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Day: June 12, 2025

Mayor Karen Bass’ handling of LA riots adds to decades of political baggage

Mayor Karen Bass’ handling of LA riots adds to decades of political baggage

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is facing heightened scrutiny from President Donald Trump for her handling of the anti-ICE riots gripping the city, which follows a history of political scandals and criticisms across her decades as an elected official, Fox News Digital has learned.  Bass, who was sworn in as mayor in 2022, is under fire after denouncing immigration raids that began in LA on Friday, when federal law enforcement officials converged on the city, sparking protests that soon devolved into violence and chaos.  Trump administration officials have since argued that Democratic rhetoric denouncing the immigration raids, while simultaneously offering messages of support to illegal immigrants residing in the nation, emboldened protesters, which led to the riots.  “Newsom and his stooge Karen Bass fomented and encouraged the riots, because their entire political movement exists for one purpose: to promote mass migration into our country,” Vice President JD Vance wrote on X on Tuesday. “It is their reason for being. Democratic leadership has no solution for the economy, for prosperity, or for security. They use their power when they’re in the majority to import millions of illegal immigrants and when they’re in opposition they do everything possible to prevent deportations.”  SOCIAL MEDIA, TRUMP ADMIN ERUPTS OVER LA MAYOR’S REACTION TO ICE RAIDS: ‘YOU’RE A CRIMINAL TOO’ As Bass faces ongoing condemnation from the Trump administration over the violence in Southern California, Fox Digital took a look back at previous scandals and incidents that landed the former House lawmaker in hot water.  As Bass was floated as a top contender to join former President Joe Biden as his running mate during the 2020 election, multiple news reports parsed Bass’ past comments on communist leaders, including lamenting Communist Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s death in 2016 in a statement. “I wish to express my condolences to the Cuban people and the family of Fidel Castro. The passing of the Comandante en Jefe is a great loss to the people of Cuba. I hope together, our two nations will continue on the new path of support and collaboration with one another, and continue in the new direction of diplomacy,” she said in a statement after his death. “Comandante en Jefe” translates to commander in chief.  Bass distanced herself from the statement as she faced vetting to potentially join the 2020 presidential ticket alongside Biden, telling Fox News in 2020 that her views on Cuba “developed over time” and that she understood that Castro’s government, which spanned nearly 50 years, “was a brutal regime.” MAYOR BASS BLAMES TRUMP’S ICE RAIDS FOR STARTING RIOTS WHILE CLAIMING ‘THINGS IN LA ARE CALM’ “I absolutely would have not put that statement out,” she added while appearing on Fox News that year.  Bass again raised political eyebrows in 2020 for her praise of communists after Politico resurrected her 2017 remarks eulogizing one of the top members of the Communist Party USA in 2017, including calling him a “friend and mentor” in remarks inserted in congressional record.  “I would like to honor the life and memory of my friend and mentor, Oneil Marion Cannon, who passed away on January 20, days before his 100th birthday,” Bass wrote of Oneil Cannon.  The comments did not mention that Cannon was a top leader of the Communist Party USA, identifying him instead as being “deeply involved in politics” and that he belonged to the Independent Progressive Party. “I would like to salute Oneil Cannon for his longstanding commitment to serving and uplifting others, and for a century of fighting to make the world a better place,” she added.  An obituary published in the communist-founded newspaper, People’s World, reported that Cannon was a “longtime communist” who served as the Communist Party USA’s “education director in the Southern California District, and a member of the Party’s Southern California and National Central Committees.” REP. KAREN BASS CALLED TOP MEMBER OF COMMUNIST PARTY USA A ‘FRIEND AND MENTOR’ IN EULOGY: REPORT Bass’ team argued in response to criticisms over the praise of the communist leader that the former House lawmaker never shared Cannon’s political ideology, similar to how she was friends with former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy without the pair holding the same political views.  “Karen Bass has always been a Democrat and only a Democrat. The Congresswoman is friends with Kevin McCarthy and is not a Republican. She knew Oneil Cannon but never shared the political ideology he may have had at one time in his life,” a spokesperson told Politico at the time.  Bass’s office told Fox Digital on Thursday, when asked about the list of previous scandals and criticisms, that the mayor is focused on “leading the city through this difficult time to ensure the safety and stability of its residents.” “While the Administration continues to create chaos and provoke the people of Los Angeles, Mayor Bass is focused on leading the city through this difficult time to ensure the safety and stability of its residents. Mayor Bass has made change in Los Angeles and under her leadership, crime is down, she has reduced homelessness for the first time in years and is leading a natural disaster recovery effort that is on pace to be the fastest in state history,” the mayor’s office said.  Bass’ office faced scrutiny late last year after the FBI raided the home of her deputy mayor of public safety, Brian Williams, in December for making a bomb threat to Los Angeles City Hall.  Williams, who no longer works in the mayor’s office, agreed to plead guilty in May to a felony charge of “information with threats regarding fire and explosives,” which carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years in prison.  The former deputy mayor’s plea agreement outlined that on Oct. 3 of last year, Williams was in a virtual meeting with colleagues when he used a Google Voice application on his personal cell phone to call his work phone, the DOJ reported in a press release last month. The city official then left the virtual meeting and called

National Guard authorized to detain ICE attackers, DHS says

National Guard authorized to detain ICE attackers, DHS says

National Guardsmen deployed to Los Angeles have the authority to temporarily detain anti-ICE rioters in Los Angeles, the Department of Homeland Security says. President Donald Trump has deployed some 4,000 National Guardsmen to the city as the riots continue, but Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman said on Wednesday that there have only been a small number of cases where they have detained civilians. DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin says the troops are on the ground to provide protection for ICE agents and other federal law enforcement groups. “If any rioters attack ICE law enforcement officers, military personnel have the authority to temporarily detain them until law enforcement makes the arrest,” McLaughlin told Axios in a statement. NEWSOM FILES EMERGENCY MOTION TO ‘IMMEDIATELY BLOCK’ TRUMP’S USE OF MILITARY TO STOP LA RIOTS TRUMP TAKES ACTION AGAINST ‘ORCHESTRATED ATTACK’ ON LAW ENFORCEMENT BY DEPLOYING MARINES TO LA: ASSEMBLYMAN Sherman told the Associated Press on Wednesday that about 500 National Guard troops have been trained so far to help agents carry out immigration operations in Los Angeles. Immigration officials have already circulated photos of soldiers from the National Guard providing security for Department of Homeland Security agents. He told the AP that over the past few days, National Guard soldiers have temporarily detained anti-ICE protesters, though there have not been many as of late because things have calmed down. Sherman also said the soldiers did not participate in the arrests or law enforcement activities. Instead, he added, they let the agitators go once police take them into custody. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had a public feud with the Trump administration, accusing the president of having “commandeered” 2,000 of the state’s National Guard members “illegally, for no reason” without consulting with California’s law enforcement leaders. The Trump administration, meanwhile, said its ICE operations are aiming to get “criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, gangbangers, drug dealers, human traffickers and domestic abusers off the streets.” Fox News’ Greg Wehner contributed to this report.