She didn’t answer directly, instead speaking about the importance of keeping California safe amid protest activity that has led to violence and significant property damage.

Bondi’s boss, President Donald Trump, didn’t rule out using the act against protesters in Los Angeles or elsewhere if needed, saying Tuesday, “If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it.”

That led to thorny questions for Bondi over exactly what Trump meant and whether he had credibility on the topic following the Jan. 6 Capitol riot four years ago.

“Let’s ask that again,” another reporter said. “What is the threshold for invoking the Insurrection Act? Beyond California. Are you seeing examples in other cities where the president might have to consider it?”

Bondi said the Department of Justice is using the Hobbs Act, which criminalizes robbery or extortion affecting interstate commerce, and said some other places, such as New York City, had done a better job handling protests than California.

“Right now in California, we’re at a good point,” Bondi said. “We’re not scared to go further. We’re not frightened to do something else if we need to.”

Democrats have used the term “insurrection” to describe the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and the Colorado Supreme Court ruled in 2023 that Trump was ineligible to be president due to the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding office. The Supreme Court later overturned that ruling.

“You’ve been criticized for having a double standard with the president pardoning all these people who attacked police officers on Jan. 6 in his first day in office,” a reporter asked Bondi. “How do you answer that criticism?”

Trump floats using Insurrection Act to quell violence at Los Angeles protests

Bondi said the two situations were “very different.”

“These are people out there hurting people in California right now,” she said. “This is ongoing. No longer. We’re going to protect them. We’re going to do everything we can to prosecute violent criminals in California.”