'What do these people hide': Trump bans masks in LA protests after deploying National Guard, slams Democrats

After ordering the deployment of 2000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, US President Donald Trump appreciated the troops for doing a “great job” amid massive protests against federal raids on alleged immigration violations.

“Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” Trump wrote in a post onTruth Social. The POTUS said that “radical left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will not be tolerated.” Calling Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newscum - who happens to be Democrats - “incompetent”, Trump added that “MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests.” He asked the rationale behind wearing masks in protests and asked what they were hiding.

Immigration raids in Los Angeles

Earlier today, US President Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles as federal agents faced off against demonstrators for a second day following immigration raids. In a statement, the White House blamed Democrats for the attack on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers and federal law enforcement agents, calling them "feckless." The White House defended the action stating that it was "basic deportation operations." It said that the deployment of National Guards was to tackle the lawlessness.

Trump slammed Governor Gavin Newscum and Mayor Karen Bass and added that the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, if local administration can't. He called the protesters “RIOTS & LOOTERS.”

The raids are part of the Trump administration's larger crackdown on immigrants. In Los Angeles, angry protesters clashed with federal immigration authorities as ICE conducted raids claiming to arrest people living "people illegally in the country." Meanwhile, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilize active duty Marines "if violence continues" in Los Angeles.