Los Angeles latest: White House 'provoked' unrest with 'chaotic escalation', LA mayor says

Sky News

a day ago

LA 'maybe part of a national experiment', mayor says - as she blames White House for 'provoking' unrest
A week ago, everything was peaceful in LA, the city's mayor has just said.
Speaking at a news conference with a group of regional mayors, Karen Bass singled out the White House for "provoking" the disorder seen on the streets there since Friday.
On that day, immigration raids started in the city, which Bass said is "the cause of the problems".
"When you raid Home Depots and work places, when you run armoured caravans through streets... you're not trying to keep anyone safe, you're trying to cause panic," she said.
"I posit that maybe we are part of a national experiment to determine how far the federal government can go in reaching in and taking power from governors, local jurisdictions... and frankly leaving our residents in fear."
Donald Trump said he deployed the National Guard - unusually, without the local governor's approval - for the safety of residents.
Bass criticised that move as a "drastic and chaotic escalation", and called for immigration raids to end.
"These aren't criminals the administration is allegedly targeting... these are mothers and fathers, restaurant workers," she added.
A US citizen, who is due to give birth within days, was "hospitalised" after being detained, Bass said, as she gave examples of the dangers of the raids.
LA curfew in effect
We reported last night that LA's mayor announced a curfew covering an area downtown.
That's now come into effect for a one-square-mile section in an attempt to prevent vandalism and looting.
Karen Bass emphasised the area, where people will be subject to arrest, is a small fraction of the city's nearly 500-square-mile landscape.
"This is not citywide civil unrest," she said.
ICE agents being deployed in five Democrat-run cities
ICE, the immigration agency at the heart of tensions across the US, is preparing to deploy special teams to five Democrat-run cities.
That's according to our US partner network NBC News, which reports tactical units - known as Special Response Teams (SRT) - will head to Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, northern Virginia and New York.
These are teams used in operations considered to be high-risk.
It's not clear if raids in those cities will begin immediately, but all SRT units in those areas have been told to be ready to deploy, NBC said.
Protests spread to other cities across US
Demonstrators have marched in major cities across the US, with anger towards ICE immigration raids not confined to southern California.
Last night, protests were held in New York, Atlanta and Chicago, with hundreds chanting anti-ICE slogans and some, at times, clashing with police.
Texas governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, said he plans to deploy the National Guard today ahead of protests in San Antonio and other parts.
He's the first governor to activate the reserve force.
Police in Austin, Texas, fired tear gas and pepper balls on Monday.
We've mapped out where demonstrations have been planned since Monday - though not all locations are shown - to give you an idea of the scale of the protests.
Trump 'stoking fear and unrest', says local mayor
We've just heard from Dan O'Brien, the mayor of Culver City in Los Angeles.
He's accused Donald Trump's administration of "stoking fear and unrest", after deploying the National Guard (the country's reserve force) in response to riots in LA.
He also urged communities to stand with immigrant populations.
Many are too scared to leave their homes, he said, and some businesses have closed.
Watch below: Martha Kelner reports from LA as curfew enforced on Tuesday
For context: It's unusual for a president to deploy the National Guard in a state, particularly without the local governor's backing.
Trump cited Title 10 of the US Code - a federal law outlining the role of the armed forces - in his order to send in troops.
Title 10 is for if the US is invaded, there is a "rebellion or danger of rebellion", or the president is "unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States".
Legal experts from both left and right-leaning advocacy groups have cast doubt on Trump's use of Title 10, describing it as inflammatory and reckless, especially without local support.
Trump will 'never allow mob rule to prevail' - despite pardoning January 6 rioters
As expected, the White House press secretary has come out swinging against the disorder we've seen in LA.
Describing scenes as "shameful" - and again showing pictures from riots - she blamed the Democrat state governor and the LA city mayor.
"These criminals injured police," she said, referring to rioters, insisting Donald Trump will "never allow mob rule to prevail" in the US.
That's despite - as many critics have pointed out - the president pardoning insurrectionists who were part of the January 6 Capitol Hill riots back in 2021 at the end of his first presidency, during which police officers were targeted.
Here's a brief breakdown of what Karoline Leavitt said about the protests: These attacks were aimed "not just at law enforcement, but at American culture and society itself", she said;
California governor Gavin Newsom and LA mayor Karen Bass "shamefully failed to meet their sworn obligations to their citizens" (for their part, both have accused Trump of dangerous escalation by sending in troops to deal with protests);
Trump deployed the National Guard because neither Newsom or Bass had the "courage" to do the right thing, Leavitt argued;
The "criminals" responsible will be "swiftly brought to justice", and the Trump administration's operations to "arrest illegal aliens are continuing unabated";
Asking if Trump supports peaceful protests is a "stupid question", she said, after the president warned against demonstrations at this weekend's military parade.
Welcome back - watch as White House press secretary gives news conference
Karoline Leavitt is again in front of the media at the White House, with disorder in Los Angeles and elsewhere expected to form the agenda.
She's also bound to address the recent fallout between Donald Trump and Elon Musk - for which the SpaceX founder and billionaire has apologised.
Watch live in the video at the top of this page.
That's all for our coverage today
We'll be back soon with more updates on the situation in Los Angeles.
In the meantime, here is what you need to know tonight: Donald Trump said if the National Guard was not sent to Los Angeles the city "would be burning". He said: "Los Angeles was under siege until we got there";
The US leader called protesters in LA "insurrectionists" and "paid agitators";
Trump defended his decision to deploy 5,000 troops to Los Angeles;
LA mayor Karen Bass criticised the "idea that the administration would usurp the authority of our state government" and "take it away from California governor Gavin Newsom". She said the solution to the violence is the "administration needs to stop the raids";
Trump said he will be restoring the names of military forts in the US during a speech in Fort Bragg;
California governor Gavin Newsom filed an emergency motion blocking National Guard troops and the marines from assisting with immigration raids.
You can watch Trump speaking to reporters at the Oval Office here...
California judge orders hearing request to limit military in LA
A federal judge in California has scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the state's request for an emergency order to stop Donald Trump from using the military for immigration enforcement actions in Los Angeles, our partner network NBC News reports.
We reported earlier that California governor Gavin Newsom had filed an emergency motion blocking National Guard troops and the marines from assisting with immigration raids (see post at 8.25pm).
Now, US district judge Charles Breyer has granted the Trump administration's request for more time to respond.
The Trump administration has been given until until tomorrow to file a response, with a hearing set for Thursday.
White House: Newsom continues to fail his state
Our partner network NBC News has reached out to the White House for a response to California governor Gavin Newsom claiming Donald Trump didn't call him yesterday.
White House communications director Steven Cheung issued this statement...
"The president called Gavin Newsom to tell him to get his ass in gear. The governor has clearly decided to disgustingly side with the violent rioters instead of protecting Californians.
"The only liar here is Newsom who continues to fail his state as he prioritises doing interviews with leftist media to gaslight the public instead of helping his state."
How did this start?
In the Oval Office today, Trump was asked when he last spoke to Newsom.
"A day ago," the president replied.
"Called him up to tell him, got to do a better job. He's doing a bad job. Causing a lot of death and a lot of potential death. If we didn't send out the National Guard, Los Angeles would be burning right now."
In response to Trump's comments in the Oval Office, Newsom's office said: "Trump and Newsom did not speak since Friday."
A Newsom aide added that a review of the governor's phone did not show a missed call or voicemail from the president since then.