A startling video from a recent protest against the Trump administration highlights a disturbing moment when a man is repeatedly trampled by police horses.
On Friday, June 6, hundreds gathered in Los Angeles to protest the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids. The demonstration turned chaotic as the riot squad engaged the crowd over three turbulent nights.
A version of the video, which circulated widely on social media and aired on national television, shows an individual lying in the street, surrounded by police officers on foot and horseback.
Within moments, the person is first kicked by one horse and then trampled by another. A different officer then strikes the individual with a pole-like tool.
The man manages to get up and move away but is quickly forced back down by a police officer as disorder continues around them.
Warning: The video contains distressing content.
At the scene, protestors hurled Molotov cocktails and rocks at officers, prompting them to respond with rubber bullets and tear gas.
Amidst the commotion was Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi, reporting for 9News.
“I am okay. My cameraman, Jimmy, and I are both safe,” she later reported. “This is just one of the unfortunate realities of reporting on these kinds of incidents.
“It has been a really volatile day on the streets of Los Angeles, and I do want to show you the scene here tonight.”
The 9News team filmed sections of downtown LA that were blocked off, with Tomasi noting: “The city warned that if anyone moves through here, they will be arrested on the spot.”
On Saturday, June 7, President Donald Trump announced he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops following reports of violence against federal ICE agents.
“If Governor Gavin Newscum [sic], of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” Trump stated on Truth Social.
California Governor Gavin Newsom responded on X after the National Guard’s mobilization: “I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command. We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved.
“This is a serious breach of state sovereignty—inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”
Earlier, Mayor Bass commented on Trump’s use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to broaden deportation authority: “It shows a sense of terror in the community.
“It’s bad enough that it happened at this location, but the way this goes and spreads throughout the community, people are not sure where they are safe.”
Residents of LA have been advised to avoid public spaces.