As the protests are heating up in Los Angeles, the Trump administration is taking notice of what is going on. In fact, President Donald Trump spoke about it when he was at Fort Bragg on June 10.
Trump was at the commemoration of the Army’s 250th anniversary at Fort Bragg and he gave a very strong address to those in attendance. As part of it, he spoke about some who were protesting in Los Angeles, referring to them as ‘anti-American’.
The demonstrators were rallying against the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and Trump was upset because they were burning American flags while waving foreign flags. He even referred to them as being ‘animals’.
In addition to speaking out against those protesters, he also spoke about the possibility of legislation that would impose a one-year mandatory jail sentence for flag burning.
President @realdonaldtrump slams rioters burning American flags and flying foreign flags during anti-ICE unrest. pic.twitter.com/TU1f4H3BxE
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 10, 2025
In speaking to the troops and veterans, Trump said: “These are animals. They proudly carry the flags of other countries. They don’t carry the American flag. They only burn it. Did you see a lot of the flags being burned?
“They weren’t being burned by people from our country, or from people that love our country. People that burn the American flag should go to jail for one year. We’ll see if we can get that done. We’re going to try and get that done. We’re working with some of your senators.”
The remarks from the president came shortly after he deployed 4000 National Guard members and 700 US Marines to LA. The troops were in response to the immigration-related demonstrations. Some of those demonstrations had become violent.
California Governor Gavin Newsom was not happy about the decision and filed a lawsuit, saying that the federal government had overreached and violated state sovereignty under the 10th Amendment.
"Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy." Gavin Newsom throws down the gauntlet to TACO Pedo, wimpy Tom Homan, and Trump's fascist authoritarian regime. Viva American democracy! 🙌🙏💪👏👊🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/NB9tSHUTld
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) June 9, 2025
Newsom responded to Trump’s remarks and challenged him, saying: “Come after me. Arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy.”
In speaking with the news, Trump reinforced his desire to impose jail time for those who desecrated the American flag. He said: “I happen to think if you burn an American flag — because they were burning a lot of flags in Los Angeles — I think you go to jail for one year. Just automatic.”
