In a massive downtown raid, members of the Los Angeles Police Department’s Heavy Metal Task Force arrested 82 people and seized 2,000 pounds of stolen copper wire, city leaders announced Tuesday.  

Formed earlier this year, the Heavy Metal Task Force, which includes members of the city’s Bureau of Street Lighting, have been working to combat the sharp increase of copper wire thefts and scrap metal crimes, especially in areas like downtown L.A., Boyle Heights, El Sereno and Lincoln Heights.  

“The city of Los Angeles is no longer your ATM machine,” Councilman Kevin de León said at a Tuesday press conference.  

De León and Councilwoman Traci Parks worked to form the task force after many streets in their district, including the recently renovated 6^th Street Bridge, went dark as a result of copper thieves.  

“Wire theft is not a victimless crime,” Parks said at the presser.  

According to officials, the city has spent tens of millions of dollars on repairing damage caused by these thieves, many of whom use handsaws to tear through the metal panels housing the copper wire.  

In January, De León said that in his district alone, some 3,700 streetlights were out. 

The problem, officials say, is not simply the cost of repairs, but that leaving neighborhoods and parks in the dark is a threat to the public.  

“It impacts the most vulnerable communities in the city of L.A., Black and brown neighborhoods,” he said Tuesday. “It impacts youth at parks, senior citizens, singles mothers at parks who get out of town by sundown because they’re in fear for their life when they have to walk home.”  

L.A. is not alone in dealing with these types of crimes. In Pasadena, officials are working to make it harder for crooks to access these metals, which are often inside unique and historic architecture throughout the city.  

The city’s streetlights are a major target for thieves.  

“Some of these currents are up to 3,000 volts, which could be lethal,” Pasadena Public Works Commissioner Garrett Crawford told KTLA. “They leave a dangerous condition out in the public right of way, and we need a remedy right away.”  

Pasadena is even offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the capture and conviction of these metal thieves.  

“We’ve all had enough,” Parks said. “We’re cracking down and people will, in fact, be held accountable for their conduct.”  

No information about the identities of those arrested was provided.

President Biden has told Fox News “well, I did today” when asked early Tuesday morning when he is going to go out and campaign for Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Biden made the remark after returning from a trip to Austin, Texas, on Monday, during which he gave a speech outlining his wish for Congress to impose “bold” rules on the Supreme Court, including term limits and a new code of conduct, and to draft a new constitutional amendment that limits presidential immunity. 

“When are you going to go out and campaign for the vice president?” Fox News asked Biden as departed the Marine One helicopter on the South Lawn of the White House. 

“Well, I did today,” Biden responded. 

BIDEN CALLS TRUMP IMMUNITY DECISION A ‘DANGEROUS PRECEDENT’ IN SPEECH OUTLINING RADICAL SCOTUS CHANGES 

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President Biden spoke to reporters early Tuesday, July 30, as he returned to the White House. (Pool/Fox News)

The president also told Fox News that “we’re talking” when asked for his thoughts on Harris’ potential running mates, and who she should pick. 

When Biden made his announcement to drop out of the presidential race on July 21, he said he wanted to offer his “full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.” 

Biden said Monday at the LBJ Presidential Library at an event in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act that “in recent years, extreme opinions that the Supreme Court has handed down have undermined the longest civil rights principles and protections.” 

BIDEN ENDORSES KAMALA HARRIS AFTER BOWING OUT OF 2024 RACE 

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President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris stand together on the Truman Balcony of the White House on July 4, 2024. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)

Biden named a number of recent cases, including the overturning of Roe v. Wade and Trump v. United States, which he said “most shockingly” established some presidential immunity and called it a “dangerous precedent.” 

“This court is being used to weaponize an extreme and unchecked agenda,” Biden said and called the immunity decision “a total affront to the basic expectations we have for those who wield the power of this,” the president said. 

President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris stand on stage at the Democratic National Committee winter meeting in February 2023 in Philadelphia. (AP/Patrick Semansky)

 

“My fellow Americans, based on all my experience, I’m certain we need these reforms. We need these reforms to restore trust in the courts, preserve the system of checks and balances that are vital to our democracy,” he added. 

Fox News’ Sarah Tobianski, Brianna Herlihy and Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report. 

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Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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Gov. Gavin Newsom posted on X, formally Twitter, that he wants to sign legislation that would crack down on the use of artificial intelligence in campaign ads after Elon Musk reposted an altered ad of Vice President Kamala Harris.

On Monday, Newsom reposted a news headline that said Musk reposted an altered campaign ad of Harris, which appears to use an AI-generated voiceover from her.

“Manipulating a voice in an ‘ad’ like this one should be illegal,” Newsom wrote. “I’ll be signing a bill in a matter of weeks to make sure it is.”

Musk responded to Newsom’s post by saying “parody is legal in America.”

The latest disagreement between Newsom and Musk comes after Musk announced he would move the headquarters of X and SpaceX out of California.

The move was in response to Newsom signing a bill that bars California school districts from notifying parents of a child’s gender identification change.

Newsom’s spokesperson Izzy Gardon didn’t immediately specify which legislation Newsom was referring to but told the Sacramento Bee that Newsom’s administration is “working with the Legislature to ensure this issue is addressed in legislation already going through the legislative process.”

Several bills currently in play, such as AB 2839 and AB 2655, aim to address altered campaign materials on social media.

The final stretch of the current legislative session ends Aug. 31.