US Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has denounced the riots in Los Angeles and warned his party about the pitfalls of failing to adequately condemn the “anarchy and true chaos.
“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that,” Fetterman wrote on X on Monday evening.
I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that.
This is anarchy and true chaos.
My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement. pic.twitter.com/pPYbvP6xR0
— U.S. Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) June 10, 2025
“This is anarchy and true chaos. My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.”
The Keystone State Dem included a photo of cars being scorched in a fiery blaze with a shirtless masked man waving a Mexican flag in the background.
Around the time of his post, Fetterman was spotted at Butterworth’s, a top MAGA hangout in Washington, DC, dining with Trump ally Steve Bannon and Breitbart’s Matt Boyle, Politico Playbook reported.
Tech mogul Elon Musk commended Fetterman’s condemnation of the “anarchy and true chaos” unfolding in LA, replying with an American flag emoji.
Fetterman’s post came amid a feud between President Trump and top California Democrats over the prez’s decision to federalize the California National Guard and bring in troops to tame the unrest in Los Angeles.
Protesters had flooded the streets in droves Friday to demonstrate against the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts in the city. ICE agents’ targets have included a Home Depot in Paramount.
By Saturday, some of the demonstrations descended into violent clashes with federal authorities in Compton and Paramount. The Trump administration mobilized another 2,000 troops to respond to the mayhem, after previously ordering an initial 2,000 troops to the region over the weekend.
Trump’s secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, said Monday he also was deploying 700 Marines to the area to help try to contain the chaos.
Top leadership in California, including Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass — both Democrats — slammed the GOP White House for the troop mobilization and pleaded with the public not to turn to violence to protest Trump’s immigration policies.
Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta, also a Dem, filed a lawsuit Monday against the Trump administration seeking to void the president’s memo to federalize the state’s National Guard.
Fetterman hasn’t been afraid to punch the left in his own party, particularly when it comes to Israel. Near the end of the Biden administration, he had also favored measures to strengthen border security.
