Fox News political analyst Juan Williams on Tuesday downplayed the ongoing unrest in Los Angeles, claiming the city was “pretty quiet last night.”
Los Angeles was engulfed in riots following an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation, prompting President Donald Trump to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to the city on Saturday. During a segment on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Williams acknowledged the violence before quickly shifting and downplaying it.
“I think we’ve all seen the video of police cars burning, and we know there was looting. I’ve seen at like a Nike store downtown, but I think it’s important to put that in context,” Williams said. “I don’t think life from what I hear from people in Los Angeles has been paralyzed by what’s going on. This is sort of concentrated in a very limited area, and things were pretty quiet last night, for example. I think everybody who’s watching can be disgusted with violence of any kind.”
Williams went on to criticize the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement priorities.
“I don’t think we want violence of any kind on American streets. We want to feel safe, but I think there’s also disgust, just to be fair here, with the idea that people who are waitresses and busboys and housekeepers are being picked up, people with no warrants, no criminal history,” Williams said. “This is not going after the criminals, the hardened criminals that President Trump said. And as a result, I think that, you know, the Wall Street Journal reported this morning that what you see is that the Trump administration wants to escalate.”
Been on the ground all day reporting in Los Angeles — LAPD just corralled a group of us and said we’re going to be arrested. Not sure what the plan is since there are about 40 people, but right now we’re not allowed to leave. @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/EXHL2ey2tc
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 10, 2025
OC COUNTY NOW: Santa Ana PD is moving the line down south — rioters have been setting off fireworks and appeared to attempt to use a trash bin as a barricade @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/yebqIC7YAs
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 10, 2025
OC COUNTY: Santa Ana PD said about 150 rioters still left in the streets. PD has now switched out with SWAT. Despite multiple warnings they’ve refused to leave @DailyCaller pic.twitter.com/GSqxXLL2SA
— Hailey Grace Gomez (@haileyggomez) June 10, 2025
Williams claimed the Trump administration ramped up deportation efforts to meet campaign promises. (RELATED: ‘This Is Anarchy’: John Fetterman Rips Fellow Democrats For Not Condemning LA Riots)
“They’re going harder to get more people to deport because they hadn’t met their own expectations, their campaign promises on how many people would be deported,” Williams said. Videos circulating online contradict Williams’ claim as Daily Caller News Foundation reporter Hailey Gomez posted videos on X showing chaos unfolding across Los Angeles last night.
Police also found a dead body on a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk early Tuesday morning after a night of rioting.
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