Californians gets $30 million bill from riots

Protesting in this country has always been a liberal thing, especially when it turns violent, save for very few exceptions.  

Well, California just found out how much the latest round of rioting is going to cost taxpayers, and it is going to sting.  

Karen Bass 

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was outraged when Trump wanted to send in troops to quell the rioting, as well as Marines to protect law enforcement working the raids.  

She stated, "I do want to dispel the notion that the military is here. We don’t want them here; they don’t need to be here.  

“Our local law enforcement has complete control of the situation.” 

The videos and pictures coming from California at the time told a far different story, as police were being overwhelmed, stores were being looted, and the streets were being set on fire.  

Gavin Newsom 

Newsome turned into a tough guy, sticking up for the thugs on the street and daring the Trump administration to have him arrested.  

He also pushed back against the Guard being activated without his consent, stating, “The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court.  

“The President is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.” 

The riots lasted for more than a week, and I would not be surprised if they were revived with Trump’s Iran strike, but Newsom wants no help.  

Check Please 

So far, Los Angeles’ tab for the riots is more than $32 million, with nearly $30 million being related to local law enforcement and tactical response costs.  

Kieran Doyle, with Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a group that tracks civil unrest and wars, stated, “The most explosive escalation of tensions between demonstrators and police since the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 is currently unfolding in Los Angeles over Trump’s ‘mass deportation agenda.’”   

Had they called in the Guard, maybe these riots would have been over in a day instead of two weeks, but we will never know.  

What I do know, however, is that Newsom and Bass will likely try to pass these costs over to the federal government, saying Trump’s Guard threat is what made them more violent and costly. To that, I would respond with the quote from Rep. Waters (D-CA), who told us to trust her, that there was no violence on the streets, and that Trump was making it all up. And if it did not happen, then why should the federal government foot the bill?