Return to Transcripts main page

CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt

Just In: Los Angeles Mayor Says Curfew Could Remain In Effect Tonight, As City Braces For Sixth Day of Protests; Now: Anti-Ice Protests Spread Across The Country; Just In: Trump DOJ Urges Judge To Reject Newsom's Request To Limit Use of National Guard & Marines. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired June 11, 2025 - 16:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(MUSIC)

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: "Surfin' USA", of course. Also among the best hits, "Good Vibrations", "God Only Knows", "California Girls" and wouldn't it be nice just to name a few?

Brian Wilson was 82 years old.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: You'll obviously be missed.

His family thanking supporters at a sad time for them, a music that touched the country and the world.

KEILAR: Yeah, definitely.

THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT starts right now.

KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: It's the protesters versus the president. How long will this showdown last?

Let's head into THE ARENA.

L.A.'s mayor calls for an end to immigration raids in L.A. as protests spread to cities across the country.

Plus, Gavin Newsom seizes the moment. The California governor energizing Democrats as he takes on Donald Trump.

And then forgive and forget? New details about Elon Musk's call to President Trump after their dramatic falling out.

(MUSIC)

HUNT: Hi, everyone. I'm Kasie Hunt. Welcome to THE ARENA. It's wonderful to have you with us on this Wednesday.

Right now, officials in L.A. are preparing for yet another day of demonstrations. The curfew instituted last night could take effect again in just hours. More than 200 people were arrested last night, mostly for failing to disperse. The LAPD says two officers were injured. Several businesses were looted.

And in just an hour, the L.A. district attorney expected to announce new protests-related charges.

A short time ago, L.A.'s Mayor Karen Bass held a press conference to call for an end to immigration raids, saying that's what's responsible for what she described as the problems occurring now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: This was provoked by the White House. The reason why we don't know, I posit that maybe we are part of a national experiment to determine how far the federal government can go in reaching in and taking over power from a governor, power from a local jurisdiction, and frankly, leaving our city and our citizens, our residents, in fear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So these protests began in L.A., but we're now seeing them spread to more than a dozen cities. And as that plays out, President Trump is defending his decision to federalize the California National Guard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm able to do things now that I wouldn't have been able to do because the previous president and presidency was so bad that anybody looks good. I can be stronger on an attack on Los Angeles.

INTERVIEWER: Yes.

TRUMP: Okay? I think bringing in the National Guard four years ago or eight years ago would have been more difficult.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So President Trump made that decision to deploy not just thousands of guard national troops -- National Guard troops, but also hundreds of Marines without the consent of California's Governor Gavin Newsom. A military spokesperson confirmed to CNN, those Marines are still undergoing training, and they've not yet hit the streets of L.A.

Still, Newsom last night cast this decision in sweeping dramatic terms.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: This is about all of us. This is about you. California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.

Democracy is next. Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So that framing and taking on the president directly seems pretty welcome in the Democratic Party, a party that has been, frankly, struggling to find a charismatic leader and effective message since at least Trump's election in November.

Multiple sources tell CNN other Democratic governors have been calling Newsom to talk through how what's happened in California might unfold in their own states. In this showdown, of course, creating an opportunity not just for Newsom to build his 2028 credentials, you can quite literally see him doing that on your screen, but also for President Trump and his allies to try to define Newsom years before our next presidential election is set to kick off.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Those images of foreign flags being waved by illegal criminals and by violent rioters in the face of cars blowing up in flames in the city. I have photos of that here to show you, with this violence and destruction that occurred is an image that Governor Gavin Newsom owns. This is his city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: All right. My panel is here, and we're also joined by CNN's Nick Watt on the ground in L.A. Kristen Holmes is outside the White House. And CNN chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller standing by for us in New York.

Nick, I do want to start with you. Our viewers can see it's, you know, you're in the place where it's all unfolding.

What have you seen today? What do officials there expect tonight?

NICK WATT, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kasie, we are outside the detention center, the federal detention center that has been the focus of the demonstrations.

[16:05:09]

And right now, it is pretty chill. I would say a dozen, maybe two dozen protesters. Very quiet. And National Guardsmen who you can see here, very different posture from yesterday. There are far fewer of them. And also, they do not have their riot shields. Very chill for now, but it is just lunchtime here in L.A.

Now, what happens tonight? Well, listen, that in part depends on this political standoff that's way above the heads of everybody here. Mayor Bass has said, listen, if the ICE raids continue, if we continue to have federal troops on our streets, then maybe we'll need to continue with the curfew, because her argument is that all of these protests are a reaction to what the federal government is doing. She is blaming them.

The feds, they say, listen, the raids are going to continue. So that's the standoff. And we've heard that they are in Downey, just a little south of L.A., we heard of raids this morning at a Home Depot, at a gym. Apparently, an older man was detained outside a house of worship. So, listen, Bass says the process will probably continue. And the feds

say the raids are going to continue.

Now, last night, a couple of hundred people were arrested during that curfew for failure to disperse. It was all pretty calm process. I have to say. A couple of other people have been charged with felony issues throwing Molotov cocktails both here downtown and in paramount over the past few days. More charges, as you say, are expected to come.

And there was a very interesting comment from the mayor of Huntington Park who spoke this morning. He is a marine veteran, served in Iraq, and he had a message for the Marines who have been deployed here to L.A. he said, remember when you swore an oath, you didn't swear an oath to a dictator, to a tyrant, or to a president? You swore an oath to the people.

That was his message to those troops. We have not seen the Marines out yet so far. And as I say, the National Guard presence today, Kasie, is a lot, lot lower than it was yesterday. But listen, it's early. Let's see how it shakes out.

If that curfew kicks in again, that will be 8:00 p.m. tonight through 6:00 a.m. again. But right now, very different situation here than there was this time yesterday. Let's see what happens -- Kasie.

HUNT: Yeah. Nick, I was going to say when we were speaking to you yesterday and then also to our colleague Erin Burnett, things were a lot more active than they look in your live shot right now. I'm sure you'll bring us anything that may unfold in your location as we go through the hour.

But, Kristen, I want to ask you about the White House. They were asked about Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's request to have the military do some of the arrests of these protesters, which is, of course, not how this typically works.

How did they respond?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, and not just, Kasie, how it doesn't typically work. Theres no real legal authority for that to happen, particularly at this juncture. And the White House, while they do push the envelope, they are aware of where the legal boundaries lie. And that's likely why or at least in part, why you heard Karoline Leavitt when she was asked about this letter really deflect on that question. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEAVITT: I can't speak for the president and what's currently happening on the ground now. And as you know, the president federalized the National Guard under U.S. Code 10, which he has the authority to do, and our United States Marines and the National Guardsmen and women who are on the ground right now are helping to create a peaceful environment for ICE and border patrol.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Now, just because she did not answer the question about Kristi Noem asking for the military to help with these arrests does not mean that the administration as a whole is not really putting their foot down and doubling down on this idea that the National Guard should be in place. You heard Pete Hegseth saying that they might look into preemptively putting the National Guard in other areas where there are protests. You also heard Pam Bondi, the attorney general, earlier today, saying they're not scared to use escalation in Los Angeles.

So, as a whole, they have doubled down on this idea that they deserve to be there, that it's the right thing to do to be there. And obviously we heard Karoline Leavitt saying the same thing we've heard over and over again that L.A. needed them to come in and be this presence in order for them to get to the place they are now.

HUNT: So, John Miller, you obviously have so much law enforcement experience here. Can you help us understand how a police force reacts to the idea that the active duty U.S. military would come in and conduct arrests, which is, of course, their responsibility?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SECURITY ANALYST: So, Kasie, we are literally in uncharted territory here. And I say uncharted, meaning, yes, there have been times, many in the course of history, where a governor has activated the states National Guard detachment and said, we have a riot, we have a flood, we have whatever it is, where we need that help.

And the governor, under Title 32, has the ability to confer a lot of state authorities to them and how they can act.

[16:10:05]

Whereas under Title 10, the president is federalizing them as military. This is where we get into the confusing area today. Major General Sott Sherman, who is the head of the Task Force 51 that's being deployed in Los Angeles, said unlike what the mayor said the other day, which is they're just here to protect federal property and federal buildings, said they will be accompanying agents out on their investigations, on their search warrants, on their arrests, and that they are not performing a law enforcement function, that they are there providing protection for the agencies and their personnel at work and also in the field.

Here's the rub with that, Kasie, which is if you're providing protection for them and they end up getting in some assault, in some confrontation with a group, if someone is armed and they're there providing protection and they what they detain somebody, are they not making an arrest if they have to use force or deadly force or have to shoot somebody? Are they not taking police action? Is that the military in the streets, taking police action?

That's where we're on very brittle ground here. And I'll tell you exactly what he said. They do not do any arrests. They are -- now, follow me here. They are strictly here to detain, to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators. So once under our law, once you're not free to go, once you're being

detained, you are technically under arrest. So they're waiting for law enforcement to come and charge them. The point is, a lot of lines are being crossed here and its irking law enforcement. It's irking the elected officials. And the policy is not quite clear.

HUNT: Yeah, well, you are crystal clear, John Miller. Thank you very much for that. Kristen Holmes, Nick Watt, thanks to you as well.

Our panel is here to weigh in. Former policy director for Mitt Romney, Lanhee Chen, CNNs senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, CNN political commentator Ashley Allison, and former George W. Bush White House official Ashley Davis. We're also joined by CNN legal analyst Elliot Williams.

Ron Brownstein, let me go to you first. Just because I saw you reacting quite strongly to what John miller said. And you are in L.A.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, he is he is right on point. The framing of this, the framing of the discussion is already obsolete. We're framing the discussion as the president. Can the president use the National Guard, federalize the National Guard to respond to the protests? Can he use the Marines to respond to the protests? We're beyond that.

ICE yesterday posted picture of National Guard troops providing perimeter security to ICE agents on a raid. And that is clearly the goal here to integrate the military into the ongoing enforcement of immigration law. Today, to John's point, in their response to the Newsome lawsuit, right, the Trump administration filed its response just before we came on air, and they said that military service members, protection of those federal employees while they perform their work is distinct from the military members' own engagement in ordinary law enforcement.

Basically, they said that you could have a convoy of armored marine vehicles going into East L.A. or the West Side of Chicago or the South Bronx. Marines could get out first with guns, surround a restaurant, and if ICE goes in to do the actual enforcement, that would not violate Posse Comitatus Act would not require the Insurrection Act.

As John said, the legal history is a little murky. Maybe Trump has the authority to do that. We don't know. Courts have never ruled precisely on that.

But whatever the legal authority, I think the question now before us is are we comfortable as a country with that possibility in cities across the country?

HUNT: Elliot Williams, can you dig in on the legal question there for us a little bit? I mean, Ron and John both laid it out. Well, what would you add?

ELLIOT WILLIAMS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I know. That's exactly it. The big picture point, Kasie, is that under long standing American law, military cannot engage in state, local or federal law enforcement functions. The things that we think of while arresting people going on, going on raids.

Now, it becomes a much murkier question. And John Miller really hit this on the head, becomes a mercury question when they are merely there to protect individuals who are engaged in law enforcement functions. Where is the line between protection and actually carrying out law enforcement functions? And that's just not clear.

Now, obviously, the Trump administration appears to be trying to test the bounds of the law here, but it is a completely plausible conclusion that, you know, the message is being sent to the public that these folks are being sent there to engage in law enforcement functions.

That partly is why the governor has sued. And, you know, there will be a hearing on this tomorrow to sort out some of these questions is where that line is between appropriate federal -- I wouldn't say -- intrusion into state and local law enforcement matters and the president's duty and responsibility to protect the homeland.

[16:15:16]

HUNT: Ashley Allison, what are you comfortable with? What are Americans going to be comfortable with here?

ASHLEY ALLISON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, you know, I go back to before the campaign and we were told before the election, we were told that this administration was going to do this type of enforcement for people who were violent criminals.

And then the inauguration came, and it was clear it wasn't just going to be people who were here legally that were violent criminals. It was going to be children. It was going to be mothers. It was going to be fathers. It was going to be abuelas.

There's going to be people in our country that make our community strong. I have news for people in America. Immigrants are throughout this entire country.

So, if you see what is happening in L.A. and you say, oh, that's a problem for coastal elites, it's not. It will come just today in Nebraska, which is a very red state. It will go to my home state of Ohio, and Americans will have to make the choice. Do they want their children and have to explain to their children why there are armed tanks going into their streets to do a job that could be done in a totally different way?

And I would argue, based on some of the recent polling coming out today, Trump is losing ground on immigration and he will continue to lose ground if this spreads.

Peaceful protest is important, but for every action there is a reaction. And when people feel like they are, their First Amendment rights are being encumbered upon by an excessive use of force, which is what it feels like the Trump administration is escalating this to and trying to push the bounds, I don't think Americans will stand for it on both sides, quite honestly. HUNT: Lanhee Chen, the she's -- we've talked quite a bit about the

escalation based on the Marines. I mean they're doing it rhetorically as well. The department of homeland security posted this today. It's, of course, a callback to World War II. Help your country and yourself, report all foreign invaders. Help your country locate and arrest illegal aliens.

They clearly think they have the support, at least of their base. If not most Americans here. How do you see it?

LANHEE CHEN, FORMER MITT ROMNEY POLICY DIRECTOR: Well, I think that the protest imagery, what we've seen over the last couple days, I think it has politically inure to the benefit of the White House. I mean, I do, and I think that most Americans look at this and they say protest is one thing. Burning and looting cars, seeing stuff dumped onto highway patrol vehicles as they try to drive down the freeway, that's quite another.

And so, I think when the imagery shifted and changed, I think the political salience of this shifted and changed as well. Remember, all of this is not a surprise in terms of what President Trump is doing. President Trump ran on immigration enforcement. He ran on the importance of securing the border. He ran on a lot of these issues.

What we are seeing now is an administration that's executing on that agenda. People may not like it. Some people may not like it. But that is the reality of what we're seeing play out before, before our eyes on television screens.

HUNT: Ashley, a quick last word to you.

ASHLEY DAVIS, FORMER GEORGE W. BUSH WHITE HOUSE OFFICIAL: Yeah. No, absolutely right. And you just look at what's happening in regards to what Governor Abbott is doing in Texas. So, the protests are starting there. And he pulled up the National Guard instantly.

So, you won't see what mayor, which is not call up, not do a, you know, put something on that people can go out after 8:00, five days after this all started. So, as long as there are riots in the street that businesses are being looted and there's fire sets in the street, the president is winning this 100 percent.

And actually, it's funny, Ashley -- I love you, you know, but we -- the same polls I saw today is that he's winning on this issue. So I'm sure we're looking at all these different polls because there's so many on it. But --

ALLISON: I know -- I know we're out of time. I know you live in a -- I literally left Los Angeles Sunday night. What is happening in Los Angeles and the way it is being depicted is not accurate.

We're talking about a square mile out of a 500 square mile city. Most people are not experiencing it the way we are showing it on television. And I think we have to be very careful because there are not riots in the street. There are some bad actors, and they need to be held accountable. But we have to be careful with the language you use, because if we say

riots, we cause unnecessary fear. And the real fear is when military people start flooding our streets unnecessarily.

BROWNSTEIN: Can I say really quick? As the George Floyd summer showed, Americans don't like disorder. They don't like chaos. That benefits the president.

But the president -- they see the president also as a source of disorder and chaos. So, it is more complicated than saying this simply benefits him, because I think most Americans will dislike the protests. But they also, in polling, have disapproved of sending the guard, sending the Marines.

And that isn't even asking them whether you want to see the guard and the Marines in neighborhoods across the country. I've got to think even conservatives, you know, who talked about jackbooted thugs for the entire decade of the '90s are going to have second thoughts about seeing armored Humvees going into the West Side of Chicago.

DAVIS: If that happens.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, right.

[16:20:00]

HUNT: All right.

BROWNSTEIN: It is happening already in L.A.

HUNT: Clearly an intense discussion that we're going to have to continue after a quick break.

Elliot Williams, I want to say thank you for your expertise. Really appreciate it.

Coming up next here, we're going to have much more on the California protests and the president's response. We'll be joined live by a member of Congress who represents L.A.

And later, we'll be with Republican Senator John Kennedy.

Plus, Elon, phone home -- sort of why the once close confidante of Donald Trump called the White House this week and what he told the president.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: All right. Welcome back.

We're continuing to follow the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. And this just in, the LAPD has just confirmed in the past few minutes that a curfew for parts of downtown L.A. will remain in effect for tonight starting at 8:00 p.m. local time.

[16:25:08] Joining us now to discuss, Democratic Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager- Dove of California. And her district is part of Los Angeles County.

Congresswoman, I'm very grateful to have you. Thank you very much for being here.

Is the extension of this curfew the right call?

REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): Well, thank you so much for having me.

It is important for us to have a curfew. That's a way to discourage bad actors from coming on the scene.

But it is also important for Angelenos to feel like they have the right to express their First Amendment rights and protest against this invasion by ICE agents who are showing up at elementary schools, at immigration hearings and grocery stores in my district, and essentially kidnapping members of the community, not showing identification, not showing any warrants. This is not how we should be living in Los Angeles or in cities across the country.

HUNT: Congresswoman, the seat that you hold, actually was previously held by the now mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass. Do you feel like her leadership has been as strong and out front as you would like it to be?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: I think the mayor is meeting the moment along with the governor. Remember, neither the mayor nor the governor asked for the National Guard or the Marines to be deployed. We were celebrating a weekend of pride and also of young graduations, when all of a sudden, this president decided that he needed a major distraction. And so, he deployed the military into Los Angeles.

And remember, the military is not supposed to be enforcing civilian law. We have heard from our LAPD chief who has said that they have the situation under control, and they too did not ask for this. This has become a series of unfortunate events perpetuated by this administration to distract from larger issues that we should be talking about, like cuts to Medicaid.

HUNT: Congresswoman, you mentioned Governor Newsom. He, of course, has, you know, he gave a speech, a televised speech later videotaped speech last night, and he took on Donald Trump rather directly. He, of course, is in the conversation to potentially be a presidential candidate in 2028.

Do you think that the way he's approaching this is potentially escalating things, if the if the goal ultimately is to deescalate the violence? Or do you think he's doing the right thing?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: I think the governor was spot on. He was talking about this being a democracy. This is not how you work with governors. You know, remember, it was the Capitol police who asked for the National Guard to be deployed on January 6th, and Donald Trump didn't do so. So why, all of a sudden, when he's looking for numbers, you know, deportation numbers to go up, is he committing these kinds of atrocities in Los Angeles?

But the governor said, this is a democracy. This is this is an administration that is not following the Constitution, that is not obeying the law. And this is a city and a state that is losing faith in this government and is actually fearing the government. That is why folks are out in the street peacefully protesting.

HUNT: Congresswoman, some of the polling does show that a majority of Americans are on President Trump's side in terms of the conducting of immigration raids. This is not the question about sending in the National Guard, sending in the Marines, but 54 percent say they approve of the Trump administration's program to deport immigrants, 46 percent say that they disapprove.

And when you ask Americans, is the deportation program making people in the U.S. safer? Forty-two percent say yes, 30 percent say less safe, 27 percent say no change. What do you make of the fact, considering everything you've laid out for us? And I take all of your points, what do you make of the fact that Americans do still seem to side with President Trump in terms of supporting his immigration policy?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: So, there are a lot of polls that are all over the place. I would argue that this is not an immigration policy that we're seeing unfold. This is domestic terrorism. Yes. Actually, last term there was a bipartisan piece of immigration reform legislation that Donald Trump asked Republicans to kill because he didn't want Biden to sign it.

We know that Americans support immigration reform. We know that Democrats support immigration reform, but they do not support ICE raids like this happening in communities.

HUNT: Can you just follow up -- follow up with --

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Sure.

HUNT: You said this is domestic terrorism. Can you just tell me what exactly you mean? Are you saying the ICE raids are domestic terrorism?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: So what I'm saying is, when you have grandmothers taking young children to church or to the grocery store or to a little Korean market, like the one that was in my district that was raided, and all of a sudden, you see masked individuals with no identification, producing no judicial warrants that have names on it, asking no questions, snatching people, putting them in a van, carting them off, detaining them, not informing their parents or family members, not even allowing congress members to go in and check and make sure that everything is okay, and then deporting them, you have a real problem.

[16:30:09]

We have nine-year-old children being that --

HUNT: And that's domestic terrorism? KAMLAGER-DOVE: Yes, I would argue that you are terrorizing communities. Los Angeles does not feel safe. You have ICE agents walking down the street, actually knocking on doors and pulling people out of their homes.

They are not identifying themselves. They are not, you know, following the law. They are not providing identification. They are not providing warrants.

That is a problem because that is not due process.

HUNT: All right. Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, very grateful for your time today. Thank you very much for being here. Hope to see you soon.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Thank you for having me.

HUNT: All right. We will be right back with much more right here in THE ARENA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:35:13]

HUNT: All right, welcome back.

We do have some breaking news on the situation in Los Angeles just in here to CNN. Let's get to our Natasha Bertrand, who covers the Pentagon for us to tell us more.

Natasha, what are we learning?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kasie. So, the commander of Task Force 51, which is this task force that's overseeing the deployment of these 4,000 National Guard troops, as well as the Marines that have been deployed to the L.A. area. He said that the National Guard troops, some of them have already engaged in detaining some of these protesters on the ground temporarily until law enforcement can arrive on the scene and actually make the arrest.

Now, these National Guard troops, they are authorized to detain individuals under very specific circumstances when all other kind of de-escalation tactics have failed. And there they need to be able to detain someone until a police officer or another law enforcement official can actually make the arrest, because National Guard alone cannot make arrests unless President Trump invokes the Insurrection Act.

And we should also note that the Marines, if and when they are deployed into Los Angeles, they will also be authorized to detain individuals temporarily. And that's why we have seen them over recent days training nearby the city of Los Angeles to participate in, you know, riot control and crowd control, which involves detaining people if necessary. And so, while we have yet to see them actually be deployed into the city, we do expect them to be carrying out much of the same role as these National Guard troops have been as well. And the last thing I'll note is that we have already seen many of

these troops accompanying ICE agents as they carry out immigration enforcement operations across Los Angeles. Expect to see more of that as well as ICE continues to carry out these raids in various places -- Kasie.

HUNT: All right. Natasha, thanks very much for that reporting. Do keep us posted.

And we're also hoping that well be able to talk to John Miller, law enforcement analyst, in just a moment.

But Lanhee Chen, one of the things we were talking about in in the break was whether or not Americans support what's happening here and the various distinctions, because big picture, if you ask them, do you support President Trump on immigration? They will often say, yes, but were only just starting to get information about what happens when you pull apart these questions and whether or not the National Guard should be able to detain civilians on the streets of L.A., which John Miller noted earlier -- I mean, functionally is an arrest.

You know, when they don't have that authority is something we don't necessarily have a ton of answers to yet. What is your sense of it?

CHEN: Well, as is the case with any political issue, when you start having real life tangible examples and then various vignettes and things that are occurring, right? Individual arrests, you see maybe imagery on television that influences how people think and feel about an issue.

So, what we're seeing now is immigration reform or immigration enforcement. In the abstract meets the reality of what it looks like in Los Angeles. And I do think that for some populations, look, this is going to polarize the issue. It's going to polarize the issue, and it's going to polarize it along partisan lines.

So, Republicans will go towards supporting President Trump. Democrats will go toward opposing him. And an issue before on which there was broad agreement, you might start to see some of these divisions pop up.

BROWNSTEIN: You know, I've been thinking of the decades I've attended NRA conventions. When they talked about why we needed a strong Second Amendment to stop a left wing government from sending the military into American cities.

And what we're -- what we're looking at here, I think very clearly in the first memorandum on Saturday and in the legal filing today, is a vision in which it is routinized and normalized, that ICE enforcement from here on forward in cities across America will be facilitated and accompanied and integrated with military force.

There will be military escorts for ICE agents. There will be military forces setting up perimeters in American neighborhoods. When they hold those guns in the ICE tweet yesterday out who is on the other side of that rifle? I mean, it is someone in a neighborhood in East L.A. And I remember -- I'm old enough to remember the picture of them

holding the rifles out at Kent State in 1970. And ultimately there were four young people at the other end of those rifles. And so, like, we are now heading -- I think it's very -- the, you know, the whole discussion about suppressing protests or responding to protest was a way station. This was the destination. Stephen miller made that very clear in 2024, routinely normalizing the idea of the military operating in American cities to enforce immigration law.

And I think we all have to kind of take a breath and say, are we comfortable as a conservative with that kind of military involvement in our daily lives?

DAVIS: More importantly, I want to see you at an NRA conference.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, I was there. I was at many of them in the '90s.

[16:40:01]

HUNT: I've been at many of them, too.

BROWNSTEIN: That was always the speech.

DAVIS: I'm a Pittsburgh girl. So, you know, we kind of -- we hunt animals.

BROWNSTEIN : Yes.

DAVIS: So -- but -- and as Ohio, I'm sure you as well, but I -- listen, it's going to be a tough issue. Hopefully, it stops. I mean, I really keep going back to what Governor Abbott is doing in Texas and how that's going to be handled and how the difference is going to be between L.A. and in Texas.

And I'm not picking sides right now, but you have a mayor and a governor who has especially the governor has not really done that well for California in the last four years. And many issues. I mean, we can run through them if you want, but we also on this issue, I don't -- I think he's making a political stance. Obviously, it's something he should be doing from a political perspective as this is his time.

He looks presidential in that speech last night. But I think there's going to be a comparison as the spreads, which I really wish it wouldn't because I think that's the worst thing that can happen of how different governors are handling these situations.

ALLISON: But, you know, I think the big identifier in Texas is Abbott is Trump -- one of Trump's guys and Gavin Newsom is not. And so, the picking and choosing of the escalation in different cities, the five cities that they just announced today, they're going to do raids. They're all predominantly Democratic cities.

So, it is very -- it's not a coincidence that he allowed Governor Abbott to do it and not Gavin Newsom, because he is trying to play this political game. I just think that there -- the reason everyone was like, oh, he was announcing his presidential campaign whether he was or not, like he is still the governor of the state, and he has a governing responsibility to protect the people that live in that state, whether they voted for him or not.

There are human beings, whether we like people who are undocumented in this country or not, they still have hearts and minds and families and the human impact, whether you're a Democrat or Republican, when you see a child crying like you did in family separation, you have to be pretty ice cold for it not to shake you at your core.

And I think once we start seeing more stories of the real human impact that these raids are having in this community, in these communities, the numbers will continue to decline like they are on his support.

HUNT: Well, and, of course, some of the human stories that were going to start to hear most likely are those of civilians who have been temporarily detained by National Guard troops. And on that point, let me bring in chief law enforcement intelligence analyst John Miller, who we were waiting on to react to this breaking news.

And, John, I mean, this is what you were talking about at the top of the show, right, happening. This reporting that says the National Guard is temporarily detaining. Can you just walk us through? Like, why is that any different from an arrest?

MILLER: Well, so that's the hard question. And I think we'll be grappling with that beyond this show when we get to the Justice Department. The prosecutors, because once you are not free to go, you are technically under arrest.

If the National Guard says to you, you're being detained and you're like, you know what? You're a soldier, not a cop. I'm leaving. And they forced you to stay. You are under arrest because you are not free to go.

There's no difference between being detained if you can't leave and being under arrest. It's different from being charged. So what they're saying is they're acting under their authority, which is not coming from the governor. It's coming from being federalized by the Department of Defense on the orders of the president to detain people in the streets. So let's pause for a minute.

Members of the army assigned to the National Guard are detaining Americans in the streets of the United States for violations of local law. We've crossed over something there now. They said we don't arrest them. We're just detaining them until the proper law enforcement authority arrives and they can decide whether to charge them.

But then is that the federal law enforcement authorities, is the local -- there's a lot of questions to be answered here, but as of 4:43 p.m. and 41 seconds Eastern Standard Time, something just changed in America that we have not seen before in this context.

HUNT: All right. John Miller, thank you very much for underscoring that, and again, a very crystal clear way. Really appreciate it.

Coming up next, we're going to have much more of this breaking news coverage. Republican Senator John Kennedy will be here live in THE ARENA.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:48:45]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJ. GEN. SCOTT M. SHERMAN, COMMANDER, ARMY NATIONAL GUARD TASK FORCE 51: Strictly for the protection of the federal personnel and the protection of the federal building, they're allowed to temporarily detain and wait for law enforcement to come and arrest them. They do not do any arrest. They are strictly there to detain, to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNT: So that was commander of the National Guard units that have been federalized and deployed to the streets of Los Angeles. He later confirmed that some of his troops have already temporarily detained civilians at these protests.

Now, joining me now is Republican Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Budget and Appropriations Committee.

Senator, very grateful to have you here. This acknowledgment that the National Guard has, they say, temporarily detained civilians. We were just talking with our John Miller long of the NYPD, who clarified that if you are detained and then not allowed to leave, that there is no technical distinction between that and being under arrest. Do you think a major line has been crossed here?

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): Well, Kasie, I'm still trying to understand.

[16:50:01]

I just left a five-hour reconciliation meeting, so this is a new issue for me. May I ask what were -- why were they detained? Were they -- were they breaking the law, or why were they detained?

HUNT: Well, this is -- this is a --

KENNEDY: That's a central question.

HUNT: In fairness to both to you, this is our breaking just in to us. And then all we know is that it's been in the context of these protests, and they characterized it as having temporarily detained protesters.

KENNEDY: Well, under federal law, which applies to the states, the case is called Terry v. Ohio, if a -- if a law enforcement official doesn't have probable cause to arrest you, but does have reasonable suspicion, which is a lower standard to believe that you have been or are about to commit a crime, the Supreme Court has said that that law enforcement official can stop you temporarily if they think you have a weapon. For example, if there's a bulge in your jacket, they can frisk you, but they can't detain you for long periods of time without probable cause. It's called stop and frisk. Reasonable suspicion. Terry v. Ohio. And it's determined on a case by case basis.

HUNT: And are you comfortable? Of course, I think the distinction here being we do know, according to these reports, that these people were being held to be turned over to law enforcement officials with the authority to decide whether these people should be charged with something. Are you comfortable with these federalized National Guard troops having taken that step?

KENNEDY: Well, it depends on why they were detained. If they were detained just because they were protesting and they weren't breaking the law. No, I wouldn't be comfortable with National Guard or local police doing that.

On the other hand, if they were in the midst of a riot and were breaking the law -- let me put it another way, if somebody is about to throw a rock at me, I hope somebody will detain them. Whether it's a National Guard troop or a local cop or a CNN reporter, I hope you'll stop them.

But every case is different. Every single case is different.

HUNT: So, Senator, the attorney general, Pam Bondi, said earlier today, quote, we're not -- we're not scared to go further. We're not frightened to do something else if we need to. She was talking about the situation in L.A.

How do you wish the Trump administration would handle these confrontations? Do you want them to be escalatory? Considering what we're seeing on our TV screens? Or do you think it would be better for the country if everyone tried to deescalate the situation?

KENNEDY: Well, nobody wants to see riots. I mean, I would prefer to have local government handle it. I mean, the situation we have here, we have -- we have a lot of peaceful protests and that's fine. That's America. You have the right to do that.

But they're not all peaceful protests. A lot of them have turned into riots with people breaking the law. And the people doing that are gangsters and they're goons and they're acting like it. Those folks have to be stopped.

Look, I love Los Angeles. I love the people of Los Angeles. I think it's one of the greatest cities in the world. I wish this would stop, but someone is going to have to stop the gangsters that are doing this. I'd prefer to have the governor and the mayor do that. They were not able to do that.

If they can't do it, then it's the role of the federal government to step in. Hopefully, the mayor and the and the governor will get control of this situation. And the federal government can leave. I'm interested in public safety. I'm not really interested in whether this helps Gavin Newsom become president or helps President Trump's poll numbers or any of that. I'm not that -- I don't care about that. HUNT: I mean, briefly, do Governor Gavin Newsom seems very aware of

the political situation. Do you think he's handling this the right way?

KENNEDY: I don't think he's handled it well. I think he dug up more snakes than he could kill. I think, and maybe this is unfair, but I can only tell you what I've seen. I think that the governor thought this was a chance to suck in the federal government, and then he could make an argument that the federal government was overreaching. And see, we told you so, Trump was going to try to establish military rule --

HUNT: Do you think he was baiting Donald Trump?

KENNEDY: I do, yeah, I do, and I think, I think I think it backfired on him. I think he should have restored order first in our city with the help of the mayor.

[16:55:06]

I think they underestimated the -- how serious these goons were. And he lost control of it. And President Trump stepped in. The federal government stepped in.

And I think that's what you're supposed to do. I think the good people of Los Angeles, all they care about is they just want to stop, you know? Stop, stop burning cars and stop throwing rocks at people. Just stop it. That's what I want.

HUNT: Senator John Kennedy, thanks very much for your time today, sir.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNT: All right, that's going to do it for us here in THE ARENA.

Jake Tapper standing by for "THE LEAD".