Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass defended her claim that last year’s anti-ICE demonstrations did not qualify as citywide riots, likening isolated vandalism to post-championship disturbances. She made the remarks on a podcast while criticizing the federalization of National Guard troops and the deployment of Marines. The Los Angeles Police Protective League and the White House sharply disputed her assessment, pointing to burned vehicles, looting and assaults on officers. A federal judge later ordered National Guard forces returned to Governor Gavin Newsom’s control.
Bass: Anti-ICE Protests Were Not Riots — 'A Few Knuckleheads,' Mayor Says, as Police Union and White House Push Back
LA Mayor Bass compares anti-ICE protests to Lakers championship disturbance: 'A few knuckleheads'
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass defended her assessment that last year’s anti-ICE demonstrations did not amount to citywide riots, saying the episodes of vandalism resembled the isolated trouble that sometimes follows a Los Angeles Lakers championship.
Bass made the comments on the "At Our Table with Jamie Harrison" podcast while criticizing the federalization of National Guard troops and the deployment of several hundred Marines to the city during the protests.
Karen Bass downplayed the extent of the anti-ICE protests last year that saw rioting and violent clashes with authorities.
"Nothing was going on. OK, we have some protests," Bass told host Jamie Harrison. "You want to know the protests, in my opinion, equaled a Lakers championship. You know what happens after a championship, right? A few knuckleheads hang around. They're drunk, they start vandalizing things. There was no riot here."
While many demonstrators exercised lawful protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement, some participants engaged in violent acts, according to authorities: vehicles — including cars belonging to the California Highway Patrol and Waymo — were set on fire, businesses were vandalized or looted, and officers reported injuries. Law enforcement also said protesters threw rocks, Molotov cocktails and other projectiles.
Police Union Response: The Los Angeles Police Protective League, which represents rank-and-file LAPD officers, strongly disputed Bass’s characterization. In a statement the union said videos of destroyed Waymo vehicles, a CHP car set ablaze, property damage, looting and attacks on officers demonstrated that the protests did, at times, amount to riots.
A cyclist rides past a burning car during protests in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. Protests broke out across Los Angeles in response to federal immigration raids and the deployment of National Guard troops by the Trump administration.
White House Reaction: A White House spokesperson criticized Bass for downplaying violent incidents. The statement accused the mayor of mischaracterizing events and said the nation had witnessed rioters destroying property and assaulting law enforcement in Los Angeles.
The demonstrations were sparked by the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area. Protests centered for several days near the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles, prompting the use of less-lethal projectiles, tear gas and flash-bang devices by some law enforcement units to disperse crowds.
Cars set on fire in Los Angeles during anti-ICE protests.
Bass noted that the unrest was largely concentrated within roughly a one-square-mile area and questioned whether that justified deploying some 4,000 federalized troops to the city. In December, a federal judge ordered the National Guard troops returned to the control of California Governor Gavin Newsom, ending the federalization used for immigration enforcement and the protests.
The dispute underscores deep political divides over how to characterize and respond to civil unrest: city officials and civil liberties advocates criticized the federal military response, while the police union and federal officials emphasized property destruction and officer safety.
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