Rally to be held in Boston in response to ICE raids, National Guard deployment in Los Angeles

BOSTON — Demonstrators are expected to gather in Boston on Monday for a rally in response to ICE raids and President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles over the weekend.

Cross-partisan group Mass 50501 says it “vigorously condemns the violent actions of ICE and the Trump administration against peaceful protestors in Los Angeles,” and is mobilizing in solidarity with local union leaders in Massachusetts by holding a rally at Boston City Hall Plaza from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Parts of Los Angeles look like a warzone on Monday morning after protests escalated over the weekend. The demonstrations come in response to Trump’s immigration crackdown in the city.

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Authorities and demonstrators have been clashing over recent immigration raids across California. Demonstrations started Friday and quickly turned violent, with cars set on fire and buildings damaged. The protest even spilled over onto the 101 Freeway, where some blocked traffic.

Those demonstrations prompted Trump to deploy 2,000 members of the National Guard, marking the first time since 1965 that a president deployed a state’s National Guard without a request from the state’s governor. Trump cited failures from local officials and the governor to squash the demonstrations.

“You have violent people, and we’re not going to let them get away with it,” Trump said.

Leaders in California claim this is an abuse of power and only incites more aggression.

“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration. And deploying federalized troops is a dangerous escalation,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.

Locally, Mass 50501 says its rally will demand the release of all the protesters in Los Angeles who were arrested over the weekend, including SEIU President David Huerta.

“This is an attack on American liberty. The right to freedom of speech and due process of the law must be protected above all else, and the response by the Trump administration is tantamount to a declaration of war against the American people,” Mass 50501 Council member Kylie Bemi said. “Make no mistake—we will be peaceful, but we will not be quiet. They will hear us from Los Angeles. They will hear us from Washington, D.C."

Mass 50501 is also calling on Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey to safeguard Bay State residents from federal forces, Attorney General Andrea Campbell to prosecute ICE “abductions” as kidnappings, and the Massachusetts labor unions to strike until these demands are met.

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