can usually walk blocks through people marching and chatting — uneventful stuff. You have to find the heart of the "action": maybe the one block where extremists confront police, or the location of a burning car. You zoom in on that conflagration and let it fill the whole screen because that's what "tells the story." The boring blocks of people marching won't get eyeballs.
You've heard versions of this truth before: Conflict sells. If it bleeds, it leads.
That style of reporting was always problematic for obvious reasons. But today, it’s dangerous. When it comes to covering the anti-ICE protests in LA, centering only the conflict — letting the burning fire fill the whole screen — plays directly into Trump's narrative that there's a crisis worthy of federalizing troops and sending in Marines. Today it's Los Angeles, but tomorrow it could be your city.
This is exactly why News Not Noise exists. In a moment when sensationalized coverage can literally justify authoritarian overreach, cutting through the manufactured chaos isn't just good journalism — it's a democratic necessity.
So in this newsletter, we provide specifics that paint a more complete picture. Yes, cars were set on fire. But there are also videos from protesters showing calm, except for the sound of smoke bombs fired by law enforcement.
Even the LAPD said they had it under control and didn't need the Guard.
Some of you ask if this is all meant to distract from Trump's fight with Elon Musk — or Musk's threats about Epstein files — or to give the GOP cover to pass tax cuts while the country's attention is elsewhere. Maybe, and those stories matter too.
But what's happening in Los Angeles represents something far more fundamental: a stress test of American federalism itself. We're watching a president assert the authority to deploy federal troops within state borders over the objections of both state and local officials — not in response to a natural disaster or genuine emergency, but to escalate a political conflict of his own making.
The constitutional question isn't whether Trump can do this once in California. It's whether any president can do this anywhere, anytime, simply by declaring local officials insufficiently cooperative. If the answer is yes, then hasn’t the balance of power between federal and state government — a cornerstone of American democracy — fundamentally shifted through a quiet expansion of executive power during a manufactured crisis?
The flames filling our TV screens aren't just burning cars — they're the kindling for a much larger fire. What happens in Los Angeles likely won't stay in Los Angeles. And in moments like these, when constitutional guardrails are being tested, separating signal from noise isn't just our mission — it's why a free press exists.
LA On Fire:
Breaking: Donald Trump has just announced that 700 Marines have been deployed to LA. They’re expected to arrive in the next 24 hours.
Angelenos v. Authoritarianism: Peaceful protests against ICE raids in LA turned into a national flash point with competing accounts of just how (non) violent the protests were and who was responsible. Over the weekend Trump deployed National Guard troops over the objections of state and local leaders. If you watch the news, you might think the city has descended into anarchy. The president has called the protests in LA an “insurrection.” That’s a wild fiction. There were tens of thousands of protesters — maybe more. In total, law enforcement says 56 of them were arrested and 11 officers injured. The LAPD said the National Guard was deployed too hastily. Multiple lawmakers, including Governor Gavin Newsom, LA Mayor Karen Bass, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) have all accused Trump of “sowing chaos” and escalating the situation.
The News: Today California Governor Gavin Newsom said that California is suing Trump over his “illegal” decision to, in Trump’s own words today, “BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” Newsom warned that Trump’s order “will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing.” He called the administration’s subsequent suggestion (now reality) of sending in active duty Marines “deranged.” Trump and his “border czar” Tom Homan also threatened to arrest state officials, including Newsom and Bass, for impeding ICE’s actions. Newsom doesn’t seem bothered by the threats: “Arrest me,” he said over the weekend. Homan subsequently claimed there had been “no discussion of arresting Newsom” in the administration — but Trump renewed the threat today, telling reporters he “would do it if I were Tom, I think it’s great.” Newsom warns that Trump’s actions are creating chaos and violating the Constitution: “This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.”
The Spark: All this started when ICE arrived in Los Angeles on Friday. Agents arrested day workers out of Home Deport parking lots, garment workers on the job in the fashion district, and kitchen workers in LA restaurants. “Why were there raids?” LA Mayor Karen Bass later asked. “We had been told that [Trump] was going to go after violent criminals. It wasn’t a drug den; it was a Home Depot.” Immigrant rights groups say that many of these people have disappeared into the system, without making contact with their lawyers. And multiple elected officials attempted to gain access to the detention facility to check out conditions. Though they have a legal right to get in, they were denied entry. See my interview with Congressman Jimmy Gomez on his attempts here.
No Entry: Two other members of Congress were denied entry to an ICE facility in New York; multiple California lawmakers were also blocked from entering a separate ICE facility on Sunday.
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Escalation: The protest and conflict started when armed federal agents deployed grenades against protestor angry at an immigration raid on a clothing wholesaler near downtown LA on Friday. The agents arrived at the location, less than two miles from City Hall, in armored trucks and unmarked vehicles. “They started throwing flash bangs and blew everybody up,” one passerby, who was not part of the protest but was injured, said. “I got shrapnel all over my body.” Despite the initial protest being small — just 100 people with 27 arrests, according to Bass — Trump deployed the California National Guard on Saturday. This was over the fierce objections of Governor Gavin Newsom who subsequently called on Trump to “rescind” the order. For context, the last time a president did this was in 1965, when LBJ deployed troops to protect civil rights demonstrators. By Sunday, hundreds of National Guard troops were on the ground in LA. Crucially, Trump’s order does not mention California, meaning he could theoretically invoke it in other states. “We’re gonna have troops everywhere,” Trump said. Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Marines in nearby Camp Pendleton were on “high alert.” And today 700 Marines from Twentynine Palms, California were deployed to LA.
Violence: There were isolated violent clashes, including near the Metropolitan Detention Center, where detained immigrants are being held. Some protestors also threw rocks and launched fireworks at officers. And separate confrontations happened on Saturday in Paramount and Compton, 20-something miles south of downtown, amid rumors of an ICE raid on a local Home Depot. The LAPD began using “non-lethal” munitions against protestors — and journalists. A British news photographer was hit by a three-inch “plastic bullet” and had to be rushed to hospital; an Australian reporter was shot by a rubber bullet while on camera. One protester was trampled by police horses. Multiple autonomous taxis operated by Waymo were set on fire and defaced with anti-ICE graffiti, leading the company to suspend services in areas with protests.
Meanwhile, LA’s annual Pride Parade marched through Hollywood without any delays (with some of the 100,000 attendees chanting “ICE out of LA, National Guard go away”) and the Hollywood Bowl opened for its 2025 season without incident. “This is not like the 1992 riots,” one local professor said. “In places like the West Side it’s largely business as usual.”
Suspicious Target: David Huerta, a union president and US citizen, was arrested by federal agents while acting as a community observer during one of the ICE raids that sparked this weekend’s protests in LA. He was hospitalized for injuries sustained during the arrest, and remains in custody. His first court appearance is expected to be this afternoon.
Spreading: Solidarity protests erupted in San Francisco on Sunday, with several dozen people arrested and multiple buildings vandalized.
Show Your Face: “From now on,” Trump said on Sunday, “masks will not be allowed to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why?” Keep in mind the president has no established authority to enforce this and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem avoided answering questions about it on Sunday. The administration insists that ICE agents need to be disguised with masks for their safety, slamming calls for them to be identified as “sick.”
One in Ten: Why is Los Angeles a flashpoint when ICE is using equally indiscriminate and seemingly unlawful tactics in raids across the country? LA’s immigrant community is a central part of its identity. It is a majority-minority city where one in ten people is undocumented. Most Angelenos in my orbit grew up knowing undocumented people and they are a crucial part of the city. 72% of Californians believe that immigrants are a net benefit to society, contributing to the economy and our shared growth. Many residents have expressed despair at seeing the careless, inhumane, and likely illegal tactics ICE is using to forcibly remove non-violent people, many of whom have been in this country for decades. Please take a moment to watch the video I made about the reality of ICE’s targets. You can watch that here. ICE is reportedly continuing its raids in Southern California today.
Cutting Ties: Glendale, the third-largest city in LA County, severed ties with ICE today. Officials cancelled a contract that allowed ICE to house immigration detainees in the city jail, explaining the move was “rooted in what this city stands for — public safety, local accountability, and trust.” Under state law, local law enforcement may not engage in immigration enforcement.
Real Criminals: This is seemingly all part of an effort to meet the administration’s new quota – 3,000 arrests a day. And Stephen Miller is quoted saying of ICE: “What do you mean you’re going after criminals?” “Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?” Might he be venting frustration over widespread (unconfirmed) rumors that his wife left him for… Elon Musk? (Yes, that’s noise. Indulge us here.)
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