USA travel warning issued for Brits as LA demonstrations and protests rage on
An initial 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Trump started arriving Sunday, which saw the most violence during three days of protests driven by anger over Trump's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws
The UK Foreign Office (FCDO) has issued a stark warning to Brits travelling to or in Los Angeles.
Over the weekend, protesters clashed with police officers in the American city. Tensions flared even further when Donald Trump sent thousands of National Guard troops into LA, backed up by hundreds of Marines.
The FCDO has urged Brits in the city to exercise caution, plan ahead and stay away from flashpoints. It advises:
"Demonstrations and protests are taking place in Los Angeles. Media reports suggest the police response has included use of flash-bangs, tear gas, pepper balls, and rubber/sponge bullets. You should:
monitor local media and follow the advice of the local authorities
plan ahead to avoid disruption
stay away from crowds and demonstrations."
This morning it was reported that an additional 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines are en route to Los Angeles, following orders from President Trump, escalating a military presence that local officials including Gov. Gavin Newsom have deemed unnecessary and problematic for safely managing protests.
The first batch of 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Trump began arriving on Sunday, the day which saw the most violence during three days of protests fuelled by anger over the President's intensified enforcement of immigration laws, which critics argue are tearing migrant families apart.
Citizens in LA had hit the streets, chasing away Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, who have been bundling alleged "illegal immigrants" off the streets while wearing militaristic combat uniforms.
Monday's demonstrations were considerably less tumultuous, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that houses a detention centre where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids across the city.
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Trump has painted a bleak picture of Los Angeles, a description that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say is far from reality. They argue that he is jeopardising public safety by adding military personnel despite police stating they don't require the assistance.
Newsom labelled the deployments as reckless and "disrespectful to our troops" in a post on the social platform X. "This isn't about public safety," Newsom said. "It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego."
Protests erupted on Friday after federal immigration authorities arrested over 40 individuals across the city. The scent of smoke lingered in the air downtown on Monday, following a day where crowds blocked a major motorway and set autonomous cars ablaze as police retaliated with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.
Further protests against immigration raids carried on into Monday evening in several other cities including San Francisco and Santa Ana, California, and Dallas and Austin, Texas.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta lodged a lawsuit over the deployment of National Guard troops after the initial deployment, telling journalists that Trump had "trampled" the state's sovereignty.
"We don't take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilising California National Guard troops," Bonta said. He sought a court order declaring Trump's use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment.
Trump claimed the city would have been "completely obliterated" if he had not deployed the Guard.
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