Anti-ICE protests to cost Los Angeles taxpayers over $30M: official

Anti-ICE protests that rattled Los Angeles will cost taxpayers in the City of Angels a whopping $32 million, according to newly released data.The eye-watering sum includes the cost of police response, emergency services, cleanup and public property damage resulting from federal immigration protests that have rattled the city, LA City Controller Kenneth Mejia revealed in a post on X.Some $29.5 million of the costs come from the LAPD’s response to protests, “including citywide tactical alert costs,” Mejia said, sharing a graph breakdown of the taxpayer funds.Another $1.4 million will be used for clean-up and public property damage, according to the post.The remainder of the money includes funds set aside for the Los Angeles Fire Department, street services, general services and the Public Works Board.Downtown LA has become the epicenter of anti-ICE riots in response to Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. Since June 8, the LAPD has made roughly 561 arrests related to protests, cops said, according to KTLA.More than 200 people were arrested on June 10 alone after Mayor Karen Bass instituted a curfew in Los Angeles.“The most explosive escalation of tensions between demonstrators and police since the height of the Black Lives Matter movement in 2020 is currently unfolding in Los Angeles over Trump’s ‘mass deportation agenda,’” said Kieran Doyle, with Armed Conflict Location & Event Data, a group that tracks civil unrest and wars.The large total does not include potential lawsuits, Mejia noted....