Throughout the month of August, the National Guard has started to flood into popular cities, most notably Los Angeles and Washington D.C., targeting areas that are predominantly made up of minorities. Due to Trump’s call for the deployment of these troops, many people who reside in these areas have felt strongly towards this use of power. Trump supported his decision by claiming that these locations were prone to “heightened crime rate[s]”.
Since thousands of individuals have been detained by ICE at the beginning of January, ICE agents/National Guard enforcement have begun to take things into their own hands. From forcefully abducting citizens to tear gassing peaceful protests, people all over LA and D.C. have continued to speak out against these issues.
But what’s most peculiar about this situation though, is the lack of attention that hasn’t been present on social media. Certain influencers like Spencewuah, Hasan Piker, and Vanillamace have all spread awareness on their accounts, but have either been censored by the app or have been given warnings regarding their content. This has not only created a mixture of confusion but has also sparked a lot of suspicion online—What could be the reason why?
What’s going on in LA?
Tensions have reached an ultimate high as ICE agents have started to take over areas in LA. Since the start of June, it is estimated that at least 1,600 individuals were taken into custody by ICE according to the Los Angeles Times. These numbers have continued to rise, and more and more people have started to recognize their day-to-day “routines”. According to ABC News, on June 7th, protestors formed at a local Home Depot in Paramount to see if the rumors were true about a potential ICE raid that day. Multiple deputies continuously asked these protestors to disperse–which did not go as planned. Moments later, tear gas and stun grenades were being thrown at them, eventually making them leave the scene. Situations similar to these have occurred nonstop; with little to no coverage being posted online. In one instance, full-time influencer Hasan Piker had been to–and documented, his own experiences at each of these protests. In one of his videos, he even mentions how law enforcement had “shot directly into the crowd”, which shows how aggressive they were to draw people out. Still, higher ups like Donald Trump for example, have expressed that the National Guard/ICE Agents must “address the lawless” and will continue to respond to “paid instructionists and troublemakers”.
What’s going on in D.C.?
Just like in LA, D.C. has been greatly impacted by the deployment of National Guard troops in the city. Around the block, these troops can be observed in their tactical gear, carrying around high-end firearms as they patrol the streets. D.C. residents have been more than furious, refusing to believe that this is their “everyday norm”. continues to grow at a rampant rate, more protests have begun to take place. A movement called “We Are All D.C.”, was created in response to these troops—reminding them that they aren’t solely in charge, and that they will continue to speak their truth moving forward. In a statement by Tanya Green, a US program director at the Human Rights Watch, said that “Involving the military in civilian law enforcement is dangerous and unwarranted. As we have seen around the world, military takeover of local law enforcement is a harbinger of authoritarianism.” Ultimately, Trump’s response to a “heightened crime rate in D.C.”, which is what triggered his decision to deploy these troops in the first place, has had no drastic impact on D.C. residents. From CBS News, violent crime rates dropped down to 49% throughout August 7-25, but decreased prior to the troops arrival.
With everything that’s been going on so far, it creates a bigger gap in public opinion. Throughout his second term, Donald Trump has definitely made some questionable calls considering the state of LA and D.C. right now. Whether or not sending troops down to LA and D.C. was beneficial for their environments is rather subjective–though, there have been a lot of conflicts throughout this time. The amount of censorship found on the media alone does make one wonder if these are their motives to silence the people–our democracy. Nonetheless, people will continue to stand up and fight for our rights and freedoms every step of the way. No matter how much they block or remove content from the media, there will always be other ways to project each of their voices.
