6/12/25 - The Battle for Los Angeles

Independent Journalist Anthony Cabassa brings The Anchormen into ground zero of the violent anti-deportation riots in Los Angeles with his exclusive reporting and footage.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:06):
Now it's time for the Anchorman Podcast with Matt Yeats
and Dan Ball.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Welcome back to our show, Anchorman. I strongly encourage you
to check out last week's episode. I had on a
Paulina Luna on for a discussion about her life, her
entry into politics, and how an influencer can actually enter
the halls of the United States Congress. And I would
suggest she's doing a terrific job. She's one of the
very best we have. But we're out of DC this week,

(00:37):
back in the Mothership, back in San Diego, California. Joined
as usual by my on again, off again employee. He
was the founding producer of Steve Bannon's war Room podcast,
worked for me on Capitol Hill, worked for George Santos
on Capitol Hill. Vish Burah, thanks for joining me again,
my friend, always a pleasure and the guy who has
been melting the Internet independent journalists and Cabasa. Anthony has

(01:01):
been reporting in southern California for quite a while. Now.
We got to know his work on the Palisade fires,
where he was bringing us right to what our first
responders were confronting, what homeowners were confronting, how the city
had to confront their own failures in that particular circumstance.
Anthony has been covering the Battle for Los Angeles. That's

(01:24):
what I'm calling it, because that's what it is. And
I really wanted you know, you've been on our talk show,
but it wasn't enough time to get into what it
takes to cover a riot series like this, a battle
like this. I think that this is really a critical
point for the country, and really millions of people are
consuming this through your reporting. So I just want to

(01:46):
kind of hand it to you, Anthony and tell us
what these last few days have been like for you,
and how has your reporting shaped your perspective on what's
going on in southern California.

Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yeah, thanks so much for having me, Matt Envish, nice
to see you. Whether I get some matching shades man,
you know, but no, Yeah, it's been a whirlwind. Really,
I think that this is so much more different than like,
let's say, the George Floyd riots, which I also covered,
you know, kind of that obviously started off with kind
of you know, people versus the police and kind of

(02:20):
like law enforcement and police brutality. The message here, I
think is so much more bigger than that, in the
sense that it's looking like it's shaping up to be
kind of Los Angeles is going to be like ground
zero for the Trump administration immigration policy. And so I
think that what we're looking at is, you know, we

(02:41):
had kind of Trump one point zero, where you know,
there were deportations, there was obviously strong border security. But
this time around, he's got a national mandate in which
the people said we we we need you to go into.

Speaker 2 (02:54):
These communities and get these people out of here. Let's
let's delve into that question, because I think it's a
I think you're right, and I think it's exactly as
the Trump administration would have it. What Anthony said is
that Los Angeles is ground zero for the battle for
Trump's immigration agenda. Now, I think the left would love

(03:14):
the you know, some random court in Maryland or Connecticut
to be ground zero. But when you've got enemy combatants
under foreign flags marching in a once great American city,
you have all the justification in the world for President
Trump utilizing the full scope of his executive authority. And

(03:36):
you know, as we unpack what it means for LA
to be the ground zero flash point of this national
moment we're in vish, could you think of better ground
for the Trump administration to fight on. I mean, isn't
this what they want? I mean, Dessantas was pretty good
with the Martha's Vineyard move, yes, but this, this seems

(03:59):
to be so revealing. I mean I was talking to
a guy today who just who was not a very
political person, just so when I know, in non political life,
and he said, you know what, Matt, I'm glad. As
much as I hate that everybody's having to go through this,
I'm glad the country is seeing what the other side
would do to us, what they would subject us to.
So so one is is Cabaso right that this is

(04:23):
the flashpoint? And two is it just as Los Angeles
native Stephen Miller and President Trump would have it?

Speaker 3 (04:32):
Absolutely, this is one hundred percent ground zero. I was
there on Monday for in LA as well, seeing it
for myself, and oh yeah, this is It's definitely grand zero.
Ground zero LA is the flash point. There's there's so
many obvious reasons that's as to why that is.

Speaker 2 (04:50):
But why is that good? Why is that good?

Speaker 3 (04:52):
But it's also and let me tell you this, it's
also good because the fight is now on the battlefield
where Trump is the strongest, whether it's on the message
or on the optics. Right, he couldn't ask for a
better situation. And let me tell you this, the other
side knows it. There are you know how many reporters

(05:12):
I've had reach out to me asking me what I
think about what's happening, and they're like, oh, man, does
Trump really want this? It seems like he wants this,
And I'm like, and I'm not saying anything to them
for many different reasons, but in my head, what I'm
thinking is, of course this is this is this is
where Trump gets to prove and put the pedal to

(05:34):
the metal on his message, on his campaign promises.

Speaker 2 (05:37):
Right, this is what Okay, Okay, now I'm fine, let's
grant that premise for the sake of argument. Is it
a symbiotic relationship with Gavin Newsom? Does Gavin Newsom want
La County to be the flashpoint of this as well
for his own ambitions or would he far prefer to
be like doing Charlie Kirk podcasts and saying men and

(05:58):
women's sports are really cool anymore and making some sort
of chad tag to the middle. No, No, I think
that he wants it.

Speaker 3 (06:05):
I think I'm I mean, he already said, you know,
he's daring that the administration to come arrest him.

Speaker 2 (06:10):
I think he wants it.

Speaker 3 (06:11):
And remember we saw that Glenn Ivy clip of that
town hall where these supporters are demanding, you know, are
you ready to get arrested to defend the people? Right,
and it looks like Gavin Newsom is saying yes.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
Now.

Speaker 3 (06:22):
The funny thing is to me that I first thought
of Gavin Newsom as like a sociopathic like operator, but
he's actually way more clumsy than that, it seems. And
especially if you saw his address, his emergency address the
other day where he came out and there was no
audio on it, like and it was like a big
moment and some staffer just blew the audio on the

(06:44):
on the whole thing.

Speaker 2 (06:45):
So that, yeah, that that it ever happened to you
with me or Santos, you'd have been in deep trouble
or bad, right. So so I think he wants he
wants it too.

Speaker 3 (06:54):
But this is a spot that that he's just gonna
lose because as long as Trump comes out pounding not
just the message but the resources to call this thing
it is, it's a win for Trump, all right, so we've.

Speaker 2 (07:05):
Established that this is the launch point for this movement.
But now Anthony, you know, bring us into the reporting,
bring us into kind of where you first go to
encounter some of these images that you've been displaying for
the world that you know, we've been showing on this
podcast that are very stark, that show the damage, the
unrest and the violence. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (07:27):
So I've lived and I grew up and was born
in La County. And so what's kind of cool about
being an independent journalist out here is that I you know,
a lot of people have moved out of La County,
including other journalists that I originated here in La and
they just moved on to Green your Pastures, I guess.
But so me staying here, I've had the opportunity to

(07:49):
when I see things happening, I just drive right down
and takes twenty thirty minutes to get there. And so,
and that's important for this reason. I got there on
Friday when it actually all started. So this is pre
any thoughts or statements by the president of this administration
about the National Guard coming out. And that's important because
Gavin Newsom is making it seem like it was a

(08:10):
National Guard deployment that started the violence. But some of
the videos that you just played were actually from the
day before Friday. So this video right here that's being played,
that's Friday. That's the violence that was already happening. And
right here on the left hand side are the DHS
agents that are trapped inside there you go, you can
see them. They don't have the manpower, they don't have

(08:31):
the resources, that's why. And the thing is this is
federal property right here, So LAPD really doesn't have any
jurisdiction from my understanding, to just go in there and
grab these protesters because that's federal property. And so what's
happening here is they're viciously attacking DHS agents. They were
launching items at them that this very same day, there

(08:53):
were protesters in this crowd that were grabbing hammers and
breaking down public property cement.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Where were they getting the where they do you your
own hammer or is there some sort of like distribution
of cinder blocks or hammers or anything like that?

Speaker 1 (09:06):
Has Well a lot of these anarchists that embed themselves
into these protests, they already bring the equipment with them.
They have tactical gear, they have small weapons.

Speaker 2 (09:16):
What are we see in here with some of these.

Speaker 1 (09:18):
So this is actually Saturday, the day after, and this
is pallets of brick that I had discovered, So this
is technically a home depot. So a lot of people
were like, well, it's a home depot, it shouldn't be
a surprise. But if you watch the full clip, it's
the only pallette there. That's why I kind of zooming
in and I'm like, well, sure it could be a
home depot, but where's the rest of the palletts, Like,

(09:40):
there's no pallets of anything else, there's no palets of manure,
there's no pallets of anything else home deepo cells except
for the bricks. And look, it's outside the gate. The
gate is closed. There's two pallets right outside the gate,
meaning anyone can just walk up and you see the
rest of the palettes all the way in the back,
and what are the odds that? Of course the pallets
are there within striking distance of DHS agents, And of

(10:02):
course the protesters saw them, you know, and started breaking
them down, and they started making barriers with them. This
is a perfect example right here. But then they were
also breaking them down to throw at DHS agents. So
we had two full days. Matt two full days of
quote unquote peaceful protesting before there was even any talks
of the National Guard being activated. And one of the

(10:24):
most surprising things to me was that the LAPD themselves,
their press office, came out and said that they had
two successful days of peaceful proches without incident. But my
footage shows otherwise. And so when the problem is is
that you had Maxine Waters, you had Gavin Newsom, and
you had LA Mayor Bass and LAPD putting out these

(10:47):
statements which if you kind of look into the LAPD
union you'll see that they've endorsed Karen Bass and there's
kind of like some deals being made there. Even after
the Palasaid fires, one of the people that were openly
vocal supporting Karen Bass's actions post fire was the LAPD union.
They were saying like, hey, no, she's doing a great job,
you know, so not knocking the police officers, but sometimes leadership.

(11:10):
And if you take a look at LA Fire department
right now, they're under investigation. They just fired the main
union guy, uh and it looks like there's embezzling money.
So these unions are in bed with Democrats, with the
political establishment of absolutely, so if you want to go
into like who's funding all of this? You look no
further than the unions, specifically the teachers unions out here.

Speaker 2 (11:32):
CiU seem to have CiU role. David, you were you were,
you were covering the s ci you rally and it
was shocking to me that such a mainstream organization would
be platforming voices that were calling for socialist revolution. Yeah,
uh is it union members who are going to these rallies.

(11:53):
There was a definitely a ton of union members.

Speaker 3 (11:56):
You could identify the union members with their purple shirts
that they were wearing. The place was littered with them.
I mean, the whole thing was organized by them. They
were working the gate, they were giving away free food.
Obviously you know this. By the way, the set, the
stage set was so nice, like there is some serious
money being put behind this craft. Good stage craft. The

(12:19):
location is great. It was just like it was definitely
well thought out. And another thing that I want to
point out to just the SEIU you being involved in
what Anthony's talking about with you know these guys bringing
hammers and smashing concrete and all this stuff that's not
just like instincts, that's training, right, Like there there are

(12:40):
people who are who are being taught this stuff on
how to do it, how to identify use the environment
to your benefit. Right, there's concrete there, bring a hammer.
You could smash anything and turn it into projectiles immediately
on the fly, right, Like these are the kinds of
things that that normal people aren't thinking about and even
if they were on the street, wouldn't do it. So

(13:01):
these are clearly like these are operators, right, whether that
it's the rally at the SCIU or on the street,
these protests, these protesters, it's highly organized, it's definitely highly funded,
and you could just go and see it for yourself
how smoothly they move from one thing to the other.

Speaker 2 (13:17):
We're here with independent journalists Anthony Cabasi. He's been covering
the Battle for Los Angeles, been covering it exquisitely. Well.
One thing, I was wondering, what's the deal with lighting
the weymos on fire?

Speaker 1 (13:30):
Yeah, you know, that was such an interesting development because
I've actually had like reporters from the tech world. Usually
when I report, it's usually at the New York Times, CNN, MSNBC,
Fox News, Like, Hey, can we interview you about what
exactly happened this time around because specifically of the weymos
I had, like Business Insider, Tech Insider, they want to know,

(13:50):
like why the weymos. So I think that the connection
here is that some people maybe feel that they targeted
the weymos because of this new AI like tech revolution.
Obviously you have the robo taxis just launched in Texas.

Speaker 2 (14:04):
Weymos have been around for some time now, right, So
you think it's a political statement because my assumption was
just a weima would be easier to overcome and light
on fire than a car otherwise with a driver. Well,
so what you're saying is that is that is that
the immigrants actually are mad that the weimas are taking

(14:25):
away the illegal immigrant uber jobs and illegal immigrant lift jobs.

Speaker 1 (14:29):
Is that what I'm saying, Well, that's what Business Insider
and Insider Tech are thinking.

Speaker 2 (14:34):
They're thinking that this is why they Wait a minute,
But I actually agree with you.

Speaker 1 (14:37):
No, they're just because I've been protesting. I've been I've
been covering protests for years. Uh, it doesn't need to
be a weimo. It can be anything.

Speaker 2 (14:44):
It can be.

Speaker 1 (14:45):
I mean there's buildings there, there was businesses that were looted.
It had nothing to do with tech or AI. I
agree with you, they just see something. I think that
when they saw the weimos, obviously there's no people driving it,
right cause if you see, like if you're passing a
protest and there's a family inside with kids, which I'm
sure you probably seen some videos where families with kids
and they're like, I've got kids in the car, please
just let me leave, you know, et cetera. They usually

(15:05):
let them through. Sometimes they'll kick the van sometimes whatever,
but they won't set it on fire. But I think
with the Weimo, what they saw was, you know, they
were all lined up next to each other. They're autonomous,
and they're probably thinking where these are. You know, the
company that owns it make millions. They can just follow
an insurance claim. Who cares, Let's just set them on fire,
and so that they you know, once they started beating

(15:26):
one up, mom mentality kicks in. They start beating up
all five cars and then they set them all on fire.

Speaker 2 (15:31):
Well, future weaimos have to have riot resistance countermeasures FISHPROO.

Speaker 3 (15:36):
I mean, they can try, but I don't think it's
going to happen. I think they're just gonna not have
weimos in these cities whereas but where you know, especially
if you have populations like this that are just gonna
come clean out your fleet.

Speaker 2 (15:49):
So so, Anthony, you mentioned the businesses that have been looted,
and if you watch the mainstream media right now, there's
a real effort to try to say this was all
Trump's fault. You know, had Trump not engaged, this would
really all be like, you know, very Kumbai a woodstock.
You have completely disabused the country of that narrative with

(16:11):
video evidence in this program and in many others that
you've done. But like, is there a single business owner
who has had like, you know, a Mexican flag bashing
their windows, who's had some immigrant horde run through and
snatch up a bunch of stuff? Is there a single
one of them who you think blames Trump? Or do

(16:33):
you think that there's a broad recognition that these sanctuary
policies invite people in whose first act as one of lawlessness,
and you are not able to have reasonable enforcement of
any law because you don't have a baseline of appreciation
for those laws. How do you see it? Yeah? No,
absolutely so.

Speaker 1 (16:53):
In talking with business owners, and you know, I've been
talking to business owners since the Floyd Riots, and even
before that, there's just always civil and rad there's always
high homicide rate. Homelessness is like the number one thing.
Talk to any business owner in downtown LA. The thing
they hate the most is that they have to come
in earlier than they usually do because they have to
kick out the homeless from from their shop, and they
got to clean up all the pea and all the
poop and all the drugs that they've been taking overnight,

(17:16):
whatever the case might be. It's just getting to the point.
I'm sure you've probably seen that video where there was
a business owner that just took a hose to homeless manager.
She refused to move out of there, and then they
went and arrested the guy that was watering them down.

Speaker 2 (17:28):
Oh there's not a jury in Florida that would convict
that man, right, exactly, not a jury in Florida.

Speaker 1 (17:33):
So the sentiment is from these business owners, this is
just another day in La. Today, it was looting. Tomorrow,
it'll be an assault, you know whatever. So it's not
that maybe they saw it as a political motive. It's like, oh,
this is Trump's fault to them. If you really sit
down and talk with them, don't just tell you this
is just another day in LA. Whether it was a

(17:56):
break in, whether it was politically motivated, doesn't matter. These
things happen all the time.

Speaker 2 (18:00):
Time.

Speaker 1 (18:00):
Business is getting looted, business is being broken into homeless
people going in and stealing, because there used to be
a policy where as long as you steal less than
nine hundred and fifty.

Speaker 2 (18:09):
I'm sure you've seen it.

Speaker 1 (18:10):
There used to be signs on the street saying, remember,
if you're gonna steal, steal less than nine.

Speaker 2 (18:15):
To fifty, so you don't go to jail. It's just insane.
And so it's just policy after policy, and people are looking.

Speaker 1 (18:22):
You know, these business owners are looking at people like
Mayor Baths and so imagine being a business owner and
you just got your entire store ransacked and you're looking
at Mayor Bass like what are you gonna do about it?
And she's like, hey, guys, So today's protests were without
incident and it was peaceful. She's this business owners like,
are you eving kidding me? Like, look at my shop.

(18:43):
I just lost everything. And you know, when I was
out there in Paramount on Saturday, in the Compton area,
there were actually immigrant families there. I spoke to some
immigrant families that own businesses, and I was talking to
them in Spanish and I'm like, how do you feel
about this? And They're like in SPANISHI we're telling me
this disgusting behavior, Like we came to this country and
now we have this business, and now we're fearing for

(19:05):
our life that our businesses are going to be burned down.
What is the city doing about this? What is the
mayor doing about this? And so it was kind of
like this contrast, because you know, you have these people
out there waving national flags, foreign flags, et cetera. I
even took pictures of people with communist flags, and you
hear you have like the like the immigrants that have
done it the right way, started its own business. This

(19:27):
is all they have. And now they're like, I'm about
to lose everything because the city's not taking care of this.
And so Friday you had stand down orders. Saturday you
had stand down orders because what's a stand down order?
So basically what a standing order is. So Friday, the
DHS agents were being assaulted. Mayor Bass had already said
that these attacks were happening because of the Trump administration's

(19:51):
increase of ice rates, and so what the city didn't
want is the illusion that LAPD was helping ICE to
any capacity, because it I want people to correlate that
LAPD is helping ICE, even if it's just helping them
take care of the protesters. So all day Friday you
had Mayor Bass and city council members saying that in
no way, shape or form, and they were telling the

(20:12):
immigrant community, don't worry, we will not use a single
police officer to assist with the ICE raid.

Speaker 2 (20:17):
And so for hours, so that puts a target on
their backs. That's exactly what it did.

Speaker 1 (20:22):
So for hours, DHS agents were assaulted as LAPD just
set up a perimeter and did nothing.

Speaker 2 (20:30):
That must I mean, that must have been heartbreaking even
to those cops. Those cops don't want to be caught
in the middle of stuff like that. It's politics, period.
But there's a feature here where denial becomes an essential
component of the strategy. Right, they have to deny the
videos that you've captured exist on the activities in Los

(20:51):
Angeles pre Trump's order on the National Guard. Then they
have to sort of deny that the harm caused by
this battle does and just impact police or people on
the right. It affects immigrants. It affects people in poor communities,
people who actually expect when they call nine to one
one that LAPD will show up and protect them because

(21:12):
they pay their taxes. And I wonder where that next
thread of denial goes, because we're going to see this spread.
We talk about LA as the flash point, and it
may be the most acute presentation of this behavior, but
you're going to see this stuff go across the country.
We're already getting reports that municipal police departments are preparing

(21:33):
for it. They what are they going to ask us
to deny next?

Speaker 3 (21:38):
I'm not sure, but I mean it's it's spread already,
Matt to New York, Chicago, Dallas. There's a big protest
coming up on Saturday, you know, with the no Kings
thing too, and that's nationwide. With the Walmart lady, what
that gets me? That makes my blood boil so much?
Are you a Walmart shop? I've had a lot of
money at Walmart.

Speaker 1 (21:58):
No.

Speaker 2 (21:59):
Actually, New York City.

Speaker 3 (22:00):
I am a proud New Yorker where we've actually managed
to keep Walmart out of the five boroughs. And they
tried really hard and we defeated them because we didn't
want their cheap products and their cheap labor uh, subsidized
products from China and their and their labor standards invading
our city. We love our small businesses in New York City.

Speaker 2 (22:20):
Going to the Walmart is like a core feature of
life in an in any like sec state in the
American South. Yeah. Well, but now Walmart's ties to the
to these these riots and protests. Well, I mean, if
you think about it all, all I think about every
day the person, right, it's Christie Walton, Lady Christe Walton.
Yet yeah, to be clear, not the Walmart enterprise, Christy Walton,

(22:43):
who is an heiress to that fortune, one of the
wealthiest women in the world. Yeah.

Speaker 3 (22:47):
Well, I mean, look, I think just think about you
know everything that, like you said, from the parts of
the country that you're from and where Walmart is a lifeblood, right,
everyone has, you know, spent their money and their livelihoods
there in some capacity, and now that's being used to
fund these riots all over your country. And who knows
how By the way, when you see them say oh

(23:10):
we're organizing for nonviolent action, that's exactly the moment like
violent action takes place and all this no king stuff
has it? I mean, I am just hoping that police
departments all across the country are not infected with this
same politicized madness that we're seeing.

Speaker 2 (23:28):
The branding of No Kings. Isn't there sort of an
implicit call for violence in that? Because when America thinks
about our relationship with a king, we think about liberation, revolution,
the revolutionary War. Like it's very evoking of that. And
if the FBI was targeting Maga grandmothers for liking a

(23:53):
gift that had the Betsy Ross flag on it as
a domestic terrorist, then certainly I think the call to
like revolution is a lot more explicit in the No
Kings movement than you saw in some of the people
that were in favor of the Second Amendment or had
hashtag build the Wall in their profile. Anthony, you know,

(24:14):
as you've been following this, one of the questions I
keep getting is it getting worse or is it getting better?
Or do you see this kind of a reaching a
stasis or is are we in a moment where it's building?

Speaker 1 (24:26):
So I think that it was so interesting because when
Friday went down, I have a private telegram community of
like subscribers. I've got about three hundred people there just
people that support my work, and it's kind of where
I go to vent and kind of give my political commentary.

Speaker 2 (24:40):
An opinion piece.

Speaker 1 (24:41):
And on Saturday morning, before anything happened on Saturday, in
post Friday's violence, I actually predicted that it was gonna
get worse, and I said, the reason why I think
it's gonna get worse and I think it's still gonna
get worse still is because again, California is such a
pro immigrant and even illegal immigrant state that Democrats here

(25:04):
hold the power because of how much they virtue signaled
to the immigrant community that they will always be safe here.
I'm actually just waiting for the day that Gavin Newsom
sends out a national alert service if you are an
illegal immigrant, come to California.

Speaker 2 (25:18):
We were protected from Donald Trump.

Speaker 1 (25:20):
And what was so funny about Newsom's address yesterday is
that I truly believe that that was his first presidential
campaign address, and what are the odds that had started
with no sound, right, And so that's why it's so comical,
because it's like this was supposed to be his moment.
He's in office, he's got the flags behind him, well groomed,
slick hair, right, and He's like, this is in the

(25:42):
title of it was democracy in a Crossroads. So it's
an infliction point in our country, right, And so the
Democrats are kind of have their backs against the wall
because they've made the immigrant community and such a foundational
pillar of what the party is here in California that
now when federal government is in here doing their job,

(26:05):
the immigrant community, whether legal or illegal, are looking at
Democrats are like, hey, for years you've been saying that
we are the most important people, that we are at
the backbone of California. Well, put your money where your
mouth is. What are you going to do about these
federal agents? And so that's why they're standown orders to
local law enforcement and state law enforcement. That's why you
have city councilmen on loudspeakers talking about how the fascists

(26:28):
are coming and writing and that you need to stand
up and rise up. One thing that people don't know
about Saturday, about that home depot. It was all started
by a city council member because what he noticed and
he was just running out doing like an errand or something,
and he posted a video saying that he noticed an
unmarked black vehicle go into a place across home depot,

(26:51):
so he speculated, I think the federal government is here,
so he activated.

Speaker 2 (26:56):
All these protesters.

Speaker 1 (26:57):
Start going and what's crazy is that they actually didn't
raid that home depot. That place was a staging area
so that ICE agents can go out and raid different cities.
And I can actually report to you guys here this
is exclusive. I actually got invited to an ICE embed
this week and I got to see who these ICE

(27:17):
agents working with FBI, DHS. And now I can actually
report because the New York Times posted it today. But
I actually knew this yesterday that the National Guard is
being trained to go out with ICE agents because of
the targets that is now an ICE agent's back. So
they're going out with humbies to do these ICE rates
across LA. And I've got the pictures to prove it.

(27:38):
I still got to like blow out faces here and
there per their request, but you know, they showed me
the profiles of the people that they're targeting. These are
people that have committed some of the most heinous acts imaginable.
People think that like, oh, ICE is going out and
they're just gonna grab your grandma. You know, It's like, well,
I was in an embed and I got to see
the profiles. They showed me the law rap sheet. You know,

(28:01):
there was a guy that has been here and of
course open borders policies for four years under Biden. These
people are just able to come back and come back
and come back. They get it taken back to Mexico.
Who knows how the judicial system is out there, you know,
who knows how how many judges are bought off by cartel.
But these people are somehow able to come right back
a couple months later or sometimes weeks later. And so

(28:23):
what we have in California is you have a Gavin
Newsom that just spent maybe close to six months podcasting
and showing how he's willing to reach across the aisle
and be kind of a moderate and like, oh look,
I'll sit down with Charlie Kirk and laugh and say,
you know, cap you know, and say these things, these
buzzwords that the younger generation is saying and showing people,

(28:46):
I'm willing to, you know, again, reach across the aisle
for the sake of democracy.

Speaker 2 (28:50):
But now it's shifting.

Speaker 1 (28:53):
Now everyone's looking to new some because again Los Angeles,
California is ground zero because if Donald Trump can't show
the nation that he's willing to go above and beyond
to fulfill his promise that he was elected to do,
then what does he expect to do in other states
like Oregon or Washington? Right, So I think the operations
are going to expand to these blue states, but California

(29:17):
is like the bulwark, and so people are looking to,
you know, to Gavin Newsom the left liberals just watch
in the next couple of months what's going to happen.
Gavin Newsom is going to be propped up as the savior.
He's going to be the complete anti thesis the Donald Trump.
And when he goes to run, he's going to show
all these clips of children separated, children deported. All these

(29:38):
clips need to be like vote for me. And what's
kind of scary to think about is that if the
Trumpet administration, not necessarily Trump, because I think he's doing
everything he can and he's shown that he means business.
But if the Trumpet administration, if the FBI, the dj
don't go down with the hammer as they should for
the next couple of years, what I fear is think

(29:59):
of all you know, the federal people, government officials or workers,
USAID all these places that have been defunded, all these
people that are have been fired, doesn't matter what their
political leaning is. They might have even voted for Trump
and they're like, damn, I'm out of a job. I
didn't think it was gonna hit me. And then you

(30:19):
have the sob stories of people getting deported of I
have a friend, and this is you know, this is
very real and this is something that we need to acknowledge.
Is I know Trump supporters that were diehard Trump suporters,
they voted from and now they're just like, I just
got my I had no idea my best friend of
twenty years was a legal immigrant.

Speaker 2 (30:38):
They just got deported.

Speaker 1 (30:39):
I interviewed people yesterday doing the protests and I asked
them why are you here, and they're like, you know,
I'm a Republican, but my best friends, both parents, they
just got deported.

Speaker 2 (30:49):
I had no idea that they were that.

Speaker 1 (30:51):
So you're gonna have a lot of people that, through sympathy,
might be rethinking how they vote in twenty twenty six
and say maybe I went too far. But that's the idea,
Gavin new seven. Democrats are going to paint this thing
like you made a mistake. Here's how you correct it.
Elect us. And what I fear the most, just to
like end it real quick, what I fear the most
is is is that going to be enough to swing

(31:13):
the pendulum back the other way? And what I fear
the most is, you know, you kind of have a
weak GOP right now, Democrats will take full power.

Speaker 2 (31:21):
You thought four years on.

Speaker 1 (31:22):
The President Biden, the pandemic lockdowns, we're bad. Just wait
till what comes. Should Democrats get elected in twenty twenty six,
retake the House, retake the Senate, and if they win
the presidency in twenty twenty eight, it's scary stuff to
think about because look at what they're willing to do
right now, it's going.

Speaker 2 (31:39):
To get a lot worse in twenty twenty eight.

Speaker 1 (31:40):
So I hope this administration is listening, and I hope
that people are laying down the law and speak of
Johnson is able to grow a bigger spine and really like, hey,
we're not messing around here.

Speaker 2 (31:52):
You know. Yeah, I don't know that Mike Johnson's the
savior of the Republic, but I would push back and
say this. The revealing response from from Democrats, I think
takes a lot of those suburbanites that voted Democrat in
the twenty eighteen midterms, for example, and it swings them

(32:12):
to the Republican side because Democrats are showing you what
they would do with power, and it is very scary,
and it is very racialized. And I think that, you know,
even the people who don't like the fact that there
might be someone who they think has made a positive
contribution to the country that leave, now they have to
acknowledge that's what trum said he was going to do.

(32:33):
You know, you may not like it and may be
someone that you think on par were better off with,
but this was the plan. What are Democrats going to
do like throw elon Muskin jail, make Tesla illegal, and
like go light ten waymos on fire if they get
power to start a city council meeting. I know they're

(32:54):
not going to start with like the prep pledge and
the prayer. But but adjudicate this for us, because CABASA
is saying there is a risk of pushing too hard here.
I am like, the most exciting part of your response
to me is that we may be lashing Guard resources
to ice resources to accelerate the deportations. And how delightful

(33:15):
that would be if if the way these woke toopians
poked the bear in Los Angeles County then resulted in
a nationwide mobilization of the National Guard to go assist
ice and deportation efforts, that would be the chef's kiss.
But I'll let you adjudicate it for I.

Speaker 3 (33:32):
You know, I think that that there might there is
something to what Anthony is saying where there might be
a few people who turn and say, yeah, I'm a Republican,
but I think Trump's gone too far with these deportations.
I think that number is fewer than the people who
would be upset if Trump doesn't get a handle on
the situation right now that we're putting like the riots,

(33:54):
because that was a big part of a lot of
people who are on our side that were upset in
twenty twenty when the George Floyd riots you know, went
on for as long as they did. You know, we
talk about the Rodney King riots in LA and all
this stuff. The Rodney King riots were six days, right,
that was it and it was done.

Speaker 2 (34:14):
It's so crazy to think about it, yeah, because it
was so searing on the national consciousness, right, and so
you read about that stuff in social studies class exactly.

Speaker 3 (34:23):
And so now what think about that if you allow
these things to go on longer than the Rodney King riots,
this is the stuff we should be teaching. But it's
also I think that that is a big problem that
if that that, and with the mandate, Trump should understand
that you don't want to lose the energy of your base.
I think that that's why a response here he has

(34:44):
to be you know, it has to be strong.

Speaker 2 (34:46):
I also think how you map out these networks and
deal with them is really important. Okay, any group that
is funded these riots, organized them, increased their criminal acuity,
deserves to be treated like they were funding January sixth.
They need to have their bank accounts frozen. I'm not

(35:08):
talking about subpoenas. You know, Rudy Giuliani didn't get the
benefit of a subpoena. He had federal agents showing up
at his apartment. Roger Stone didn't have the benefit of hey,
you know, come, let's talk about this. They went and
drug him out in his underwear at gunpoint. And so
I think that we are now to the point in
the Battle for Los Angeles where really really great people

(35:31):
like Pambondi and Cash Betel need to be focusing resources
on the financial networks. Okay, rounding up some thugs or
some gang bangers or some hood rats and locking them up,
that is not what this moment calls for. No, I
am not interested in the quantity of arrests of people

(35:54):
lighting waymos on fire. I'm interested in how hard we
pull on these networks, and we have the tools to
do it. I know the people who are in these
jobs in the federal government. I know they are smart.
I know they are capable. I know that they appreciate
the context that we're living in. And if what what
Anthony's right about is God forbid, if this thing swings

(36:15):
back the other way, they're going to activate these violent
networks with the backing of the government right now. They're
doing it in the face of the government, right and
if that is not quelled and put down, we are
we are looking at something very dark.

Speaker 3 (36:29):
Well, well, I think if I were in the administration
right now, I'd be looking my chops at this situation.
You have, you have the people on the ground going crazy,
lighting these winnymauls on fire. There's you know, there's something
to show there. But there's also, like you said, this
this just funding from s CiU was on that that
rally stage. Obviously they organized Charla PSL. They're all here,

(36:52):
They're all all the money's coming here. Just bust it
wide open, right.

Speaker 2 (36:56):
None of those people have any special immunity, right, or
they would they would be able to block their financial
transactions from review. And there's there are domestic terrorism statutes
that were used against MAGA. There were counter terrorism authorities,
there were joint terrorism task forces that were spun up
in Washington, DC, you know, that were chasing down people
worshiping at a Catholic church, go into a school board

(37:18):
meeting because they didn't like critical race theory, showing up,
you know, unmasked at a town hall meeting and then
sharing online that they aligned with a conservative viewpoint. And
so this is an absolute must for this moment. But
it's it's not those groups that have been arrested yet.
It was independent journalist Anthony Kabasa who was almost on

(37:41):
the wrong side of the law walk us through it. Yeah.

Speaker 1 (37:43):
No, And just to kind of like circle back, you
know what I meant in the warning of I don't
think that I'm I'm not telling like President Trump or
the demonstration hey, be careful, how hard you go. What
I'm actually saying to me personally is we need to
go harder. We need to open up these networks because
if we don't come after them, That's what I mean
is you're gonna have all these apathetic people that are

(38:04):
sympathetic people, they're like, Okay, I'm gonna vote this way.
And if we're still kind of like at that fifty
one forty nine nation of like, oh, we're barely gonna
vote one way or the other. But what I will
say is that on the PHO, you're saying, bank, I
gotta draw a fine put on that. Yeah, what you're
really saying is we assume you're gonna lose it and
go like pray go all in to fix the problems.

(38:26):
That's exactly when or high water fix the problems. Now,
do whatever it takes, like literally, do whatever it takes.

Speaker 2 (38:32):
Use.

Speaker 1 (38:32):
I mean, we have I think libs of TikTok on Twitter.
She's actively help you know what she did. She's like,
wait a minute, they came after us for January sixth,
we're coming after them. So now they're cropping people's faces
and they're running these you know, and it's all like
citizen done. I'm like, well, why isn't the FBI, like
remember sedition hunters when they were coming up, start doing
the same thing. So that's actually what I'm saying is

(38:53):
we're not going hard enough. We need to go way harder.
Assume we are gonna lose. So do everything you can
to make everything to give the left, the Democrats, as
little ammunition and as little funneling money organizations as you
can so that things don't escalate to the point where
we just have nationwide riots.

Speaker 2 (39:11):
Again.

Speaker 1 (39:11):
There it's like, well, you know, we did our best,
but unfortunately somehow they're still being funded. No open up investigations.
And so because what I will say too is and
this is what I was getting to is that stupidly,
these protesters are doing exactly what most people hate. They're
starting to light things on fire, They're starting to assault

(39:33):
police officers because no matter what, doesn't matter if you
agree with the immigration or not the enforcement, you start
seeing small businesses being torn down automatically, you're back to
where you were because you're right here. So you're like, oh,
I voted for President Trump. Oh man, but he's saying
and then you look like, oh wait a minute they're
burning stuff again. Hell no, I'm still voting this way,

(39:53):
you know, because as much as bad as I feel that,
but Trump has to fix it exactly.

Speaker 2 (39:59):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (39:59):
And so because that's what I was talking about. The
difference between Trump one point zh and two point zero
is a lot of people felt like the riots nationwide
were not handled well at the federal level. And so
I think that that's what Trump is doing right this time,
is that he's activating the National Guard in Thest.

Speaker 2 (40:13):
Marines.

Speaker 1 (40:13):
And what people don't understand is that, you know, I'm
down there video recording everything that's happening. A lot of
people have this misconception, like even some Republicans are like, well,
why isn't the National Guard tackling down protesters? That's not
what they're there for. Trump still has to operate under
federal authority. He can't just order federal agents to begin
arresting people if they have no authority, unless maybe they're

(40:34):
deputized by the city, which I don't see happening because
the led lapd LA SD.

Speaker 2 (40:39):
Unions and leadership are in bed when they're back. Something
tells me that if this thing breaks worse, Trump isn't
going to be checking the union contract. Oh right, No,
exactly tell the military what to do, and that's what
I'm saying.

Speaker 1 (40:51):
And so so there was a lot of Republicans that
were really pissed off that the National Guard wasn't actively
pushing back. But what the National Guard allows local law
enforcement to do is you have these federal buildings that
are being attacked and defaced and vandalized. So the federal
agents are there to protect the federal buildings. What that
now allows the local law enforcement to do is to

(41:12):
go out there and make the arrests. They're out there
controlling the mob. Because before you know, doing the George
Laid riots, police were very scattered everywhere because they had
to protect buildings and they had to protect government buildings,
and so they're already spread thin because they don't have
enough personnel. And so what the federal government allows them
to do now is like, hey, we'll take care of

(41:33):
the buildings. You guys, just go out there and make
the arrests. And so I ended up on when it
was it Sunday night. We had today's like Wednesday, right,
I think, but Sunday night I ended up. It's called
like a kettling. It's basically, when they surround you the
police after hours of telling everybody to disperse and that
there's been an unlawful assembly declared, they say anyone left

(41:57):
is subject to arrest, and it doesn't matter at that
point if you're if you're not media, if you get
kettled in, if you get completely strung up a police.
They didn't get a loud speaker and say everyone here
is under arrest all the time, though I wouldn't say
that there's even one time where it hasn't happened. But
all the time they always let the media out. So
you just come up, you show me media crand shows.
They're like, hey, you know, try not to get kettled

(42:17):
in next time, and they'll let you go. But one
thing I have noticed this time around versus other times
is they're actually arresting people this time, and they're actually
taking them down. I don't know what happens afterward. I
don't know if they're just getting cited, you know. Mayor
Bass today put out a video saying that she wants
the city to come united and to go clean up
the mess that the protesters left, So she's asking the

(42:38):
city's us.

Speaker 2 (42:39):
By the way, the nerve so what do you paying
taxes for?

Speaker 1 (42:44):
But the thing is is like, hey, how about instead
you're arresting dozens of people, hundreds of people. How about
instead of just citing them, giving them slapping that and
letting them go free, how about you giving them mandatory
community service hours and you have them go killing up
the mess.

Speaker 2 (43:00):
But of course, you know if that'd be too much
accountability exactly, it would be. Well it's look, it's incredible
stuff and I really really look forward to more of
your reports right from the scene, but from the destruction
of Los Angeles to the destruction of the globe we
go because Director of National Intelligence Tulca Gabbard put out

(43:22):
a video that really caught my attention this week. To listen, a.

Speaker 4 (43:26):
Single and nuclear weapons today could kill millions in just minutes.
Just one of these nuclear bombs would vaporize everything at
its core, people, buildings, life itself. The shockwave would crush
structures miles away, killing and maiming countless people. And then
comes the fall up, radioactive poisons spreading through the air, water,

(43:49):
and soil, condemning survivors to agonizing deaths or lifelong suffering.
A nuclear winter could follow with smoke and ash completely
baling the sun, plunging the world into darkness and cold,
killing crops and starving billions. Acid rain would scar the earth,
wiping out entire ecosystems. This isn't some made up science

(44:14):
fiction story. This is the reality of what's at stake,
what we are facing now, because as we stand here today,
closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before,
political elite and warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions
between nuclear powers. Perhaps it's because they are confident that

(44:36):
they will have access to nuclear shelters for themselves and
for their families that regular people won't have access to.

Speaker 2 (44:44):
So it's up to us, the.

Speaker 4 (44:46):
People, to speak up and demand an end to this madness.
We must reject this path to nuclear war and work
toward a world where no one has to live in
fear of an nuclear holocausts.

Speaker 2 (45:03):
Every person I talked to who watched that video saw
something different in it, drew something different from it. What
I saw was a woman who understands foreign policy, who
understands the risk that comes with excessive entanglement in these
forever wars that can turn in to powder kegs. Someone

(45:23):
who appreciated that when America is in battle, we must
vanquish any foe and we must preserve the cause of freedom.
But at the same time, being in a fisticuffs with
other nuclear powers is deeply unwise. What did you take
from it, Vishi?

Speaker 3 (45:44):
My take was that this was some kind of soft
signal to the world that like that, our admit the
Trump administration will not allow Iran to have.

Speaker 2 (45:54):
A nuclear You think this was an Iran message. I
think it was. I thought it was a Russia message.
I thought it was a message from Tulsa Gabber to
the world saying, look, we need to resolve this Russia
Ukraine war without blowing up the planet Earth three times over.
You think it was get ready for the offense against Iran. Yes,
I think it.

Speaker 3 (46:14):
And we're already getting reports that Israel is prepping for
something against Iran, you know, just recently. So I think
that this is a calm down to Israel, like, hey,
don't move we will make sure this is how seriously
we take it, So don't don't make a move on Iran.

Speaker 2 (46:32):
Anthony Kabasa, what did you think when you saw your
Director of National Intelligence warn you about nuclear war? Yeah?

Speaker 1 (46:38):
So I actually hadn't seen it until I almost before
we got on the show, and what the reports that
I was reading was the same as you, was that
it looks like Israel is getting ready to attack Iran,
and there's all these reports. First I kind of started
with like military drawdowns, there were putting bases in the
Middle East at the highest alert. And then right before

(46:59):
I came in, as I was parking, I got a
notification saying that all military members families across the entire
Middle East are being evacuated from the Middle East. So,
I mean, you know, I've been fault. I track a
lot of these like they're called like open intel pages
that just you know, they're able to kind of put
pieces together. And when whenever I've seen serious attacks get hightened,

(47:25):
that's when you usually see airspaces being closed down, embassy's
being put alert, people being evacuated, and then usually a
strike happens. So I'm actually kind of on the side
of fish.

Speaker 2 (47:34):
I think that.

Speaker 1 (47:36):
It wasn't an accident that that video came out specifically today,
because all signs are leading to Israel's getting ready to
strike I ran, which is you know, Israel's already published
reports saying that net Yahoo is saying we're going to strike.
Whether a deal is made with a round or not,
we just can't do it. And then today also Pete
Hegseth confirmed that there's use intel that they know that

(48:01):
Iran is set to finalize a nuclear weapon. So, I mean,
you know, you put out what p hex is doing,
the reports that embassies are a high alert, the fact
that military members family are being evacuated, and then now
you have this video talking about nuclear fallout. I think
told you know, I don't think that she put it
out as hey, I'm telling you guys.

Speaker 2 (48:23):
Were about to go to war.

Speaker 1 (48:24):
I think she put it out like you said, like hey,
we need to calm down and kind of sending that
message to.

Speaker 2 (48:29):
Israel to settle the horses, like hey, we need to if.

Speaker 1 (48:33):
You guys go in there and just track Iran, you
guys are not thinking about the long term. You know
you're not thinking that because I was just listening to
a report. I was watching Tim Poole on the way
down on the drive down to the studio, and he
was talking about how Iran signed a treaty with Russia,
like saying that they're willing to back each other out

(48:54):
three days before President Trump became president. I assumed the
office on January seventeenth of this year. So I'm just
kind of like, you know, tinfoil hat here. Hopefully I'm
allowed to just kind of speak freely. But I'm thinking
to myself, now we've got National Guard deploying the cities,
We've got US Marines being trained, and National Guard's been
being trained to control protests. I'm thinking to myself, going

(49:15):
back to your question, are things about to get worse?
If you think the protests are bad now, wait to
the New King's Day, you know, funded by Walmart, not
you know, allegedly, you know, don't come after us legally.
Wait till the anti war protests start coming out, and
those are going to be left and right. These are
going to be people that are like no more forever wars,

(49:36):
you know. And so I think that we're headed into
a summer of not just civil unrest, but I think
global unrest.

Speaker 2 (49:41):
What a cliffhanger for our episode. Yes, it was a
member of the Walton family. Where can people continue to
follow your journalism?

Speaker 1 (49:49):
Yeah, if you guys want to follow me on my
all my socials, I'm on truth. I'm on gab, I'm
on everything TikTok. I just go by informed with Anthony,
so like you're being informed with Anthony, and then just
on my access to the only anomaly there with just
my name, Anthony Cabasa underscore.

Speaker 2 (50:05):
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