President Donald Trump has painted a bleak picture of Los Angeles since protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids broke out over the weekend.
He has repeatedly said that the city was going to burn without the intervention of the military and that there were paid “insurrectionists” and “criminal invaders” seizing the city, which had devolved into “anarchy.”
Local leaders, however, present a more complex picture of the scene on the ground.
California National Guard troops keep watch, as protests against immigration sweeps continue, in Los Angeles, June 9, 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
While they acknowledged that there was some marked violence and lawlessness, they said that local authorities were able to bring the situation under control in the limited areas in which skirmishes broke out.
In some instances, in fact, ABC News observed protesters self-policing as they spoke out against Trump’s policies.
It is possible that social media is feeding into the narrative that has grown around the protests.
Some social media users have been pushing false images of the protests, using images from the George Floyd protests, movies and video games and even AI-generated videos, to boost similar claims that the city is in shambles.
Here is a look at several claims made by the president and context around those claims.
Claim: On Tuesday, Trump said Los Angeles was “under siege.”
Context: Violent incidents had been confined to a relatively small area of downtown Los Angeles — about a 10-block area.
Protesters were allowed to march but not allowed to set foot on freeways; however, on Sunday and Tuesday, some protesters did just that and temporarily blocked traffic.
The LAPD said that over 500 people have been arrested on charges linked to protest-related incidents as of Thursday night. By comparison, the LAPD said around 3,000 were arrested following the first three days of the George Floyd protests, which took place throughout the city in June 2020.
Claim: The White House, during a briefing on Wednesday, highlighted images and videos of smoke seen during the protests and scuffles with law enforcement.
Trump suggested Tuesday that “a lot of cars go up in smoke and flames. You had a lot of bad scenes,” and that if the National Guard and Marines weren’t deployed “you would have that city on fire right now.”
Context: Most of the fires took place Sunday during the most heated part of the protests. No buildings were set ablaze, according to law enforcement.
Demonstrators smash the windshield of a vehicle next to a burning Waymo vehicle as protesters clash with law enforcement in the streets surrounding the federal building during a protest following federal immigration operations in Los Angeles, June 8, 2025.
Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images
Many of the fires were in large trash canisters, sending smoke into the air. At least five Waymo vehicles, which are an autonomous driving cars, were seen covered in graffiti and engulfed in flames Sunday.
Protesters threw rocks at a California Highway Patrol vehicle on the 101, destroying the windows. Other protesters dumped rocks onto police cars from above an overpass.
One man was being sought for allegedly throwing rocks at law enforcement vehicles in the city of Paramount on Saturday.
Los Angeles officials said 23 businesses were looted overnight Monday, causing damage that is estimated to be in the millions.
Crews have started cleaning up the graffiti outside the federal buildings.
Police officers look on as a worker cleans a wall in Fletcher Bowron Square near the Edward Roybal Federal Building, following a night of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles, June 9, 2025.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
One of the most serious arrests was of two men who were charged via federal criminal complaints with possessing Molotov cocktails, the Justice Department said.
On Wednesday, the LA District Attorney, Nathan Hochman, announced a number of serious charges, including a person who allegedly distributed fireworks to protesters and lit them and threw them at officers.
The DA also charged a man with allegedly driving his motorcycle into officers, injuring one. Still, Hochman said, “We estimate that there are probably thousands of people who’ve engaged in legitimate protests.”
As of Tuesday, nine LAPD officers were injured. It is unclear if any members of the military have been injured.
Claim: Trump has repeatedly blamed Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democratic leaders for letting the protests spiral out of control and took credit for quelling the rowdiness with the National Guard, which was activated without Newsom’s consent.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office in Washington, June 10, 2025 and California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an address, June 10, 2025.
Getty Images/AP
Context: Newsom told reporters Tuesday that Trump was out of line calling in the Guard and the situation was being handled.
“California is no stranger to this sort of unrest, we manage it regularly and with our own law enforcement,” he said.
The governor has repeatedly denounced the violence and said those who cause damage or hurts anyone will be prosecuted.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has also been vocal in her opposition to the violence and destruction committed during the protests.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass speaks at a candlelight vigil on June 10, 2025 in Los Angeles, California.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
“If you are going to entertain violence, if you are going to try to take over a freeway, then you are going to suffer the consequences of doing that,” she said Sunday.
Bass issued a curfew Tuesday night following arrests the day before. Bass said the curfew for the one-square-mile area could continue for “several nights.”
Although Trump deployed thousands of National Guard members and Marines to the city, they have not been widely active in quelling the protests. The Guard, instead, has been protecting federal buildings and protecting ICE agents on raids.
Los Angeles Metro Police officers stand on the road in front of the City Hall after a curfew was put into effect following days of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles on June 10, 2025.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
As of Thursday evening, the Marines had still not been dispatched to the streets of LA.
ABC News observed National Guard troops standing outside of a federal building, and the Los Angeles Police Department and other local agencies clearing the streets and interacting with protesters.
In some cases, the protesters policed themselves. ABC News observed some protesters keeping others in check during the demonstration and pushing people to avoid getting arrested.
ABC News’ Jaclyn Lee and Camilla Alcini contributed to this report.
