The U.S. Secret Service confirmed awareness of violent graffiti targeting President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance in Los Angeles during recent riots linked to ICE arrests of illegal immigrants. A spokesman for the protective agency stated that it knows of the threatening messaging directed at both Trump and Vance but would not confirm an ongoing investigation.
The graffiti was found in the city’s downtown area amid civil unrest following Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests of criminal illegal immigrants. One message read ‘Burn it all down,’ with ‘Kill Trump’ spray-painted below it. Another message contained ‘Kill Trump’ with ‘JD Vance’ below it.
Last weekend, clashes between rioters and police erupted in Paramount, California, after ICE conducted arrest operations targeting illegal immigrants with criminal records. The riots quickly spread to Los Angeles, where the Los Angeles Police Department faced down bad actors of their own. Vehicles were set ablaze, property was covered with anti-ICE and anti-Trump graffiti, and stores were broken into and looted during the unrest.
Trump activated the California National Guard and U.S. Marines, which he has been in a legal battle with Governor Gavin Newsom over control of the National Guard. Other federal law enforcement agencies have also turned their attention to the city amid the tension. FBI Director Kash Patel warned those who commit violence against police, stating ‘if you assault a law enforcement officer, you’re going to jail—period.’
Patel emphasized that it doesn’t matter where you came from, how you got here, or what cause you claim to represent. ‘If local jurisdictions won’t stand behind the men and women who wear the badge, the FBI will,’ he told Fox News Digital. Hundreds have been arrested since the riots began last weekend. The Trump administration, which says it has arrested criminal illegal immigrants who have been convicted of murder, sex crimes against children and battery, is continuing its ICE operations.
Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaugh, in a statement on Wednesday, said, ‘Murderers, pedophiles, and drug traffickers. These are the types of criminal illegal aliens that rioters are fighting to protect. How much longer will Governor Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass continue to prioritize these criminal illegal aliens over their own citizens?’ McLaugh added, ‘Secretary Noem has a message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE will continue to enforce the law and arrest criminal illegal aliens.’