FOX LA, broadcasting live on Monday, captured video of a truck unloading and distributing what seemed to be thousands of dollars’ worth of specialized riot equipment—specifically, advanced bionic face shields—to aggressive demonstrators.
As reported by Fox LA journalist Elex Michaelson, the masks being handed out to protesters were recognized as Uvex Bionic Face Shields. These shields are generally utilized by machinists and autobody workers to protect against chemical splashes and flying debris.
Nevertheless, rioters have been adapting them for use as protection against police crowd control gas, complicating law enforcement’s efforts to disperse violent protests and restore order.
Journalist Andy Ngo noted that “Far-left extremists established a website to raise funds for riot gear intended for the open border insurrectionists in Los Angeles.”
Currently, Bill Essayli, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, has declared that the FBI’s Los Angeles field office has apprehended Alejandro Theodoro Orellana on charges of Conspiracy to Commit Civil Disorder (18 U.S.C. § 371) related to his purported involvement in supplying face shields to suspected rioters.
Orellana is reportedly a member of the Brown Berets, described as “a radical Latino paramilitary group that is presently active in cities throughout the United States,” as stated by RANN.
Joshua Steinman, a former military officer who was part of the National Security Council during Trump’s initial term as Deputy Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Cyber, asserts that Alejandro Orellana exemplifies the type of foreign sabotage operatives that, in his opinion, were permitted to enter the country under the Biden administration, as reported by the Daily Caller.
On Friday, Trump expressed his appreciation to an appeals court for its ruling that allows him to continue the deployment of the California National Guard in Los Angeles.
“The Appeals Court ruled last night that I can use the National Guard to keep our cities, in this case Los Angeles, safe,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social page. “If I hadn’t sent the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now. We saved L.A. Thank you for the Decision!!!”
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals approved the Trump administration’s request to stay a ruling made by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, according to The Washington Post.
Earlier on Thursday, Breyer stated that Trump had acted unconstitutionally by federalizing portions of the California National Guard to assist in protecting Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents as well as federal property, referencing the 10th Amendment.
By dispatching the Guard, Breyer determined that Trump had acted inappropriately, “both exceeding the limits of his statutory authority and infringing upon the Tenth Amendment of the United States Constitution.” He additionally mandated that control of the Guard be reverted to Governor Gavin Newsom.
Breyer delivered his ruling following California’s lawsuit against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Department of Defense. The lawsuit aimed to restrict the involvement of the National Guard and Marines in Los Angeles to the safeguarding of federal facilities and personnel, prohibiting them from engaging in other activities.
It also contested Trump’s power to deploy those forces in California without the consultation or consent of the state’s governor.
