LA braces for further protests

Australia Broadcast Center

19 hours ago

Isabella Higgins: More chaos on the streets of Los Angeles. The city is cleaning up after a third night of fiery protests against federal immigration raids, with fresh demonstrations already underway today. In what could be a significant escalation, multiple US media outlets are now reporting that Donald Trump has deployed Marines to the city to assist the National Guard. We'll hear from our correspondent in LA shortly, but first, Bridget Fitzgerald filed this report.
Bridget Fitzgerald: Police cars, dented and vandalised with smashed windscreens, lay abandoned on a major freeway after the most intense day of protests so far. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blames the federal government for escalating the situation.
Karen Bass: Dial back time to Thursday. None of this needed to happen. Why did we need to have raids here? It was very clear that if raids happened here, that the community was going to respond in a very negative way. I tried to make that case, unfortunately I didn't succeed. I was very hopeful that the federal government would not have deployed the National Guard.
Bridget Fitzgerald: Protests began in the city on Friday when people gathered outside a federal detention centre, demanding the release of dozens of people arrested by federal immigration authorities during raids carried out across LA. In response, hundreds of National Guard troops deployed by President Trump fired tear gas, flashbang grenades and rubber bullets in an attempt to disperse the crowd. The clashes shut down the 101 freeway and resulted in several self-driving cars being set on fire. Mayor Bass says any protesters that used violence will be dealt with appropriately, but says the city was quiet and peaceful before the immigration raids.
Karen Bass: But all of that creates fear and tension in our city. And you know, we have to think about the families on Friday, three different workplaces where raids took place. Many of those family members have not been in contact with their relatives. They don't know where their relatives are still here. Are they in Southern California? Have they been shipped to a country that maybe they don't even know? And so the instability that that creates, and we went through this before in the last Trump administration.
Bridget Fitzgerald: At a rally on Monday, family members of workers detained called for their release. Montserrat Arrazola's father was one of those taken.
Montserrat Arrazola: My father is part of this community. We demand immediate release of all the workers detained that day. I was present during the raids. I saw with my own eyes the pains of the families, crying, screaming, not knowing what to do, just like me. And that's why the families demand free of all workers, legal representation and due process.
Bridget Fitzgerald: Several dozen protesters have been arrested. President Trump has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilise federal service members when there's a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government in the United States.
Isabella Higgins: Bridget Fitzgerald reporting there.