President Donald Trump and his administration have taken decisive action to quell escalating anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, now stretching into their sixth consecutive day. With mounting concerns over organized violence and outside funding, the federal government has begun issuing arrests targeting those allegedly aiding and arming the demonstrators.
During a live broadcast on Monday, FOX LA captured footage of a truck unloading what appeared to be thousands of dollars’ worth of riot gear, including high-grade Uvex Bionic Face Shields—equipment typically used in industrial settings by machinists and mechanics. Instead, the shields were handed out to protesters as makeshift protection against police-deployed gas and crowd control tactics.
Reporter Elex Michaelson confirmed the masks being distributed were not homemade but professional-grade—raising serious questions about the protest’s funding and organization.
Independent journalist Andy Ngo reported that far-left activists had launched a crowdfunding campaign to finance the distribution of riot gear, allegedly in support of what he called an “open border insurrection” in Los Angeles.
In a major federal development, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced the arrest of Alejandro Theodoro Orellana, charged with Conspiracy to Commit Civil Disorder (18 U.S.C. § 371) for his alleged role in coordinating and distributing riot gear to violent demonstrators. Orellana is reportedly affiliated with the Brown Berets, a radical Latino paramilitary group with cells across multiple U.S. cities, according to reports from RANN.
Former National Security Council official Joshua Steinman, a military veteran and Trump’s former senior cyber advisor, described Orellana as emblematic of the type of radical actors who, in his view, were emboldened by the Biden administration’s lax border policies.
Meanwhile, Trump praised a new legal victory that clears the way for the continued deployment of the California National Guard to stabilize Los Angeles.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump wrote:
“The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can utilize the National Guard to ensure the safety of our cities, specifically Los Angeles. 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 ruling from the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals effectively blocked an earlier decision by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who had ruled that Trump’s mobilization of the California National Guard to protect ICE agents and federal property violated the 10th Amendment and exceeded executive authority.
Judge Breyer’s ruling had demanded that control over the Guard be returned to Governor Gavin Newsom, arguing the federalization breached constitutional boundaries. California’s lawsuit against Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth sought to restrict the military’s role strictly to defending federal sites, barring broader public order operations.
Despite the legal friction, the federal court’s latest ruling reaffirms Trump’s authority to deploy military resources to confront unrest—a move he claims prevented “total chaos” in Los Angeles.
As the protests continue, this battle between state sovereignty, federal intervention, and the murky web of outside agitators underscores the deeper national conflict playing out on the streets of L.A.