A Nation Before June 14 – How Los Angeles Became the Epicenter of a Presidential State of Emergency

Los Angeles, June 9, 2025, 3:00 AM (12:00 PM CET)

It was already the evening of June 6 when the first protests formed and the raids began, but the nights from June 7 to 9 brought the first open escalation. ICE agents sealed off streets, arresting dozens of migrants in the Fashion District, in Home Depot parking garages, and in public spaces. The images from Los Angeles resembled scenes more familiar from authoritarian states. And that is precisely what this June marks – the moment when a free city defied a federal government overstepping its powers.

What happened in Los Angeles was not a sudden escalation, but the result of three days of mounting tension. Protests against the raids began on Friday, with the first confrontations taking place on Saturday in Paramount and Compton. But it was Sunday when the situation fully spiraled. The National Guard marched in. Tear gas over downtown. Four Waymo taxis in flames. And on Truth Social, Donald Trump posted one message after another:

“It looks really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” (40 minutes ago) “ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!” (37 minutes ago) “Governor Gavin Newsscum and ‘Mayor’ Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles... These are not protesters, they are insurrectionists. REMEMBER: NO MASKS!” (10 minutes ago)

Governor Gavin Newsom had submitted a written protest just hours earlier against the deployment of the National Guard. “This is a deliberate violation of state sovereignty.” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said at an afternoon press conference that this was “a targeted provocation, not a security-related deployment.” But the order had already been signed – 2,000 California National Guard soldiers were placed under Donald Trump’s command without the state’s consent. The last time something like this happened was in 1965.

In the streets, the message was clear – people were no longer afraid. In front of the Metropolitan Detention Center, they chanted, “Shame! Go home!” As the guards approached, chairs, e-scooters, and chunks of concrete were thrown. On the 101 freeway, police vehicles were attacked with rocks and fireworks. The southbound lanes had to be shut down.

On the evening of June 8, the LAPD Central Division posted starting at 9:00 PM: “Demonstrators have reached the LA Live area and are blocking all lanes of Figueroa and 11th Street. An UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared for downtown Los Angeles. Please leave the area immediately.”

An hour later: “Business owners report looting in the area of 6th Street and Broadway. Our officers are en route.” And shortly before midnight: “All of Downtown Los Angeles has been declared an unlawful assembly zone. Please clear the area. Agitators have scattered throughout Downtown. Residents, businesses, and visitors should remain alert.”

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell spoke later that evening of a “shocking loss of control.” “Our officers were attacked with Molotov cocktails. The situation on the ground is becoming increasingly life-threatening. Tonight, commercial-grade fireworks were launched at officers that could have been fatal.” But violence is not the beginning – it is the result. To understand what is shaking Los Angeles, one must understand what has been denied to it – legal protection. Due process. Proportionality.

Kamala Harris wrote earlier that evening: “These arrests and this deployment of the National Guard are part of a cruel, calculated plan to spread fear and divide the country. I support all those who stand up to defend our fundamental rights and freedoms.”

Since Friday night, it feels like we are at war – and the violence must end. The path now taken is wrong and plays directly into Donald Trump's hands. The rage in the streets is the visible side of a deeper political estrangement. What Trump is planning in Los Angeles is a test run for what he wants to prevent on June 14 – nonpartisan mass protests in all 50 states. Organized by NGOs, universities, faith communities, immigration initiatives, and labor unions. It may be the largest protest day in decades. And it is precisely this day that Trump is already trying to delegitimize rhetorically – those who rise up are criminalized. Those who demonstrate are dehumanized. “Insurgents. Criminals. Left-wing radicals.”

But Los Angeles is not an isolated case. It is the beginning of a new political phase. And it shows that a government can turn against the Constitution – if no one stops it. That businesses are burning and being looted is absolutely unacceptable. That police vehicles are exploding is wrong. But that a president attacks his own people in the streets – that is the real scandal.

June 14 is approaching. Perhaps Los Angeles is not the place where it will be stopped. But it is the place where you can see it is feared.

(Photos, Reuters, Ringo Chiu, Eric Thayer, Kaizen Blog)