Los Angeles Riots: A City Under Siege, Facing Soaring Costs and Deepening Political Divisions
The cost to taxpayers of Los Angeles’ anti-deportation riots has risen to more than $32 million as the city faces a looming budget crisis, according to a city official.
The price tag climbed by another $12 million after local media reported $20 million in expenses from the riots on June 17, Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia in a Friday X post. Simultaneously, city officials are debating how to resolve a $1 billion budget shortfall for the coming fiscal year.
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More than $29 million of the riot costs stem from police duties, while property damage, loss of tourism and other factors contributed, Mejia said. Los Angeles Fire Department services account for more than $1.1 million of the costs, according to Mejia.
Authorities in Los Angeles have made hundreds of arrests on charges such as obstructing law enforcement, vandalism and attempted murder, and authorities used equipment such as tear gas and flashbangs to try to control the situation. Rioters were also seen lighting private and police vehicles on fire.
Mejia said the costs could climb even further due to “potential lawsuits,” worsening the city’s financial woes. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass proposed laying off more than 1,600 city workers to resolve the city’s looming $1 billion deficit, ABC7 reported.
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The Trump administration has charged more than 20 people with federal crimes in connection with the riots. The IRS said Tuesday that it is “currently tracing money” that has allegedly funded the chaos.
Bass waited until after five days of rioting to impose curfews on parts of her city. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom maintains that President Donald Trump is overreacting to the lawlessness by deploying military personnel to restore order.
Newsom’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the riot costs are “another $32 million reasons why this militarization in Los Angeles is wrong.”
Newsom’s administration is suing to stop Trump’s move to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to quell the unrest. A federal appeals court ruled against him Thursday, temporarily allowing Trump to keep control of the guard.
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“Let me remind you, the federal government continues to add to our deficit with Trump’s authoritarian display – on top of the $134 million taxpayers are already footing,” a Newsom spokesperson said. “Even as tensions rise in the Middle East, in an unprecedented move, there are now more American troops deployed in Los Angeles than in Iraq and Syria combined.”
“If Trump was … truly about ‘law and order,’ he wouldn’t be proposing to gut public safety funding across the country — putting the safety and lives of all Americans at risk,” the spokesperson said. “Trump’s so-called ‘big beautiful bill’ threatens to erase substantial progress on public safety, at a time when exactly the opposite is needed.”
Bass’ press office did not respond to a request for comment.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
