Federal agents clashed with demonstrators in Los Angeles on Sunday as police used teargas and “less-lethal munitions” to disperse massive crowds of people protesting against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and his deployment of the California national guard against the will of the state’s elected leaders.
Thousands of Angelenos swamped the streets around city hall, the federal courthouse and a detention center where protesters arrested in days before are being held. They also brought a major freeway to a standstill.
Vocal and boisterous, the crowd for large parts of the day was mostly peaceful. But tensions flared several times. On Sunday afternoon, police used teargas to disperse groups of protesters gathered near the detention center. And in the evening, officers fired round after round of flash-bangs in an attempt to push the protesters back up the freeway off-ramps. Los Angeles police leaders said officers had been shot at with commercial-grade fireworks, and had rocks thrown at them.
Mr Trump’s decision to deploy national guard troops into Los Angeles, against the wishes of state and local officials, has sent shockwaves through American politics. California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and other Democratic governors have sharply criticized the move, describing it as an “alarming abuse of power”.
Mr Newsom has called on the administration to rescind the “unlawful” deployment.
“This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California,” Mr Newsom said.
Mr Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 national guard on Saturday night following two days of clashes between demonstrators and US immigration authorities.
The decision marked a stunning escalation in a broad crackdown on immigrants following raids across the country, which have triggered protests.
Mr Trump’s federalisation of the guard troops is the first time an American president has used such power since the 1992 LA riots. At that time, widespread violence broke out in reaction to the acquittal of four white police officers for brutally beating Black motorist Rodney King.
By Sunday morning, some 300 national guard troops had been deployed to the city. As the day began, two dozen of them appeared to news crews outside the federal complex as though intent only on posing for photographs.
By afternoon, thousands of protesters had gathered downtown. Protesters at the metropolitan detention centre peacefully confronted heavily armed national guard soldiers.
“We’re not afraid of you!” one protest organiser with a bullhorn, John Parker, yelled. One of the many banners on display read: “National Guard LOL.” Graffiti reading “Fuck ICE”, “LAPD can suck it” and “Kill all cops” covered every building and wall in the immediate vicinity.
The LAPD declared the protest an “unlawful assembly”, ordering everyone in the area to leave or face arrest.
Still, the protests continued for hours. Police reported arresting a number of people. Officers began patrolling the area on horseback. The California highway patrol attempted to remove people from the nearby 101 freeway.
Popping sounds could be heard throughout the area as protesters chanted “Go home” and “Shame”. Journalists and protesters were reportedly struck by projectiles. Los Angeles police said two officers were injured after being struck by motorcyclists attempting to “breach a skirmish line”.
Throughout the afternoon, there were isolated episodes of vandalism — graffiti sprayed on buildings and vehicles, and a protester who damaged the side mirror of a parked car he passed. A line of spray-painted Waymo driverless cars, one with a smashed windshield, were later set on fire.
By Sunday evening, tensions had risen. Protesters continued to obstruct the freeway even after authorities had attempted to forcefully clear them out, with demonstrators throwing garbage and rocks at police.
Mr Newsom and the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, had urged protesters throughout the day to stay peaceful, and doubled down on their plea on Sunday evening.
“Protest is appropriate to do, but it is just not appropriate for there to be violence,” Bass said.
The LAPD chief, Jim McDonnell, on Sunday evening called the violence “disgusting”. Mr McDonnell said officers had been pelted with rocks, and shot at with commercial grade fireworks.
He said those engaged in violence were not among the people demonstrating against the immigration raids, but are “people who do this all the time”.
Mr McDonnell said he would initially not have called for the national guards’ deployment. But, he said, “looking at tonight, this thing has gotten out of control”.
Earlier on Sunday, Ms Bass said the national guard deployment was “the last thing Los Angeles needs”, adding that she had discouraged the administration from doing so.
“I was hoping to prevent this situation from happening,” Ms Bass said. “Our city is still trying to recover from the wildfires.” “We do not need to see our city torn apart,” she said, adding that people are “terrified”.
Mr Trump’s move has been followed by the threat of even more escalation. The US Northern Command said in a statement that about 500 marines from Twentynine Palms, California, about two hours east of Los Angeles, are in “prepared to deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support the DoD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts”.
Earlier, Pete Hegseth, Mr Trump’s defense secretary, had raised the possibility of deploying US marines on to the streets of LA.
Mr Newsom has called the potential deployment of US marines “deranged”.
He and other California leaders have been adamant that local officers had adequately responded to the protests on Friday and Saturday.
“Law enforcement authorities from the city and county of Los Angeles are safeguarding public safety, and, as demonstrated by the robust law enforcement response yesterday evening to protect federal facilities, local law enforcement resources are sufficient to maintain order,” Mr Newsom wrote to Mr Hegseth.
Kristi Noem, the Department of Homeland Security secretary, criticised Mr Newsom’s stance on ABC’s . She said: “If he was doing his job people wouldn’t have gotten hurt the last couple of days … Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions.”
The independent Vermont senator Bernie Sanders called the situation a threat to US democracy.
“We have a president who is moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism,” he told CNN. “He does not believe in the rule of law.”
In a joint statement, Democratic governors on Sunday condemned Mr Trump’s deployment of the California national guard as an “alarming abuse of power”.
Tensions in Los Angeles had begun on Friday, when protesters clashed with law enforcement officials conducting immigration raids on multiple locations in the sprawling city’s downtown.
On Saturday, US immigration authorities extended enforcement action into Paramount, a majority Latino area south-east of Los Angeles, and were met with more protests outside an industrial park.
A standoff developed between border patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks and protesters. As demonstrations continued, law enforcement deployed teargas and protesters also threw objects at them. At least one car was set alight.
Mr Trump then promised to send in the national guard.
Mr Newsom immediately condemned the move: “The federal government is taking over the California national guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles – not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” Mr Newsom said later. “Don’t give them one.”
Mr Trump has long promised mass immigration raids across the US after campaigning in part last year on anti-immigrant sentiment. Since he returned to office Ice raids have increased, in particular targeting some areas traditionally left alone such as court houses where immigrants might be attending hearings.
Immigration officers could be in California in heightened numbers for a month, a Democratic congresswoman has been told.
Nanette Barragán, the US representative who has Paramount in her constituency, said she has been told to prepare for a large presence of ICE agents in California.
“We’ve been told to get ready for 30 days of enforcement. Thirty days of Ice enforcement,” Ms Barragán told CNN, adding that their presence is “going to escalate the situation”.
