US President Donald Trump delivered a speech at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday that was riddled with falsehoods and conspiracy theories about protests in Los Angeles, according to fact-checkers. Speaking to troops, Trump made baseless claims about paid rioters, foreign flags, and bricks allegedly planted for protesters.
Trump asserted that protests against immigration raids were led by paid 'rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion'. This echoed unsubstantiated claims by advisor Stephen Miller and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who accused Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum of encouraging violence. Sheinbaum called the allegation 'absolutely false'. While some protesters waved flags of Mexico, Guatemala, and El Salvador, these were displays of ethnic pride and solidarity, not evidence of a foreign-led invasion.
The president also revived a debunked conspiracy theory from 2020 that pallets of bricks were left for protesters to hurl at police. In June 2020, the White House promoted similar claims before deleting the video after journalists revealed the bricks were from construction projects unrelated to protests. Trump further alleged, without evidence, that California's Democratic leaders paid protesters to attack federal officers, calling them 'incompetent' and accusing them of aiding a 'criminal invasion'.
The speech coincided with the deployment of additional federal troops to Los Angeles, where protests against immigration enforcement began on Friday. An initial 300 National Guard troops, federalized over state objections, are expected to expand to 4,000, with 700 Marines arriving on Tuesday.
