John Fetterman came out firing Tuesday in pointed criticism that called out his fellow Democrats for failing to condemn acts of violence and vandalism in Los Angeles amid the days-long protests over the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and policies.
In a post on X, the senator from Pennsylvania shared a photo of a masked rioter holding what appeared to be a Mexican flag atop a car in Los Angeles taken during rioting that broke out during this past weekend’s sometimes violent protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the city.
He wrote: “I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that. This is anarchy and true chaos.”
Fetterman added that his party “loses the moral high ground” when Democrats “refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.”
It was not immediately clear whether the Keystone State leader was calling out any specific member of his party, as there have been elected Democrats speaking out against the violence that has sprung up amid the protests.
But Fetterman’s criticism echoes attacks President Donald Trump and other Republicans have been leveling against Democrats during the unrest in southern California.
Trump has used the violence and continued protests as a justification for his decision to deploy thousands of National Guard soldiers and active-duty Marines to defend federal facilities, citing what he describes as an unwillingness by state and local authorities to quell the unrest.
In total, roughly 5,000 military personnel have been deployed to Los Angeles in response to ongoing protests against ICE raids, with President Trump ordering additional National Guard troops and Marines despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Newsom has sued the Trump administration over the initial deployment of the National Guard, arguing it was illegal and has exacerbated the situation. He has also deployed additional civilian law enforcement officers to “clean up President Trump’s mess.”
More than 100 people have been arrested as a result of the violence over the last few days.
But Democrats in Congress have accused the president of creating what they call a “manufactured crisis” as a pretext for sending in troops to put down protests.
Rep. Jimmy Gomez, who organized a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, called it “a deliberate attempt by Trump to incite unrest, test the limits of executive power, and distract from the lawlessness of his administration.”
