‘Stealing our friends': LA police break up protests as unrest moves across US
Los Angeles: Police acted more aggressively to disperse protesters after the sixth day of demonstrations in Los Angeles, while rallies over immigration raids continued to spread across the United States and the Trump administration warned it could send troops to other American cities.
In LA, which has been the focus of unrest, vandalism and looting since Friday's raids, protesters again gathered outside federal government buildings in the city centre, but they were fewer in number and had mostly left the city ahead of the second night of an 8pm curfew.
At 6.30pm, crowds outside City Hall were ordered to disperse, and police began firing rubber bullets and making arrests about 7pm. The few remaining were corralled into a city intersection, arrested and loaded onto a police bus, and by 9pm the streets of central Los Angeles were eerily quiet.
Protests popped up in other parts of Los Angeles such as Inglewood, and police were preparing to move to 'full mobilisation' on Saturday ahead of what are expected to be resurgent demonstrations across the United States as President Donald Trump holds a major military parade in Washington.
The protests have spread to a string of cities including New York, Seattle, Denver, San Antonio and Chicago. Los Angeles demonstrator Karen Haas, 44, said she expected protests to grow in her city and across the country as long as the immigration raids continued.
'I just think what's happening is despicable and disgusting,' she said in between confronting Homeland Security officers outside a federal building. 'I don't know why we have all these armed officers in our community stealing our friends and our neighbours and our family.'
About 600 people have been arrested across the country since the weekend, mostly for failing to leave an area when requested. There have also been a handful of more serious charges, including assault against police officers, and possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said officials would consider lifting the curfew if there were fewer arrests on Wednesday evening (Thursday AEST), saying she hoped that 'Angelenos got the message last night'.
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