Tensions in Los Angeles escalated yesterday as thousands of protesters took to the streets as US President Donald Trump deployed large numbers of National Guard troops, blocked a major freeway and set fire to driverless vehicles while police used tear gas, rubber bullets and stun grenades.
Many of the protesters dispersed after dark and the police declared the gathering illegal, a prelude to police raids and arrests of those who did not leave.
Some of the protesters who remained threw objects at the police from behind barriers erected the width of the street, while others threw rocks, electric scooters and pyrotechnics at the California traffic police and their vehicles parked on the closed highway. The officers ran to the overpass to take cover.
Yesterday’s protests in Los Angeles, a city of four million people, were concentrated in a few blocks in the center. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration actions in the region, and the arrival of about 300 members of the National Guard fueled fear among citizens.
The National Guard has been deployed with a special task to protect government buildings, including the detention center in the city center where the protesters are concentrated.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said that protesters who remained after being warned that it was an illegal assembly attacked the police, and that among them were agitators who often appear at demonstrations and create disorder.
From early yesterday morning, National Guard soldiers stood with long pipes, shields and equipment to quell the demonstrations, while protesters chanted “shame” and “go home”. When some approached the soldiers, another group of uniformed police moved towards them, firing smoke bombs.
LAPD officers then fired multiple rounds of stun grenades to disperse the protesters, who they said had gathered without a permit. The protesters then moved to block the 101 freeway until they were dispersed by traffic police in the late afternoon.
At least four driverless electric cars were set on fire in the area, with occasional explosions as they burned.
After warning that it was an illegal gathering, the police closed several blocks in the city center. Shock bombs were heard every few seconds during the evening.
Democratic California Governor Gavin Newsom asked President Trump in a letter yesterday afternoon to withdraw members of the National Guard, calling the deployment of any “a serious violation of state sovereignty.” He was in Los Angeles meeting with local police and officials.
The Associated Press reports that this appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard has been activated without the express request of that state’s governor, indicating a significant escalation against those who have tried to stop the federal government’s efforts at mass demonstrations.
About 300 members of the National Guard were deployed in Los Angeles on the orders of President Donald Trump after clashes between federal immigration authorities and protesters who tried to prevent them from carrying out deportations.
Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed Trump and his decision to deploy the Guard for the increasingly aggressive protests, saying the move was designed to inflame tensions. Both urged the protesters to remain calm.
Los Angeles Police Chief McDonnell said, however, that the protests were following a similar pattern to other episodes of civil unrest when things escalated on the second and third days.
He rejected claims by the Trump administration that the city’s police did not help federal authorities when demonstrations erupted Friday after a series of immigration raids. The police responded as quickly as they could and were not notified in advance of the raids and therefore were not prepared in advance for the protests, he said.
Governor Newsom, on the other hand, has repeatedly said that California authorities have the situation under control. He mocked Trump for sending congratulations to the Guard on social media before the guards even arrived in Los Angeles and said Trump had not told him anything about sending the Guard in a phone call on Friday.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson responded that Newsam was lying outright when he claimed there were no problems in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved.
The National Guard arrived after two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading Saturday to Paramount, the city’s heavily Latino South Side, and neighboring Compton.
Federal agents arrested the immigrants in Los Angeles’ fashion district, in the parking lot of a home improvement store and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they appeared near the Department of Homeland Security office and near another store in Paramount, prompting protests as another raid was expected.
According to federal authorities, more than 100 people were arrested.