ICE Agents Make Arrests Outside Newsom’s Anti-Trump Rally

U.S. Border Patrol agents made their presence known outside an anti-Trump rally organized by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in Los Angeles on Thursday, leading to at least one arrest.

The event, branded “Liberation Day,” was used by Newsom to outline his response to Republican redistricting efforts in Texas. Seen as a possible 2028 Democratic presidential contender, Newsom predicted beforehand that “Donald Trump and Greg Abbott are going to have a very bad day today.”

Video obtained by Fox News showed over a dozen masked, armed Border Patrol agents outside the rally, with one man escorted away in handcuffs as attendees shouted in protest.

Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino defended the operation, saying agents were “making Los Angeles a safer place” in the absence of political action. He added that the agency was “not going anywhere” and doubled down that the city could “take that one to the bank.”

Newsom’s office issued a fiery response, calling Trump a “criminal president” and accusing him of sending a “private army” to intimidate. On social media, his team claimed federal agents were “illegally on private property,” though no action was taken to remove them.

During his speech, Newsom condemned the agents’ timing as no coincidence, accusing Trump and allies of orchestrating the move. He urged Americans to “wake up” to what he described as rights being stripped and streets “militarized.”

Complicating matters for Newsom, a new POLITICO–Citrin Center–Possibility Lab poll shows 64% of California voters want to keep the state’s independent redistricting commission, rejecting his push to return that authority to the Democratic-controlled legislature.