Violence spirals out of control across LA after Trump says 'bring in the troops'
Los Angeles has been rocked by violent protests, with Donald Trump calling for soldiers to bring the city under control.
Rioters blocked off a major road and set self-driving cars on fire as police used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.
British photographer Nick Stern, 60, from Hertford, was among those shot: he had his thigh pierced by a rubber bullet while taking pictures on Saturday evening, and told Metro how he passed out from the pain and needed surgery.
The unrest was sparked by sweeping immigration raids, part of the pledge by the president to arrest some 3,000 suspected illegal migrants every day.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to Trump's deployment of the National Guard, against the wishes of California's state governor.
The situation calmed down somewhat by yesterday evening, with police declaring an unlawful assembly, which means they can arrest those who do not leave.
Some of those remaining hurled objects at police from behind a makeshift barricade, and others threw chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the closed southbound 101 freeway.
Officers ran under an overpass to take cover.
The protests in LA, a sprawling city of four million people, were centred in downtown several blocks.
The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the detention centre where protesters concentrated.
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Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were 'overwhelmed' by the remaining protesters. He said they included regular agitators who appear at demonstrations to cause trouble.
Several dozen people were arrested throughout the weekend of protest. One was detained on Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police, and another for ramming a motorcycle into a line of officers.
Mr Trump responded to Mr McDonnell on Truth Social, telling him to arrest protesters in face masks.
'Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!! he wrote.
Starting in the morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted 'shame' and 'go home'.
After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street.
Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully.
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Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon.
Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles.
Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening.
Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom requested that Mr Trump remove the guard members in a letter on Sunday afternoon, calling their deployment a 'serious breach of state sovereignty'. He was in Los Angeles meeting local law enforcement and officials.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
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