Who’s telling the truth? Searching for a shared reality amid L.A. protests

The notion of a shared, definitive reality remained elusive Monday in Los Angeles, as anti-ICE protests roiled the city for a fourth day.

Had the city descended into lawless pandemonium, as Fox News proclaimed?

Or were there pockets of havoc amid largely peaceful protests — with both concentrated in a relatively narrow geographic area, while workaday business continued as usual on a warm spring weekend across the rest of our sprawling metropolis?

After spending the day in and around downtown’s Civic Center, where sign-carrying demonstrators overflowed from Gloria Molina Grand Park east to various, newly graffitied federal buildings, I would argue that the latter description hews far closer to the truth.

But after more than a decade as a reporter, I would be the first to admit that objectivity is in the eye of the beholder. And even then, it’s largely a mirage.

A few collected facts

A handful of city workers began their morning outside the towering Art Deco edifice of Los Angeles City Hall, assessing the damage from Sunday night’s protests. Graffiti, with one ubiquitous expletive preceding the word “ICE” in about a dozen places, marred the granite exterior, with roughly a dozen broken windows on the south and west sides of the building.

Chaos flared in other parts of downtown Los Angeles over the weekend, leaving sidewalks littered with shattered glass, and scattered buildings boarded up in anticipation of more trouble. At least 74 people were arrested across the region on suspicion of vandalism, looting, violence and more across the region, authorities said. The detritus visible Monday morning was ugly, but not dissimilar from what I saw after covering dozens of downtown protests over the years, particularly during the first Trump administration.

By noon Monday, thousands of union members, immigrant rights activists and supporters filled the grassy knoll overlooking City Hall at a boisterous —but peaceful — rally demanding the release of SEIU California President David Huerta, who was arrested and injured during Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids last week.

At one point, the crowd danced and sang along to “La Bamba,” with an emcee declaring, “I want to hear the loudest ‘Bamba’ ever heard in this damn town,” over a loudspeaker. Huerta was released hours later.

“I think folks are choosing to amplify images of chaos instead of images of love and solidarity and community building,” Assemblymember Isaac Bryan said Monday afternoon, standing with a gaggle of clergy outside the federal court building where Huerta was being arraigned. “I was out in the streets yesterday, and what I saw was street vendors serving protesters who were dancing, with calls for freedom and to be safe in their own communities.”

Further military escalation

By late afternoon, the federal government announced that it would be sending 700 Marines to Los Angeles — another staggering and historic escalation, amid a series of staggering and historic escalations.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom also said Monday afternoon that the Trump administration would be sending an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to the region, a move that Newsom characterized as “reckless” and “pointless.”

“This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego,” Newsom said.

The mayor’s version of events

Addressing the public on Monday evening from the city’s emergency operations center, Mayor Karen Bass spoke to the raw panic that the surprise raids were fueling in a region where hundreds of thousands of people live without legal authorization and mixed-status families are common.

“I can’t emphasize enough the level of fear and terror that is in Angelenos right now, not knowing if tomorrow or tonight, it might be where they live. It might be their workplace. Should you send your kids to school? Should you go to work?” Bass said, referring to the raids.

The mayor also took aim at the dueling visions of reality at play, saying she had read a troubling description of Los Angeles as a place “invaded and occupied by illegal aliens,” where “violent insurrectionist mobs were swarming and attacking our federal agents.

“I don’t know if anybody has seen that happen, but I’ve not seen that happen,” Bass declared.

“Obviously there has been violence, and the violence is unacceptable,” the mayor continued. But so were the descriptions of the “migrant invasion” and “migrant riots” in the city, she suggested, and the supposition that order would be restored if those same migrants were expelled.

“How is this a description? This is a despicable description of our city,” Bass said. “Our city needs to come together now and not accept this, and not allow us to be divided.”

Today’s top stories

California officials said they would file a federal lawsuit Monday against President Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying the deployment of nearly 2,000 members of the California National Guard was a violation of the U.S. Constitution.

(Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

California sues Trump over ‘unlawful, unprecedented’ National Guard deployment

• California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta said the lawsuit will accuse Trump and U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth of violating the 10th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which spells out the limits of federal power.
• “Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law, and not one we take lightly,” Bonta said in a statement.
• The California lawsuit follows days of protests and some violent clashes between protesters and local police and federal officials following ICE raids that began on Friday.
• Local officials have decried vandalism and burglaries during the protests, but have defended the right of Angelenos to peacefully demonstrate against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement.

The breakdown between Trump and Newsom deepens as L.A. crisis intensifies

• As immigration raids roil Los Angeles, President Trump and Gov. Newsom cannot even agree on how they left their last conversation, late on Friday evening on the East Coast, as protests picked up around the city.
• Aides to Trump told The Times he issued a clear warning: “Get the police in gear.” His patience would last less than 24 hours before he chose a historic path, federalizing the National Guard against the wishes of state and local officials.
• The governor, on the other hand, told MSNBC the account is a lie. In their 40-minute call, not once did the president raise the prospect of wresting control over the National Guard from state and local officials.
• They have not spoken since, a White House official said.

The Salton Sea is emitting foul-smelling hydrogen sulfide gas and triggering health concerns

• New research shows the Salton Sea is emitting hydrogen sulfide gas, which smells like rotten eggs, at levels higher than previously measured.
• The findings document how the odors from the Salton Sea add to the air quality problems and health concerns in communities near the lake, where windblown dust drifts from exposed stretches of parched lakebed and where people suffer from high rates of asthma and other respiratory illnesses.

What else is going on

• How L.A. law enforcement got pulled into the fight over Trump’s immigration crackdown.
• No, Dr. Phil wasn’t present at L.A. ICE raids, but he taped an interview with Trump’s border advisor.
• Former O.C. Supervisor Andrew Do is headed to prison for a COVID relief bribery scheme.
• Glendale ends its ICE contract, and will no longer hold detainees.
• Trump’s new travel ban takes effect as tensions escalate over immigration enforcement.
• Tony Awards: Hollywood A-listers brought the spotlight to Broadway, but stage thespians carried the day.
• Sly Stone, funk-rock progenitor and leader of the Family Stone, has died at 82.
• A judge tosses out Justin Baldoni’s lawsuit against Blake Lively and the New York Times.

Commentary and opinions

• Trump wants L.A. to set itself on fire. Let’s rebel smarter, argues columnist Gustavo Arellano.
• Can Newsom block tax payments to the U.S. government? No, but we do give more than we get back, writes columnist Michael Hiltzik.
• Why this overheated invasion of L.A. looks so ugly and feels so personal, columnist Steve Lopez writes.
• Putting the bully in bully pulpit, Trump escalates in L.A. rather than seeking calm, columnist Mark Z. Barabak argues.

A poem to start your Tuesday

• “Waiting for the Barbarians” by C. P. Cavafy.

This morning’s must reads

Lifestyle

She delivered Hailey Bieber’s baby and saved Olivia Munn’s life. Her new calling? Podcast host

Dr. Tha?s Aliabadi has delivered the babies of Rihanna, Khloe Kardashian and Hailey Bieber. She also diagnosed Olivia Munn with breast cancer, Tiffany Haddish with endometriosis and Florence Pugh with polycystic ovary syndrome. Now the celebrity doctor has a podcast, ‘She MD.’

June 9, 2025

Other must reads

• ‘Learning studio’ is the new high school classroom. Will teachers embrace the concept?
• These street vendors used their aguas frescas to fight tear gas at anti-ICE protests.
• Experts break down the worst Emmy snubs of all time.
• Only four teenagers have won Emmys. ‘Adolescence’ star Owen Cooper deserves to join them.

For your downtime

A hot tub at Sunstone Spa.

(Agua Caliente Casinos)

Going out

• Spas: 10 seriously sublime Palm Springs-area spas with day passes.
• Restaurants: Eight bakeries with globally inspired croissants that are uniquely L.A.

Staying in

• Books: How important are Bob Dylan’s Jewish roots? An entertaining biography doesn’t really answer the question.
• Recipes: Here’s a recipe for pappardelle with mushrooms and cashew cream.
• ?? Get our free daily crossword puzzle, sudoku, word search and arcade games.

Email us at essentialcalifornia@latimes.com, and your response might appear in the newsletter this week.

And finally ... your photo of the day

Gizmo takes flight.

(Friends of Big Bear Valley)

Today’s great photo is from Friends of Big Bear Valley in Big Bear Lake where Gizmo, the second eaglet of a family of eagles monitored by a 24-hour webcam, flew from its nest this weekend.

Have a great day, from the Essential California team

Julia Wick, staff writer
Kevinisha Walker, multiplatform editor
Andrew Campa, Sunday writer
Karim Doumar, head of newsletters

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