As the unrest from the Los Angeles riots carried on into Wednesday, authorities revealed that one of the protesters who attacked police with makeshift weapons was an illegal immigrant the demonstrators were rallying to protect.
Emiliano Garduno-Galvez, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, was caught on video preparing the materials and then hurling a firebomb at officers as they walked by. The Department of Homeland Security said that he had been deported earlier and has a criminal history in the U.S., including a DUI and grand theft charges. The DHS also released footage from Saturday showing Garduno-Galvez, dressed in all black with his face covered, hurling a Molotov cocktail at cops.
Miscreant Unmasked
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“Garduno-Galvez had previously been deported. He has a previous criminal record: In 2024, Garduno-Galvez was arrested by the Anaheim Police Department for grand theft and by the Long Beach Police Department for a DUI,” Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement on Wednesday.
Garduno-Galvez is charged with attempted murder after throwing the Molotov cocktail.
McLaughlin added: “The Los Angeles rioters will not stop us or slow us down. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
Protests have been popping up in various parts of the country, stretching from Asheville, North Carolina, to Chicago and Los Angeles, where tensions flared over the weekend after a law enforcement operation.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in Los Angeles over the weekend, leading to the arrest of “hundreds of undocumented immigrants,” many of whom reportedly had prior criminal records or convictions.
No Stopping the Chaos
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Meanwhile, several disturbing videos circulating online show scenes of looters ransacking stores at the FIGat7th shopping center in Los Angeles amid the turmoil. Protests have fast spread nationwide, with protesters in cities like Seattle, Austin, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., filling the streets.
Many were seen chanting anti-ICE slogans, waving protest signs, and causing traffic disruptions through downtown areas and outside federal buildings.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has repeatedly come under fire for his response to the escalating unrest. Early on, he and other Democratic leaders described the situation in Los Angeles as “peaceful,” even as the city faced widespread destruction.
The chaos, which erupted on Friday when anti-ICE demonstrators reacted to a series of immigration raids, led President Trump to deploy federal troops to the area—an action taken despite Governor Newsom’s opposition.
In an attempt to shift the blame, Newsom accused Trump and federal authorities of provoking the violence. However, his efforts to address the public on Tuesday were overshadowed by an awkward technical failure during a much-publicized speech to Californians.
