After cars destroyed in protests, Waymo suspends operations in parts of LA and San Francisco

Google LLC-owned Waymo has suspended operations in downtown Los Angeles and is doing the same in part of San Francisco after protesters against President Trump’s immigration policies vandalized and set fire to a number of its cars.

In L.A. on Sunday, one of several U.S. cities where Waymo’s robotaxis currently operate, at least five cars were attacked as protesters battled with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. Images emerged of cars in flames, their windows smashed, their doors spray-painted with anti-ICE slogans. The Los Angeles Police Department warned people to stay away from the cars, stating, “Burning lithium-ion batteries release toxic gases, including hydrogen fluoride, posing risks to responders and those nearby.”

The protests began after President Trump stepped up immigration raids in LA, vowing to deport anyone living in the U.S. illegally. Trump has recently deployed 2,000 National Guards and 700 Marines to help the Los Angeles police quell the protests, a move Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom has renounced as illegal.

Reports state that Waymo vehicles are at the center of the protesters’ ire. It’s believed the high-tech electric Jaguar I-Paces, each armed with dozens of cameras and sensors and costing between $150,000 and $200,000 each, represent surveillance and have been construed to be a weapon of law enforcement. An activist on the ground told The New York Times that wrecking the cars are is also partly a result of the “tech industry’s close ties to the Trump administration.” She explained that cars without drivers are “devoid of humanity” and pose a risk to the community.

This might be the first case of what is essentially an expression of violence against the rising tide of artificial intelligence and its effect on the job market. Indeed, some of the graffiti sprayed on the burning cars, in addition to expressing “F–k ICE,” included the words “Ppl over profit.”

Nonetheless, after the destruction in LA, a Waymo spokesperson told the press, “We do not believe our vehicles were intentionally targeted, but rather happened to be present during the protests.”

Photo: YouTube

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