Nearly 200 House Democrats voted against a resolution condemning the anti-ICE riots in Los Angeles earlier this month.
The resolution was led by Rep. Young Kim, R-Calif., and the rest of the Golden State's Republican congressional delegation. 215 members of the House of Representatives, which included seven House Democrats, voted in favor of the resolution.
"Peaceful protests are a constitutional right, but vandalism, looting, violence, and other crimes are not. Protecting public safety shouldn't be controversial, which is why I am leading the California Republican delegation in a resolution to support law and order as we continue to see unrest," Kim stated when introducing the resolution.
"I hope Governor Newsom can come together with President Trump to stop the riots, lower the temperature, and keep our communities safe," she added.
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"Let's be clear: the riots escalated before the National Guard was sent in and were enabled by California's soft-on-crime policies - peddled for years by Governor Newsom, Sacramento, and local prosecutors - that have allowed for lawlessness and endangered public safety of hardworking Californians," Kim continued.
It was introduced on June 17, and it acknowledges that peaceful protests should be welcomed in the United States, but calls out the criminal elements that unfolded in the area earlier this month.
"These protests quickly escalated into violent riots across Los Angeles, where acts of arson, widespread looting, property destruction, and vandalism were committed, blocking streets and highways, lighting streets on fire, throwing rocks at law enforcement vehicles, and assaulting Federal and local peace officers," the resolution states.
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Earlier this month, Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman said that the protest was an excuse for bad actors to commit crimes, such as stealing from businesses, committing property damage and assaulting law enforcement.
"This group wanted to commit crimes," Hochman said at the time. "They looked at the protest as a cover, an opportunity to go ahead and ply their illegal trade and commit a whole variety of crimes that, in many ways, has done a huge disservice to the legitimate protesters out there."
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Some Democrats criticized the resolution, as a legal battle ensured whether President Donald Trump was able to send in the National Guard as the civil unrest went on. Many Republicans have argued it was necessary, while many California Democratic leaders like Gov. Gavin Newsom said troop deployment was an instigator.
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"This resolution ignores those facts to score political points," Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán, D-Calif., said on the House floor in opposition to the resolution, saying troop deployment "only escalated tensions and further unrest" while adding that Democrats have called for prosecutions of those who have acted violently.
"Your daily reminder that Trump still has 4,946 troops sitting around LA doing nothing. Meanwhile, he has weakened our border safety operations -- slashing the National Guard's fentanyl and drug interdiction force by 32 PERCENT. He is actively endangering our communities by keeping these troops in LA," Newsom posted to X on June 25.
Meanwhile, debate ensues about the ICE operations and deportation efforts nationwide, as ICE agents face a 500% increase in assaults, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
