A Resolution Condemning the Violent June 2025 Riots in Los Angeles

H Res 516

Author

Dusty Wilson
June 23, 2025

What is this bill?

This is a House resolution that seeks to affirm four key points:

  • Recognize “the right to assemble and protest peacefully”

  • Condemn “the violence perpetrated against Federal, State, and local law enforcement” during the ongoing protests in the city of Los Angeles

  • Call on local and state government to “work with the Federal Government to end the violent riots and restore peace”

  • Praise “the Los Angeles Police Department, [the] Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, and…United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement for keeping our communities safe in the face of danger.”

Why is it fascist?

Anyone following the FDT Bluesky account more than likely knows that I am a firm believer that the vast majority of violence at protests are because the police choose to riot. The particular violence Representative Kim refers to occurred after hours of tear gas and “less lethals” being fired by ICE in Paramount, California, violent suppression in the neighborhood of Compton, and week long police violence used against protestors and press alike in downtown LA. This police violence resulted in multiple injuries for protestors and press alike.

Examples of all of this can be found via the reporting of:

The simple fact that this resolution seeks to celebrate police violence enacted to defend ICE’s honor would be more than enough for me to label it as clearly fascist. But for the fuck of it, let’s look at one small detail and one big summary that Representative Kim uses to justify her resolution.

One phrase in the resolution that sticks out to me is “Whereas rioters burned American flags, an act that disrespects the nation that protects their freedom.” Desecration of the American flag, especially as a form of protest, has been a hot button issue in the States for decades. The thing though is the Supreme Court found in 1989 that flag desecration is protected under the 1st Amendment.

Texas v. Johnson focused on Gregory Lee Johnson, a member of the Revolutionary Communist Youth Brigade (not to be confused with the alleged political cult the Revolutionary Communist Party), who burned an American flag outside of the GOP convention in Dallas in 1984. Johnson was arrested for desecration & in a 5-4 opinion, where Antonin Scalia of all people sided with Johnson, found that burning a flag is protected speech.

In response, Congress passed a law banning flag burning and in 1990 the Supreme Court struck the law down as unconstitutional.

So, Representative Kim’s complaint about flag burning means both fuck and all in the grand scheme of things and is clearly just her complaining that she doesn’t like that kind of free speech. Which, you know, kind of fashy.

Now I would go beat by beat for the rest of the resolution, but it’s a better use of all of our time to just summarize it as ‘rioting is out of control and Los Angeles is burning even worse than the wildfires in January.’ I think it’s important to really put this all into context. Pictured below is a map of the greater Los Angeles area:

The area in white surrounded by the red dotted border is LA proper and is just a smidge under 500 square miles. That doesn’t count all the weird independent cities like Santa Monica or Beverley Hills who are like little separatist enclaves. LA is a gigantic sprawl where driving from Burbank to Marina Del Rey can take anywhere between an hour with decent traffic to two hours of psychic pain. And it takes that long because those places are 35 miles apart and aren’t even the two furthest distances you can go and still be in Los Angeles. In summary, the place is very big.

Now, let’s compare this to a map that highlights the locations where Representative Kim’s resolution speaks of unchecked rioting:

I know, so traumatic to look at, but you see that little red dot on the ‘n’ of Los Angeles? That’s where the vast amount of news footage from downtown came from. That’s where the five Waymos left this Earth for Vehicle Hell. It’s where the LAPD made the hilarious mistake to park their cars under a highway bridge near a bunch of Lime scooters. It’s where ICE, LAPD, and LASD tear gassed people next to a VA health center, trampled a guy with horses while beating him with sticks, and repeatedly shot at and injured press. This is also where one Apple store got looted and while Kim calls for the SBA to offer disaster relief for looted businesses, I highly doubt an Apple Store counts as a small business. Quite frankly, larger parts of the city have been effected by the Dodgers or the Lakers winning their respective championships.

But what specifically makes this resolution fascist is that it is a celebration of so many aspects that Umberto Eco used to define fascism. Sending the National Guard and the Marines to put down a protest that takes up two blocks is a prime example of “action for action’s sake.” Also sending military does give the message that this kind of protest amounts to treason. Broadly the attack on immigrants is one of Eco’s clearest examples of the “fear of difference” and finally, Representative Kim’s resolution supports the invented plot of the government. It truly looks like Kim looked at a copy of Ur-Fascism as a to-do list instead of a warning.

From top to bottom, this resolution is nothing more than a love letter to Trump’s actions and anyone who votes for it gives approval for all future police violence.

Which Dems voted for it?

At least five will vote for it (Henry Cuellar, Marie Glusenkamp Perez, Jared Golden, Laura Gillen, and Don Davis) with a handful of anti-immigrant Californians potentially being more hit or miss. For them it depends on whether they want to attach their wagon to Gavin Newsom or not. For that reason, Adam Gray, Josh Harder, and George Whitesides are less likely to support, but I wouldn’t be surprised if they did.

Did it pass?

The vote for this should fall around Thursday (6/26/25).