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Protests intensify in LA after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops

Protests intensify in LA after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops

1Newsa day ago

Tensions in Los Angeles escalated today as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump's extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting autonomous vehicles on fire as local law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to control the crowd.
Some police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities including a detention centre where some immigrants were taken in recent days.
The clashes came on the third day of demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 federal troops spurred anger and fear among some residents.
By midday (local time), hundreds had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where people were detained after earlier immigration raids. Protesters directed chants of 'shame' and 'go home' at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields.
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After some protesters 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. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until California Highway Patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon.
(Source: Associated Press)
The presence of the Guard was 'inflaming tensions" in the city, according to a letter sent to Trump by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday afternoon (local time). He formerly requested Trump remove the guard members, which he called a 'serious breach of state sovereignty'.
'What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration," said Mayor Karen Bass in an afternoon press conference. 'This is about another agenda, this isn't about public safety.'
Trump has said the National Guard was necessary because Newsom and other Democrats have failed to stanch recent protests targeting immigration agents.
Their deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state's national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration's mass deportation efforts.
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US National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. (Source: Associated Press)
Deployment follows days of protest
The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighbouring Compton.
As federal agents set up a staging area near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
(Source: Associated Press)
The recent protests remain far smaller than past events that have brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.
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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.
Trump says there will be 'very strong law and order'
(Source: Associated Press)
In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States'.
He said he had authorised the deployment of 2000 members of the National Guard.
Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, today that there were "violent people" in Los Angeles "and they're not gonna get away with it".
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Asked if he planned to send US troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: "We're gonna have troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country. We're not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden." He didn't elaborate.
(Source: Associated Press)
Trump also said that California officials who stand in the way of the deportations could face charges. A Wisconsin judge was arrested last month on accusations she helped a man evade immigration authorities.
"If officials stay in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges," Trump said.
Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor's office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday (local time).
There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard's arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a "job well done". But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.
US National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. (Source: Associated Press)
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Defence secretary threatens to deploy active-duty Marines 'if violence continues'
In a statement Monday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California's politicians and protesters of "defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans' safety".
"Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer," McLaughlin added.
The troops included members of the California Army National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defence.
In a signal of the administration's aggressive approach, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines "if violence continues" in the region.
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected "a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism' and 'usurping the powers of the United States Congress".
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president's move, doubling down on Republicans' criticisms of California Democrats.
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'Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in," Johnson said.

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Trump's border czar defends decision to deploy hundreds of Marines to quell LA protests
Trump's border czar defends decision to deploy hundreds of Marines to quell LA protests

RNZ News

time2 hours ago

  • RNZ News

Trump's border czar defends decision to deploy hundreds of Marines to quell LA protests

By Donald Judd , CNN White House border czar Tom Homan. Photo: AFP/ANDREW HARNIK President Donald Trump's border czar Tom Homan argued on Monday that it was necessary to deploy hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles to quell immigration protests that are happening in the city - despite local officials saying it's unclear why they are there or what they are doing. "Yes, it all depends on the activities of these protesters - I mean, they make the decisions. I keep hearing reports that they're rioting because President Trump sent National Guard here, it's just ridiculous," Homan told CNN's Kaitlan Collins. "We don't know what's going to happen tonight - it seems like at night, the crowds get bigger, the violence peaks. So, we want to be ahead of the game. We'll be well prepared for the military here to protect government property and protect officers' lives," he said. Homan declined to say what standard the Trump administration was using to decide if mobilising the Marines would be necessary. "They're not reinforcing immigration law - we're doing that, we're immigration officers," Homan said. "Their job is protection of property and protection of our agents and their lives and their wellbeing, along with the public's wellbeing." Over the weekend, Trump became the first president in decades to call in the National Guard without a request from a governor - doing so without invoking the Insurrection Act, the 1807 law that allows the president to deploy American soldiers to police US streets in extreme circumstances. Trump ordered the Department of Defence to deploy an additional 2,000 California National Guard members to the Los Angeles area on Monday evening, according to the Pentagon. Protesters kneel in the street facing a row of police in riot gear during a protest in response to federal immigration operations in the Little Tokyo neighbourhood of downtown Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025. Photo: AFP/FREDERIC J. BROWN On Monday, the administration mobilised more than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Centre in California to respond to the protests in Los Angeles. Homan said there were conversations "every day" within the administration about deploying military domestically, but he said he had not been personally involved in conversations about invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow for the use active-duty military to quell protests. "No - again, I'm here running a Title 8 immigration operation, I was - I'm not involved in discussions, but I do know every day a conversation happens with the leadership of DOJ, DHS and DOD on a decision going forward," he said. "I think decisions on deployment of the National Guard and any other deployment of DOD is a decision being made by the White House, along with the Department of Justice, DOD - I know those calls are happening every day." But pressed if Americans should expect to see military deployed to other US cities where protests against ICE operations pop up, the border czar said, "I hope not." "I hope it's not the new normal - I hope people go out there and protest peacefully, but to attack law enforcement officers who are simply enforcing the laws that Congress enacted," he said. "So, if you want to hate, you want to protest, go to Congress and protest them. ICE is just doing their job." Homan also acknowledged that Democratic California governor Gavin Newsom has not done anything to warrant arrest after Trump said if he were Homan, he would have him arrested. "Governor Newsom has not done anything to warrant an arrest in your view right now, correct?" Collins asked. "Not at this time - absolutely not," he said. Homan told CNN that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would continue operations in Los Angeles - and across the country - to enforce immigration law. "They'll continue every day, not only in California, Los Angeles, they're gonna continue every city across the country - we have teams throughout the country that are out there looking for those in the country," Homan said. "We're in every city and country, and ICE is going to be out every single day and will continue to be there regardless what's happening in LA." - CNN

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