ICE was unleashed on Los Angeles last week.

Rather than “getting the criminals out,” unidentified agents in unmarked white vans showed up at Home Depot to round up day laborers. They surrounded small businesses and mom-and-pop restaurants to detain people working in garment factories and as service workers. They picked up parents at elementary school graduations and churches.

ICE even snatched up at least one 9-year-old child.

In response, Los Angeles residents coordinated marches within a few square blocks of downtown and, with few exceptions, remained peaceful. These were not riots; they were peaceful protests.

Those few opportunists who did vandalize private property or break into stores were arrested by the LAPD, and the situation, according to local law enforcement, was ten times more manageable than a Dodgers or Lakers championship victory celebration, which they’ve handled many times.

More manageable also than, say, an actual insurrection like the one on January 6, 2021.

When Trump decided to deploy the National Guard, his clear intention was to inflame tensions and sow chaos, as the deployment was wholly unnecessary and against the wishes of the Los Angeles mayor and the California governor.

In fact, the crowds had already decreased significantly by the time the National Guard arrived. As a result of the intimidation, some remaining protesters proceeded to throw rocks at officers and set two self-driving Waymos on fire.

Even still, the protests remained largely peaceful.

But what was portrayed on Fox News and similar outlets were the few inflamed instances. Most of the violence that followed was inflicted by tear gas and gas bombs being unleashed on protesters, and rubber bullets aimed at mostly peaceful civilians and members of the press.

When Trump decided to deploy the Marines shortly thereafter, it was that much more unnecessary and absurdly inflammatory.

Regardless of any reports or concerns about violence from federal law enforcement, this all took place within a few square blocks of downtown. Most Angelenos have been proceeding as usual at work, the beach, in restaurants, and on the roads.

LA is not “burning” as the president continues to falsely insist.

Further, it would not have “burned” had the National Guard not been deployed. In fact, it would have been much safer and more succinctly managed had the mostly peaceful protests been left up to local law enforcement and leadership rather than the National Guard and Marines, many of whom are not trained for these types of circumstances.

Trump and ICE are not going after criminals—they are going after service workers, farm workers, day laborers, moms and dads, and children.

Donald Trump is attempting to destroy California’s economy, considering undocumented people are so intertwined in the fabric of the workforce. California boasts the fourth-largest GDP in the world, and there are more than 9 million people in LA County alone.

California is a donor state, meaning it contributes more to the federal government than it receives in federal support.

It’s not a secret that Trump hates to see a blue state having success, and this seems like an attempt to not only distract from the discussion about the devastating spending bill he’s backing, but also to impose his control over California’s economy and residents.