President Donald Trump and his administration have executed several arrests to mitigate the ongoing anti-ICE protests, which have now persisted for six consecutive days in Los Angeles.
FOX LA, broadcasting live on Monday, captured video of a truck unloading and distributing what seemed to be thousands of dollars’ worth of professional riot equipment—specifically, advanced bionic face shields—to aggressive demonstrators.
As reported by Fox LA journalist Elex Michaelson, the masks being handed out to protesters were recognized as Uvex Bionic Face Shields. These shields are generally utilized by machinists and autobody workers to protect against chemical splashes and flying debris.
Nevertheless, rioters have been adapting them for use as protection against police crowd control gas, complicating law enforcement’s efforts to disperse violent protests and restore order.
Journalist Andy Ngo noted that “Far-left extremists established a website to crowdfund riot gear for the open border insurrectionists in Los Angeles.”
Currently, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, has declared that the FBI’s Los Angeles field office has apprehended Alejandro Theodoro Orellana on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Civil Disorder (18 U.S.C. § 371) related to his alleged involvement in distributing face shields to suspected rioters.
Orellana is purportedly a member of the Brown Berets, described as “a radical Latino paramilitary group that is currently present in cities throughout the United States,” as reported by RANN.
Joshua Steinman, a former military officer who was part of the National Security Council during Trump’s initial term as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Cyber, asserts that Alejandro Orellana exemplifies the type of foreign sabotage operatives that, in his opinion, were permitted to enter the nation under the Biden administration, according to the Daily Caller.
On Friday, Trump expressed his appreciation to an appeals court for its ruling that allows him to continue the deployment of the California National Guard in Los Angeles.
“The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can utilize the National Guard to ensure the safety of our cities, specifically Los Angeles,” Trump stated on his Truth Social page. “If I hadn’t deployed the Military to Los Angeles, that city would be in flames right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!”
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals approved the Trump administration’s request to stay a ruling made by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, as reported by The Washington Post.
Earlier on Thursday, Breyer asserted that Trump had acted unconstitutionally by federalizing components of the California National Guard to assist in protecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and federal property, referencing the 10th Amendment.
By sending in the Guard, Breyer determined, Trump had acted inappropriately, “both exceeding the limits of his statutory authority and infringing upon the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” He also mandated that control of the Guard be reverted to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Breyer issued his ruling following California’s lawsuit against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Department of Defense. The lawsuit aimed to restrict the role of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles to the safeguarding of federal facilities and personnel, prohibiting them from engaging in other operations.
