MSNBC / Screenshot
Democratic lawmakers and major media figures are facing backlash for downplaying — and in some cases inciting — the violent anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) riots that erupted in Los Angeles June 6.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-CT., dismissed the riots as “pretty small,” while accusing Trump of deliberately provoking a confrontation for political gain. Most controversially, Murphy simultaneously called on the public to “be on the streets.”
“Obviously, this is a moment where we have to be on the streets all over the country to protest what’s happening to our immigrant community, but more broadly to protest what’s happening to our democracy,” Murphy said. “This is the most corrupt administration in the history of the country, and we are going to rise to this moment by being out there on the streets.”
Murphy added that Trump “is taking a protest that is relatively isolated… and he’s trying to turn a protest that is pretty small into something that involves an even bigger confrontation so that he might actually be able to invoke the Insurrection Act.”
Meanwhile, media figures have also worked to minimize the violence.
ABC7 Los Angeles anchor Marc Brown referred to the rioters as “a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn” during a live broadcast over the weekend.
“It could turn very volatile if you move law enforcement in there the wrong way,” Brown said, “turning what is just a bunch of people having fun watching cars burn, into a massive confrontation and altercation.”
Brown’s remarks reflect a broader trend in legacy media coverage. Outlets like the Associated Press, CBS News, and the Los Angeles Times avoided using the terms “riot” or “rioters,” even while reporting on arson, looting, and violent attacks on police, the Daily Caller reported.
Despite the dismissive rhetoric, the reality painted a starkly different picture.
Footage from the riots showed masked agitators smashing windows, torching vehicles, and launching concrete and commercial-grade fireworks at law enforcement.
In response to the escalating violence, President Donald Trump on June 8 ordered the Department of Homeland Security and National Guard “to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.”
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) Chief Jim McDonnell also condemned the escalating attacks on officers.
“The violence that I’ve seen is disgusting,” McDonnell said June 8. “It’s escalated now since the beginning of this incident…Tonight, we had individuals shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers. That can kill you.”
Among the groups leading the riots is the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA), a progressive nonprofit that has received tens of millions in taxpayer dollars — primarily through California state grants, according to the New York Post.
Yet rather than support efforts to restore order, Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced June 9 that the state is suing the Trump administration. Newsom accused the president of “illegally” federalizing the National Guard and claimed Trump was attempting “to manufacture chaos and violence.”
Trump reinforced his decision to deploy federal forces in a Monday post on X.
“If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated,” Trump wrote, accusing Newsom of choosing “to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are ‘peaceful protests.’”
“We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” he added.
