Trump’s GI Joe-Cosplaying “Goon Squads” Sow Terror — and Solidarity

The Intercept Briefing

The Intercept

Politics, Unknown, Daily News, History, News

4.8 • 6.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 June 2025

⏱️ 52 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Across the country, demonstrators are preparing for a weekend of protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations, Donald Trump's planned June 14 military parade, and Trump himself.

Ground zero for these demonstrations is likely to be Los Angeles, where heavily armed ICE agents have carried out raids at churches, graduations, parking lots, and scores of other gathering spots recently.

“ The level of armament that these guys are wearing is out of a GI Joe movie,” said Salvador G. Sarmiento, the campaign director and lawyer for the 70-member National Day Laborer Organizing Network. “It seems like the federal police is just driving around willy-nilly — dressed up as a goon squad — picking up people that they see on a street corner.”

“The federal government [is] violently taking people from their work sites in military fashion,” added Jonah Valdez, reporter for The Intercept.

This week on The Intercept Briefing, Sarmiento and Valdez joined host Jordan Uhl to discuss the wave of ICE operations sweeping Los Angeles that have sparked a week of protests and the militarized response from law enforcement.

As people head to the streets again this weekend, protesters should be informed about their constitutional rights and safety options. The episode also features practical advice from attorney Isabella Salomão Nascimento.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to the Intercept Briefing. I'm Jordan Yule. White House Deputy Chief of Staff
0:09.3	Stephen Miller went on Fox to deliver a chilling message last month. Under President Trump's
0:16.0	leadership, we are looking to set a goal of a minimum of 3,000 arrests for ICE every day,
0:24.2	and President Trump is going to keep pushing to get that number up higher each and every single day.
0:30.0	One week later, ICE agents arrested day laborers outside a Home Depot in Paramount City.
0:36.8	About 16 miles away, federal agents raided ambiance apparel, a clothing manufacturer in the heart of downtown Los Angeles.
0:45.3	Homeland Security investigators are still inside the building.
0:49.3	In all, ICE detained more than 40 immigrants.
0:52.3	When relatives and community members showed up the protest,
0:56.3	they were arrested too, including David Huerta, president of the labor union, SCIU, California.
1:04.0	So they've armored vehicles. Look at this. They're making their way through the streets.
1:07.0	Images of federal agents dressed for war, rolling through the streets of Los Angeles in military vehicles started circulating online.
1:15.6	They are being escorted here by the tactical vehicle. You see some of that, a puff of that white smoke there. That's something they were using for crowd control. I believe from the FBI agents. I did not see, I did not see any of the civilians actually throwing canisters.
1:32.5	News and fear spread.
1:35.0	So did the protest calls against the federal government's aggressive and militaristic push into communities.
1:41.0	Who's got the power?
1:42.2	What kind of power?
1:44.3	People power. The law enforcement the power. What kind of power? People power.
1:45.2	The law enforcement response against protesters escalated quickly.
1:53.9	President Donald Trump federalized 4,000 of California's National Guard, overriding Governor
1:59.9	Gavin Newsom.
2:07.6	Then Trump deployed 700 Marines into L.A., treating the city like an active war zone. He again chose escalation.
	...

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