House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries says what happened in Los Angeles wasn’t a riot — it was “unrest.” Speaking to reporters Monday, the top House Democrat rejected the term “riot” to describe days of violent anti-ICE protests in California’s largest city.
Jeffries dismissed the Daily Caller News Foundation’s question about whether he’d support a GOP-backed resolution condemning the chaos. “Obviously I disagree with the classification of the notion that there were riots in Los Angeles, certainly there was unrest,” he said.
He then pivoted straight to January 6, attacking Republicans as hypocrites. “We will not be lectured by extreme MAGA Republicans about questions of law and order. Are you kidding me?” Jeffries said, before slamming Trump for pardoning people tied to the Capitol riots.
“Republicans aren’t the party of law and order, they’re the party of lawlessness and disorder,” Jeffries added. “They’re phonies — get lost.”
Despite video footage showing protesters in LA clashing with officers in riot gear and looting stores, Jeffries doubled down. When asked how he’d vote on the resolution, he replied, “I haven’t seen that.”
The violence has already cost Los Angeles more than $32 million, and Republican lawmakers want Democrats on record. California Rep. Young Kim is leading the resolution, with support from other GOP lawmakers.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise turned up the heat. “Will Democrats stand with us against these violent riots, or continue to condone this destructive behavior because it aligns with their agenda?” he asked in his weekly “floor lookout.”
Jeffries did say that anyone caught looting or assaulting police should be prosecuted. But he wouldn’t back down from calling the mayhem anything more than “unrest.”
The resolution itself is blunt. It uses the word “riots” five times and accuses protesters of hurling Molotov cocktails, setting off fireworks, and injuring officers. A House vote could come as early as Wednesday.