Keffiyehs, ‘Intifada’ Cries, and Firebombs: Palestinian Symbols, Violent Chants Mark Anti-ICE Riots Nationwide
Demonstrators in Los Angeles and other major cities waved Palestinian flags and chanted for an “intifada” as protests over ICE raids spiraled into organized violence and ideological unrest.
Violent protests that erupted in response to federal immigration raids across Los Angeles last weekend have taken on a distinctly radical tone, with footage showing rioters not only targeting law enforcement but openly invoking militant Palestinian rhetoric and terrorist imagery.
While the initial trigger was a wave of ICE arrests across residential and commercial areas, the unrest quickly shifted into something broader. In several confrontations downtown, masked individuals draped in keffiyehs and hoisting Palestinian banners led aggressive actions — igniting vehicles, hurling improvised explosives, and clashing with riot police.
As protesters torched American flags and pledged allegiance to Mexico, widely shared videos captured chants of “intifada” — a term historically tied to violent uprisings in the Middle East — accompanied by signs that targeted U.S. immigration enforcement and Western alliances with Israel.
One video showed a freeway blocked by a crowd holding a large Palestinian banner while debris was thrown at patrol cars below.
In another, graffiti featuring pro-Palestinian slogans defaced city property.
Protesters carried signs combining anti-American and anti-Israel messages, signaling a convergence between domestic radical groups and foreign ideological causes.
One keffiyeh-wrapped protester called for “revolution,” claiming a “common enemy” unites Palestinian militants and U.S. demonstrators.
Others were seen wearing red headbands and terrorist insignias.
In similar scenes elsewhere, including in New York, protests mirrored the same radical symbolism.
Meanwhile, activist organizations known for their anti-Israel activism — such as campus networks and youth coalitions — amplified the unrest online, urging their base to treat the protests as part of a wider effort to export the violent Palestinian “uprising” globally.
Isra Hirsi, daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar, shared a viral post linking ICE enforcement to the Gaza conflict, while declaring: “From L.A. to Rafah, there is one common oppressor — Death to the colonial empire.”
Her statement echoed the protests’ broader theme of portraying both the U.S. and Israel as colonial regimes to be forcefully overthrown.
Despite the overt presence of foreign terrorist symbols and militant rhetoric, mainstream media outlets have largely sidestepped the ideological nature of the protests, focusing coverage on ICE policies and police tactics.
The escalation marks a stark warning about how international radical movements are now shaping unrest on American soil.
Joshua Klein is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @JoshuaKlein.
