Fact check: Who instigated the violence in the 2025 LA protests? Have they been caught?

1. Summary of the results

The violence during the 2025 LA protests was initially triggered by ICE immigration raids on June 6, 2025, which resulted in 44 arrests ^[1]. While the majority of demonstrations remained peaceful, there were significant outbreaks of violence, with the LAPD reporting 42 arrests for serious crimes including attempted murder, arson, and assault ^[2]. By June 9, at least 23 businesses had been looted, and both law enforcement officers and protesters sustained injuries ^[3].

2. Missing context/alternative viewpoints

Several important contextual elements are worth noting:

• Law professor Aya Gruber argues that the term "riot" is being used loosely, as most protesters were exercising their First Amendment rights ^[4]
• The violence was not as widespread as social media portrayed it to be, with actual clashes being largely confined to specific parts of Los Angeles County ^{[5] [6]}
• Protesters specifically targeted Waymo self-driving cars, setting them on fire, suggesting possible underlying tensions about automation and job displacement ^{[2] [5]}
• The scale of arrests varies significantly between sources, with some reporting "hundreds" ^{[7] [1]} while others cite specific numbers like 42 arrests ^[2]

3. Potential misinformation/bias in the original statement

The question "Who instigated the violence?" oversimplifies a complex situation and potentially misleads by:

• Ignoring the broader context: The violence emerged from ICE raids targeting workplaces and day laborers ^[1]
• Social media manipulation: Significant disinformation has spread through social media, including:
• Use of old footage from 2020 George Floyd protests
• Recycled videos from a 2024 street incident
• Exaggerated portrayals of the scale of violence ^{[5] [6]}

Different groups benefit from different narratives:

• Law enforcement benefits from emphasizing the violence, with LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell describing it as "disgusting" and "increasingly worse" ^[2]
• Immigration rights advocates benefit from emphasizing the peaceful nature of most protests and the triggering role of ICE raids
• Social media platforms benefit from engagement generated by sensationalized content about the protests