Tensions in Los Angeles have escalated after thousands of protesters took to the streets opposing President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops on Sunday.
Protesters blocked a major highway and set fire to several self-driving cars, while law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades to control the crowd.
Many protesters dispersed after nightfall, when police declared their gathering illegal, which is a warning of intervention and arrest of those who do not leave.
Some of those who did not leave threw objects at police behind a makeshift barricade that stretched along a road, while others threw concrete blocks, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the southbound 101 Freeway. The officers took shelter under an overpass.
Sunday's protests in Los Angeles, a city of 4 million people, were concentrated on a few blocks in downtown.
This was the third and most violent day of demonstrations against Trump's decision to crack down on immigration in the region, while the deployment of 300 National Guard troops caused anger and fear among many residents.
The Guard was sent to Los Angeles specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center, where protesters were concentrated.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were "dominated" by the remaining protesters. He added that there are also regular provocateurs among the protesters who participate in demonstrations to incite unrest.
Dozens of people were arrested during the protest weekend. One person was detained on Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police and another for crashing his motorcycle into a line of officers.
Trump responded to McDonnell on Truth Social, urging him to arrest protesters wearing face masks.
“It looks really bad in LA. BRING THE BODIES!!!” he wrote.
The clashes escalated with the arrival of National Guard troops.
Guard troops arrived armed with long guns and shields against the crowd, as protesters chanted "shame" and "go home."
At the same time, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) fired crowd control ammunition to disperse the protesters, who it said gathered illegally. The bulk of the group then blocked traffic on the 101 Freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the road by the afternoon.
Nearby, at least four Waymo self-driving cars were set on fire, creating huge clouds of black smoke and occasional explosions as the electric vehicles burned. In the evening, police issued a crowd-dispersal order and closed off several blocks in downtown Los Angeles.
Los Angeles Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom urged Trump to withdraw the Guard troops in a letter Sunday afternoon, calling the deployment a "serious violation of state sovereignty."
This is the first time in decades that the state National Guard has been activated without the governor's request.
Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed Trump's decision to deploy the Guard for escalating the protests, calling his decision an act intended to incite tensions. They have urged protesters to remain peaceful.
"What we are seeing in Los Angeles is administration-instigated chaos," she said at a press conference this afternoon. "This is about another agenda, not public safety."
But McDonnell, the LAPD chief, said the protests are following a familiar pattern of civil unrest, with intensification on the second and third days.
The National Guard's arrival followed two days of protests that began on Friday in downtown Los Angeles, and then spread on Saturday to Paramount, a predominantly Latino town south of the city, and neighboring Compton.
Federal agents arrested immigrants in Los Angeles' fashion district, a Home Depot parking lot and several other locations on Friday.
According to federal authorities, the total number of immigrants arrested in the Los Angeles area this week has exceeded 100. Many more were arrested during the protests, including a prominent union leader charged with obstructing police.
The protests did not reach the scale of previous demonstrations that brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, such as the Watts riots, Rodney King, and the 2020 protests against police brutality, for which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
In an executive order on Saturday, Trump cited a legal provision that allows him to deploy federal forces when there is "a rebellion or threat of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States."
He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members./REL (A2 Televizion)
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