On horseback, heavily armed: Feds storm LA’s MacArthur Park only to find it empty - watch

Dozens of heavily armed federal officers and nearly 90 National Guard troops descended on Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park on Monday (local time) in what was billed as an immigration raid but ended up looking more like a military spectacle in a nearly empty public space. With troops on horseback and military vehicles in tow, the operation sparked outrage from city officials, including mayor Karen Bass, who likened the scene to “a city under siege” and slammed it as a “political stunt.”“What I saw in the park today looked like a city under siege, under armed occupation,” AP reported quoting Bass.Questioning the motive behind such an act, Bass said, “The world needs to see the troop formation on horses walking through the park, in search of what? In search of what? They’re walking through the area where the children play.”Children in a nearby day camp were quickly moved indoors, with one 8-year-old telling the mayor he was “fearful of ICE.”The operation took place in LA’s MacArthur Park, a vibrant, immigrant-rich neighborhood dubbed the “Ellis Island of the West Coast.” Health workers assisting homeless residents said troops pointed guns at them and ordered them to leave. The park, known for its lake, concerts, soccer games, and bustling street vendors, is a cultural hub for immigrant families and small businesses.Council member Eunisses Hernandez, whose district covers MacArthur Park, said the area was singled out by the administration specifically because of "who lives there and what it represents.”MacArthur Park, originally a 35-acre dump turned into Westlake Park in the late 19th century, was renamed in 1942 after General Douglas MacArthur. Since the 1980s, the surrounding Westlake neighborhood has grown into a densely populated immigrant community, home to many from Mexico, Central America, and immigrant advocacy groups.In recent years, it has seen an increase in homeless encampments, with outreach teams providing support for addiction. The park was also the site of a major 2007 May Day immigration rally that ended in police violence, leading to a $12.8 million settlement for protesters.Defense officials said the raid wasn’t a military operation, though they admitted the scale of the National Guard’s presence might give that impression.“It’s just going to be more overt and larger than we usually participate in,” AP quoted an official saying.According to the official, the main responsibility of the service members was to provide security for immigration officers in the event of a hostile crowd. While they were not involved in law enforcement actions like making arrests, they could temporarily hold individuals if needed until law enforcement took over.Deploying soldiers to provide security during the raids brings them closer than ever to direct involvement in law enforcement activities like deportations, something Trump has pledged as part of his hardline immigration agenda.