By In Los Angeles, tensions escalated as a group of residents took matters into their own hands, apprehending a man allegedly carrying a blowtorch who appeared to be setting fires in Los Angeles. As wildfire rages across the nation’s second-largest city, many in Southern California have begun wondering why so many fires seem to start nowhere near each other, raising suspicions and fears of arson.
Video footage captured the intense moment, showing an illegal immigrant holding a torch head attached to a yellow fuel tank before being subdued by at least five locals. The Los Angeles Police Department soon arrived to take him into custody.
Residents in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles detained a man carrying a blowtorch.
LAPD said that there was not enough probable cause or evidence to charge the suspect with arson, though he was charged with a probation violation.pic.twitter.com/r65bJSSaRi
— The American Conservative (@amconmag) January 10, 2025
Fox News reports that despite catching a suspect for contributing to the destruction of their largest city, Californians will protect him from deportation and not charge him with arson.
ICE sources tell Fox that he is a Mexican illegal immigrant named Juan Manuel Sierra-Leyva. He is in custody due to a probation violation and has not been charged with arson.
ICE intends to place a detainer request on him – a request that ICE be notified on any release so he can be transferred into their custody and potentially deported. However, they do not expect it to be honored as California is a “sanctuary” state that largely limits local and state law enforcement cooperation with the agency.
A Los Angeles law enforcement source had previously told Fox News Digital that it’s not uncommon to find people have intentionally set wildfires.
“When you have wind conditions like this, it brings out the serial arsonists, who are sickos,” the source said. There is no confirmed connection between arson and any of the fires as of last week.
Congressman Darrell Issa, from California, called out the obvious:
So, this fire may have been 100% preventable were it not for open border, sanctuary policies. https://t.co/DLuQcbVyVv
— Darrell Issa (@DarrellIssa) January 14, 2025
The case in California has come to exemplify the way that liberalism has become less about protecting citizens and good governance than opposing Donald Trump.
While Los Angeles burns, California Democrats called a special session of the state legislature to approve $50 million in state funding to safeguard residents from what they describe as “inhumane” threats linked to President-elect Trump’s upcoming administration, wrote The Hill.
State Senate Budget Committee Chair Scott Wiener, a Democrat, announced Monday that he will revise legislation to allocate $25 million for legal aid services aimed at California residents facing deportation.
Wiener’s announcement, made on behalf of the Senate Democratic Caucus, pairs with an additional $25 million authorized by state Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel for the California Department of Justice. Newsom began advocating for this measure at the start of the special session.
“California is confronting two major crises,” Wiener stated. The first involves recovery for thousands of residents affected by “horrifically destructive wildfires in Los Angeles.”
The second, he noted, is the “incoming federal administration, which has threatened to hinder Los Angeles’ recovery by withholding disaster relief and deporting immigrant Angelenos who are integral to rebuilding efforts.”
While watching what Democrats are prioritizing during a time of crisis, it’s hard not to wonder who actually is extreme.
[Read More: Joe Biden Plans To Stick Around]
