LA Mayor Warns Vandalism ‘So Extensive It’s Going to Take Community-Wide Involvement’ to Clean City Just ‘One Year Away From World Cup’

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass warned on Tuesday that vandalism and graffiti were so “extensive” in the city that it would “take community-wide involvement” to clean up just one year away from the World Cup.

“The extensive vandalism downtown, especially of the graffiti that is just blanketing a number of blocks, has been extensive,” said Bass during a press conference on the ongoing anti-ICE protests.

She continued:

We are just one year away from the World Cup. This is about beautifying our city and bringing our city together, and so I am calling on business leaders, community leaders, faith leaders to come together downtown in the next few days to talk about how we are going to clean up the city.

Obviously, city workers are already out there removing the graffiti, but this is so extensive it’s going to take community-wide involvement. We had launched a program called Shine LA a couple of months ago in preparation for the World Cup, and now we are called on to direct that city-wide. We need people from all over the city to come to downtown and to help with this effort.

Businesses, vehicles, infrastructure, and even public benches were vandalized and destroyed by protesters this week after protests erupted in Los Angeles over the arrest of dozens of illegal immigrants by ICE.

A number of stores were also looted and damaged by protesters, including Adidas, T-Mobile, and a sportswear store.

“Several fires were set in dumpsters and trash bins and dozens of buildings were tagged with graffiti, including the LAPD Headquarters, the U.S. Courthouse, and the old Los Angeles Times building,” CBS News reported. “Footage on Sunday from the CBS News Los Angeles helicopter showed that multiple windows of the police headquarters had been shattered as well.”

Bass condemned the vandalism and violence on Tuesday, telling reporters, “I don’t believe that individuals that commit vandalism and violence in our city really are in support of immigrants; they have another agenda.”

“The violence and the damage is unacceptable. It is not going to be tolerated,” she continued. “Anybody that is out committing crimes are not doing it in solidarity with immigrants.”

The 2026 FIFA World Cup is scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, among other cities, between June 11 and July 19, 2026.

Watch above via KTTV.