It is not 2020 anymore. Watching the city of Los Angeles burn, again, this year, that was my first thought. It is not 2020, and the belief of these rioters that they can do whatever they want is meeting stiff opposition.

In truth, there's nothing new about these rioters. Despite their insistence on waving Mexican flags while halting traffic and burning cars, these are the same radicals who have torched universities and cities over Gaza the last few years. If you look at the videos, you can see the same keffiyahs, political signs, and more.

We're watching the dregs of the political left use their funding to wreck another city. And, also as expected, we as taxpayers are funding these groups, along with the Chinese Communist Party.

One group, "The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA) — which received tens of millions of dollars in government grants during the Biden administration — staged a rally last week to denounce Immigration and Customs Enforcement arresting illegal migrants across the city, including those convicted of heinous crimes."

But it doesn't end there. "Another group that was behind some of last week's protests is the Marxist Party for Socialism and Liberation, which played a part in virulent past anti-Israel campus protests at Columbia University and which was once associated with suspected DC terrorist Elias Rodriguez. PSL has ties to the Chinese Communist Party through funding from socialist billionaire Neville Singham and his wife, Jodie Evans, founder of activist group Code Pink."

Of course, that's not all. The ICE raids that are occurring in places like Los Angeles and New York are targeting criminals. For instance, ICE arrested "Cuong Chanh Phan, a 49-year-old from Vietnam with a criminal history that includes a conviction for second-degree murder. He was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison."

Additionally, they arrested "Lionel Sanchez-Laguna, a 55-year-old illegal immigrant from Mexico, [whose] criminal history includes discharging a firearm at an inhabited dwelling and vehicle ... and willful cruelty to child in Orange, CA with a sentence of four years of probation."

Several others had lengthy criminal histories as well.

In a press conference, LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell told reports his officers were having commercial-grade fireworks thrown at them, along with cars being obstructed and destroyed. He said they were overwhelmed.

Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, told the Los Angeles Times, "President Trump likely has the legal authority to do this." He was referencing Trump sending the California National Guard into the city to quell the riots, overriding Gavin Newsom.

He hated the use of it, as did the other experts cited by the Los Angeles Times. It's been several decades since anyone has taken such a move, even though Democrats called for Biden to federalize the Texas National Guard to prevent Gov. Greg Abbott from securing the border (and those calls were in 2024).

What we're witnessing is a repeat of what happened during the first Trump administration. Democrats are falsely claiming Trump's use of deportation powers is uniquely bad, even though Biden and Obama both deported illegal immigrants.

In the first term, Democrats came out angry about Trump "putting people in cages." When everyone with a working memory pointed out that the "cages" were built by Obama, Democrats quickly ran to other talking points.

Trump is enforcing immigration laws in Democratic cities that are trying to make themselves beyond federal law. This is something they cannot do, especially on immigration, which is the federal government's job.

The reaction we're getting this time is no different than the first term, and the actions we're witnessing aren't much different than 2020. We've seen universities explode with antisemitism, and now these same protestors are picking up Mexican flags and attacking police officers with fireworks and more

Increasingly, every political topic for the left is capped off by violence. They've lionized the antisemites, the violent anti-ICE crowd, CEO assassins, and more. This is who the left is becoming in this country. They justify everything by claiming democracy is under threat and then engage in firebombing.

We've been here before. In the 1970s, left-wing terrorism exploded, literally. "According to FBI statistics, the United States experienced more than 2,500 domestic bombings in just 18 months in 1971 and 1972, with virtually no solved crimes and barely any significant prosecutions." The attacks were carried out by left-wing groups disillusioned with the 1960s.

We're seeing a similar thing happen now, with disillusioned leftists turning to outright violence. It's a dangerous moment for the country, and Americans living in these cities have to navigate unstable people who seek out violence as the answer to everything.

It's not 2020 anymore. Five years ago, these leftists acted and didn't expect a response. Neither the federal government nor sane state governments are interested in letting these riots continue.