A new federal lawsuit accuses the Department of Homeland Security, under Secretary Kristi Noem, of violently assaulting peaceful protesters in Los Angeles as part of a coordinated effort to justify military deployment in the city.
DHS stormed Latino communities in masks and tactical gear, without identification, and often with rifles drawn in a series of aggressive immigration raids beginning June 6, according to the complaint. When residents gathered to peacefully protest, federal officers allegedly responded with rubber bullets tear gas, and flash-bang grenades.
In response, President Donald Trump deployed more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles on June 8, despite the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“DHS is abusing militarized weapons in ways that needlessly imperil everyone present…to deter people from reporting, observing, and protesting,” the lawsuit, filed Thursday by the ACLU of Southern California on behalf of protesters, journalists and legal observers, claims.
“They have used the violent spectacle created by DHS as a reason to commandeer the National Guard and send the United States Marines into California, which in turn has generated more widespread protests,” the suit continues.
Video evidence and eyewitness reports describe DHS agents targeting nonviolent demonstrators, including children, elderly people, clergy and elected officials. Journalists, including L.A. Taco reporter Lexis-Olivier Ray, say they were shot at despite wearing visible press credentials.
In one incident described in the suit, federal agents allegedly fired tear gas canisters into passing cars, forcing uninvolved drivers to abandon their vehicles.
“Federal law enforcement has brutalized demonstrators, causing disorder in a circular ploy to justify deploying military domestically,” said Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel for the ACLU of Southern California.
Mayor Karen Bass maintained that violent rioters who clashed with police were separate from the peaceful protestors attacked by DHS.
“[Bass] is holding press conferences talking about the fact that people have the right to peacefully protest and that they’re a city of immigrants,” Noem said during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity” last week. “Well, they’re not a city of immigrants, they’re a city of criminals.”
Noem defended the raids as targeting “the worst of the worst,” but local reporters and civil rights groups argue the operations have overwhelmingly targeted day laborers, street vendors and construction workers.
The lawsuit seeks injunctive relief to prevent future First Amendment violations and calls out what plaintiffs describe as the Trump administration’s “cowardly” use of authoritarian tactics to silence dissent.
DHS has not yet commented on the suit.
Originally published on Latin Times
