The year is 1992. Four Los Angeles Policemen were just acquitted of the vicious beating of Rodney King. As outraged Black Americans sobbed in horror as the white officers walked free, racial tensions in the city erupted into chaos which would be notoriously deemed the 1992 LA Race Riots.
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Thirty-three years later, and the city of Los Angeles is once again at a crossroads, but this time, things are different. Peaceful anti-ICE protests escalated to violence after President Donald Trump sent military forces to quell unarmed citizens. Despite few similarities between the two historic events, let's not get it twisted...there are way more differences. Now, we're breaking it all down...
Tense Social Climates, Different Catalysts
King's beating was caught on camera, as the officers continuously beat, punched and kicked him while he lay in a fetal position. The footage flooded national media -- long before viral was a thing -- sending the already racially contentious environment into flames.
Similar to the 1992 riots, the current anti-ICE protests followed months of nationwide demonstrations against Trump's raids in the city. But the key difference is the reaction from protestors was in direct result of the president's actions. In 1992, the policemen had no political allies or catalysts...outside of maybe racism.
National Guard Response Then and Now
The last time a president sicced the National Guard on American citizens was in 1992. Then-Louisiana Gov. Pete Wilson and Mayor Tom Bradley formally requested President George H.W. Bush's help to deal with escalating violence in the city. Around 6,000 Guard officers were sent to assist overwhelmed local police, who rioters were specifically targeting.
On the flip side, current Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass didn't ask for the National Guard's assistance...and more interestingly, they've both denounced Trump's sending them. Bass even accused the president of conducting a "test case" on the city without consent or merit.
Billion-Dollar Cost Difference
More than 50 people died during the 1992 riots, according to NPR, and destruction cost the city more than $1 billion, as reported by the Los Angeles Times. It took years for the city to fully recover, and countless small businesses were never revived.
Initially, President Bush told the nation, “What followed Wednesday's jury verdict in the Rodney King case was a tragic series of events for the city of Los Angeles: Nearly 4,000 fires, staggering property damage, hundreds of injuries, and the senseless deaths of over 30 people."
It's too soon to tell how much money the anti-ICE protests will cost the city, but the scale of the damage done so far fails to compare to that of the 1992 riots. For starters, no one has died, although dozens of folks reported injuries. What we do know is the president sending 700 Marines will cost the country $134 million, on top of the already 2,000 Guard officers on foot.
Public Backlash, Lawsuits
King sued the city of Los Angeles and won $3.8 million in 1994, according to the Los Angeles Times. A series of legislation also passed to ensure King's beating wouldn't be repeated-- although dozens of Black and brown people in L.A. and around the country have since been targeted, beaten and killed by police.
On Monday (June 9), Newsom sued Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, claiming the administration violated the Tenth Amendment by sending in the military. "There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends," Calif. Attorney General Rob Bonta said in statement.
So while the Trump administration is set on making an example of Los Angeles, let's remember what real chaos looks like and the consequences of it all. More than three decades have passed since King's beating and corresponding riots paralyzed the country. Now, Americans are paying attention to see exactly how history will repeat itself.
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