A progressive senator urged Americans to take to the streets and demonstrate against President Trump’s handling of the violent anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, asserting that the president was attempting to intensify the conflict and contending that if the protests remained non-violent, they could uphold democracy.
For context, in a video posted on social media on June 8, 2025, Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) condemned President Trump’s choice to authorize the deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, California, in reaction to the violent anti-ICE protests that began on June 6. Furthermore, in a later interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Senator Murphy called for nationwide demonstrations in response to what he characterized as President Trump “seeking confrontation.”
In his opening video, Senator Murphy stated that the “crisis in California” was “created by Donald Trump,” contending that the protest had transformed into a riot due to the president’s decision to deploy the National Guard. The senator remarked, “Whenever a protest becomes violent, it is unacceptable. However, California has made it evident that, through local and state authorities, they possess the capability to maintain order. They do not require Donald Trump. They do not require the National Guard.”
Furthermore, the senator asserted that the president dispatched the National Guard to Los Angeles “to instigate a conflict,” emphasizing that President Trump was not interested in “resolving an issue, but rather in creating one.” He continued, “Donald Trump has consistently sought a pretext to enforce martial law, to activate the Insurrection Act.”
To reinforce his argument, the senator claimed that the president has been attempting “to dismantle our democracy and erode the rule of law” since the onset of his administration, adding, “the actions Donald Trump is currently undertaking are not intended to soothe a critical situation. They are meant to exacerbate it. They are designed to heighten the likelihood of violence so that Donald Trump can further undermine our democracy by invoking some form of martial law.”
Additionally, Senator Murphy echoed similar sentiments during his appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on June 9, 2025, urging viewers to “maintain peace,” while also calling for Democrats to “take to the streets nationwide to protest the treatment of our immigrant community, and more broadly, to protest the threats to our democracy.”
Continuing, the Connecticut lawmaker stated that President Trump was “seeking a confrontation,” further adding, “There is nothing in his actions that pertains to peace or the restoration of order. He is escalating a protest that is relatively contained.” The senator then sought to argue that the riot in LA was a “rather minor” protest, asserting that the president aimed to escalate it into “an even larger conflict so that he could potentially invoke the Insurrection Act.”
In conclusion, Sen. Murphy remarked that if President Trump were to successfully invoke the Insurrection Act as a method to suppress the riots, it would “be a significant narrative of the week,” adding, “We must ensure that we do not take him at his word. He is seeking a confrontation. He is not attempting to ease tensions.”
Watch Sen. Murphy’s remarks:
