‘Authoritarianism on steroids’: Mass. leaders react to Trump’s response in Calif.
By Alison Kuznitz and Darren Botelho
After President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops in California to respond to immigration enforcement protests, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey said he would oppose any similar tactics in Massachusetts, which has already come under fire for its “sanctuary” policies.
“If Trump sought to nationalize the National Guard here in Massachusetts, or to send in the Marines, I would fight Trump every single step of the way because it would be one further step towards an authoritarian dictatorship in our country,” Markey told reporters Monday after speaking at a New England Council breakfast.
While California Gov. Gavin Newsom objected, Trump sent in the National Guard as protests escalated around Los Angeles amid federal immigration raids. The president had threatened on social media the federal government would intervene if Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass “can’t do their jobs” and get the clashes under control.
The Trump administration said Monday it was deploying about 700 Marines to Los Angeles.
“What Trump is trying to do in California is wrong. It is authoritarianism on steroids,” Markey said. “We have to, here in Massachusetts, make sure that he understands that we are not going to tolerate having the authority of Gov. Healey or Mayor Wu, or any of our local officials, undermined by his authoritarian techniques to nationalize the National Guard or any other national military body.”
Protests in Massachusetts have been peaceful, with no reports of arrests or destruction of property.
“By the hour, it seems that President Trump and the administration are doing things to escalate things,” Gov. Maura Healey told NBC10 Boston Monday. “That’s outrageous, it’s unacceptable, it’s not a good practice in terms of law enforcement, and the president has got to stop.”
The White House said in a statement Monday that Trump was “stepping up where Democrats won’t” and that California leaders “should be thanking President Trump for stepping up and leading where they refused — and for ridding their streets of criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, and gangbangers.”
Labor unions and advocates held an “emergency solidarity rally” outside Boston City Hall on Monday to call for the release of David Huerta, the president of SEIU California who was arrested during a protest in LA.
“It’s important to speak the truth, and I support the calls to make sure that we are calling out when unconstitutional behavior is happening,” Mayor Michelle Wu said ahead of the rally when asked whether the event could bring “unwanted attention” to the city.
Trump’s border czar has threatened he’d bring “hell” to Boston, and he visited Massachusetts in March as federal agents arrested 370 individuals.