Waymo Halts Service in LA as Vandals Keep Setting Its Robotaxis on Fire
It's Lit Downtown Los Angeles was a riot scene on Sunday as people vandalized and torched several Waymo vehicles while protesting a nation-wide crackdown on immigrants, prompting the robotaxi company to shut service to the area, according to CNBC. Dramatic images from the scene shows a line of Waymo cars engulfed in flames with broken windshields and graffitti sprayed all over the robotaxis, Butlerian Jihad More on the Waymo: Terrifying Footage Shows Self-Driving Tesla Get Confused by the Sun, Mow Down Innocent Grandmother
Downtown Los Angeles was a literal riot scene on Sunday as people vandalized and torched several Waymo vehicles while protesting nation-wide deportations of undocumented immigrants, according to CNBC, prompting the robotaxi company to shut down service to the area.
Dramatic images from the scene showed a line of Waymo cars engulfed in flames and smoke while sporting broken windshields, doors ripped from their hinges, and spray-painted graffiti, much of which attacked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been at the forefront of detaining and deporting immigrants. Here's one from Benjamin Hanson, shooting for Agence France-Presse:
And here's another unbelievable photo, this time from AFP's Etienne Laurent:
Some rioters brazenly posed on top of damaged vehicles while wearing masks or waving the flag of Mexico, amidst the chaos of law enforcement deploying acrid tear gas and non-lethal rounds. The images of protestors sparked outrage from many, including President Donald Trump, who made it part of his agenda to kick out millions of immigrants.
"These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED," Trump fulminated on Truth Social.
Trump unilaterally ordered the National Guard into the city streets, threatening a lawsuit from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called the move illegal.
There were online rumors that protestors deliberately hailed Waymo cars to the area specifically to vandalize them, but this wasn't clear from news reports. Regardless, some people online described these actions against the Waymos as terrorism.
"Waymo cars torched in the streets aren’t just vandalism," one person wrote on X. "Burning lithium batteries release toxic gas, hydrogen fluoride, flammable vapors, cancerous smoke. This isn’t protest. It’s chemical warfare in our country."
Others online, like journalist Taylor Lorenz, suggested that protestors had targeted the Waymo robotaxis because they represent government surveillance, citing a 404 article on how the Los Angeles police have used footage from these vehicles for criminal cases.
"So people view the cars as an extension of the police," Lorenz wrote on X.
Well before these riots, people have been vandalizing the robotaxis in parts of California, with varied acts such as lighting them on fire to putting traffic cones on top of the hood to prevent them from driving away.
And with the planned expansion of Waymo robotaxis while America is engulfed in national unrest, the road may get more bumpy for these cars.
More on the Waymo: Terrifying Footage Shows Self-Driving Tesla Get Confused by the Sun, Mow Down Innocent Grandmother
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