Exclusive: a Filmmaker, a Photojournalist, and a Former Agent Chime In on ICE Raids and the LA Protests

All shared common concerns about federal law enforcement’s overreach that are now beginning to be raised in Washington, D.C., political circles

Young people peacefully occupy the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles as the Highway Patrol awaits reinforcements to disperse the protesters | Francisco Lozano

The recent escalation against civilians under the guise of immigration related actions by the Trump administration has made many headlines over the last week. While legacy media is focused on the protesters, even spreading misinformation on occasion, the White House’s unilateral action to create unrest by force, using myriad federal agencies to support Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, is where the attention should be.

Protesters don’t just show up on the street. They respond. That’s the nature of a protest. The Trump administration knows this, as everyone does, and it weaponized it in the same way racist members of law enforcement agencies did in the past. It’s a tactic that has sparked unrest on many occasions throughout history and is a huge part of civil rights history. From the Haymarket Riots in 1889 to the Stonewall Riots in 1969 and many other infamous “riots,” police have used violence to provoke more unrest than any other group in U.S. history.