Today, Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY-12) released the following statement on Donald Trump’s Reckless Escalation of Tensions in Los Angeles: 

"Donald Trump has taken a series of provocative and dangerous steps intended to escalate tensions in Los Angeles. He floated the idea of arresting California’s governor, overrode six decades of precedent by deploying the National Guard without the state’s request, and has now mobilized a full Marine battalion, an alarming and unprecedented escalation. The use of active-duty military forces to confront civil protests, especially over the objections of state leaders, is a dangerous action that poses a direct threat to civil liberties and the foundations of our democracy.

Let me be clear: I support peaceful protest and do not want to see violence on our streets. I am thankful that, as Governor Newsom, Mayor Bass, and the Los Angeles Police Department have stated, the protests in Los Angeles have been overwhelmingly peaceful. It is clear that state and local law enforcement did not—and do not—need assistance from the National Guard or the Marines. Even before the Guard arrived in Los Angeles, Trump credited them with restoring calm, proving that this deployment was not a response to any real public safety need, but rather a calculated attempt to use the power of the federal government to intimidate communities, silence dissent, and punish states that defy him. Additionally, LAPD leadership stated yesterday that the deployment of Marines to Los Angeles “presents significant logistical and operational challenges for those of us charged with safeguarding this city.” Indeed, the deployment, which will cost American taxpayers at least $134 million, was so poorly planned that Marines and Guardsmen reportedly lack adequate fuel, water, and even a place to sleep.

Trump has referred to protesters in Los Angeles as insurrectionists, and his hypocrisy is staggering. When violent extremists stormed the U.S. Capitol on January 6 and attacked law enforcement officers, Trump refused to call them insurrectionists or authorize the National Guard in time to stop the violence. Since then, he has pardoned many of them, including those who assaulted police and left more than 140 officers injured.

Trump’s actions are also part of a broader effort to manufacture a crisis and use it to justify cruel, sweeping crackdowns on immigrant communities. Dreamers and longtime residents are being detained without warrants, denied access to legal counsel, and stripped of their rights. In some cases, individuals are taken in the middle of the night with no explanation and no official record of their whereabouts.

These authoritarian crackdowns have reached as far as my own district office, where DHS officers entered without a warrant and unnecessarily detained a member of my staff. Across the country, DHS personnel are operating in secrecy, wearing masks, using unmarked vehicles, and arresting people on public streets without identifying themselves or offering any form of accountability. That is not how law enforcement should function in a democracy. Concealing identity and evading oversight are tactics of intimidation, not instruments of justice.

Congressional Republicans cannot stand by silently while constitutional rights are trampled and federal forces are turned against the American people. That is how democracies backslide, through normalization and inaction. I will continue to do everything in my power to stop this abuse, demand accountability from the Trump Administration, and fight to ensure that our democratic principles are protected for future generations."

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