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First, US President Donald Trump warned that Elon Musk could face "serious consequences" if the billionaire businessman backed Democrats
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RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
US protests: California governor warns 'democracy under assault'
By Brad Brooks, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Dietrich Knauth for Reuters Police officers in riot gear stand near City Hall as a curfew comes into effect in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP / RINGO CHIU Hundreds of US Marines have arrived in the Los Angeles area under orders from President Donald Trump, ratcheting up tensions in America's second largest city as California's governor warns "democracy is under assault." Trump's extraordinary measures of sending National Guard and Marines to quell protests - which broke out in response to his immigration raids - fuelled demonstrations for a fifth day in Los Angeles, and sparked protests in several other cities. As Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom traded fulminations, the city's mayor said the protests were limited to about five downtown streets, but declared a curfew for parts of the downtown area due to violence and looting. Police said multiple groups stayed on the streets in some areas despite the curfew and "mass arrests are being initiated". Police earlier said that 197 people had already been arrested on Tuesday - more than double the total number of arrests to date. Democratic leaders have raised concerns over a national crisis in what has become the most intense flashpoint yet in the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally, and then crack down on opponents who take to the streets in protest. "This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That's when the downward spiral began," Newsom said in an a video address. "He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety... Democracy is under assault." Newsom, widely seen as preparing for a presidential run in 2028, has called the deployments an illegal waste of resources. He and the state sued Trump and the Defense Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump in turn has suggested Newsom should be arrested. Trump, voted back into office last year largely for his promise to deport undocumented immigrants, used a speech honouring soldiers on Tuesday to defend his decision. He told troops at the Army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina: "Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness." "What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags," Trump said, adding his administration would "liberate Los Angeles." A protestor makes a rude gesture towards LAPD officers as she has to clear the area as curfew is in effect after days of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP / ROBYN BECK Demonstrators have waved the flags of Mexico and other countries in solidarity for the migrants rounded up in a series of intensifying raids. Homeland Security said on Monday its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) division had arrested 2000 immigration offenders per day recently, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday announced a curfew for one square mile of downtown Los Angeles that will run from 8pm to 6am locally for several days. With five minutes until the curfew took effect, hundreds of protesters faced police with their hands raised, chanting "peaceful protest". Even so, state and local officials have called Trump's response an extreme over-reaction to mostly peaceful demonstrations. Bass emphasized at a press conference the distinction between the majority of demonstrators protesting peacefully and a smaller number of agitators she blamed for violence and looting. A curfew had been considered for several days but Bass said she decided to impose one after 23 business were looted on Monday night. "When these peaceful rallies end, and the protesters head home, another element moves in: opportunists, who come in under the cover of a peaceful protest to ravage and destroy," Council member Ysabel Jurado, who represents the area, told reporters. As the mayor and the council member spoke, police and protesters were engaged in skirmishes outside. In what has become a daily ritual, police forced demonstrators away from the streets outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where many detained migrants are held. Multiple groups of protesters snaked through downtown Los Angeles, monitored or followed by police armed with less lethal munitions. Protests also took place in other cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago, where demonstrators shouted at and scuffled with officers. Some protesters climbed onto the Picasso sculpture in Daley Plaza, while others chanted that ICE should be abolished. Christina Berger, 39, said it was heartbreaking to hear about children who are afraid of being separated from their families due to immigration raids, adding, "I just want to give some hope to my friends and neighbours." People attend a prayer vigil in Grand Park as curfew goes in effect after days of protests in Los Angeles. Photo: AFP / PATRICK T. FALLON About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 50 km south of Los Angeles, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a US official said. A US official said there were 2100 National Guard troops in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday, more than half the 4000 to be activated. The Marines and National Guard troops lack the authority to makes arrests and will be charged only with protecting federal property and personnel. Even so, California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters the state was concerned about allowing federal troops to protect personnel, saying there was a risk that could violate an 1878 law that generally forbids the US military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. "Protecting personnel likely means accompanying ICE agents into communities and neighbourhoods, and protecting functions could mean protecting the ICE function of enforcing the immigration law," Bonta said. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday posted photos on X of National Guard troops accompanying ICE officers on an immigration raid. Trump administration officials have vowed to redouble the immigration raids in response to the street protests. - Reuters
NZ Herald
8 hours ago
- NZ Herald
YouTube loosens rules guiding the moderation of videos
For years, YouTube has removed videos with derogatory slurs, misinformation about Covid-19 vaccines, and election falsehoods, saying the content violated the platform's rules. But since United States President Donald Trump's return to the White House, YouTube has encouraged its content moderators to leave up videos with content that may break
RNZ News
9 hours ago
- RNZ News
US Marines arrive in LA on Trump's orders, against governor's wishes
By Brad Brooks , Phil Stewart , Idrees Ali and Dietrich Knauth , Reuters US Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, who were placed in an alert status over the weekend to support US Northern Command's mission, rehearsing nonlethal tactics in the greater Los Angeles area. Photo: JUAN TORRES / US MARINE CORPS / AFP Hundreds of US Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from President Donald Trump, who has also activated 4000 National Guard troops to quell protests in the city despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom that the deployments are politically motivated. The city has seen five days of public protests since the Trump administration launched a series of immigration raids on Friday. State officials said Trump's response was an extreme overreaction to mostly peaceful demonstrations . About 700 Marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 50km south of Los Angeles, awaiting deployment to specific locations, a US official said. The Marines do not have arrest authority and will protect federal property and personnel, according to military officials. There were approximately 2,100 Guard troops in greater Los Angeles on Tuesday, with more on the way, the official said. California sued Trump and the Defense Department on Monday , seeking to block the deployment of federal troops, then on Tuesday sought an immediate ruling on the narrow issue of their participation in police enforcement. The judge set a hearing on that question for Thursday. California Attorney General Rob Bonta told Reuters the state was concerned about allowing federal troops to protect personnel, saying there was a risk that could violate an 1878 law that generally forbids the US military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. "The federal property part I understand - defending and protecting federal buildings," Bonta said. "But protecting personnel likely means accompanying ICE agents into communities and neighbourhoods, and protecting functions could mean protecting the ICE function of enforcing the immigration law." US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Tuesday posted photos on X of National Guard troops accompanying ICE officers on an immigration raid. Photos from today's ICE Los Angeles immigration enforcement operation. Marines are trained for conflicts around the world - from the Middle East to Africa - and are also used for rapid deployments in case of emergencies, such as threats to US embassies. Some units also learn riot and crowd control techniques. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. Photo: AFP Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass emphasised at a press conference that the unrest has been limited to a few downtown blocks and she was considering a curfew for downtown Los Angeles to stem violence in the area, including looting of stores. She drew a distinction between the majority of demonstrators protesting peacefully in support of immigrants and a smaller number of agitators she blamed for violence and looting. She said she planned to call Trump on Tuesday. "I want to tell him to stop the raids," she said. "I want to tell him that this is a city of immigrants." Trump has justified his decision to deploy troops by describing the protests as a violent occupation, a characterization that Newsom and Bass have said is grossly exaggerated. Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, the president said LA would be "burning right now" if not for the deployments, and that Guard troops would remain until there is no danger. Trump left open the possibility of invoking the centuries-old Insurrection Act, which would allow the military to take part directly in civilian law enforcement. Photo: AFP/ETIENNE LAURENT The protests since Friday have been largely peaceful, but there have been scattered clashes, with some demonstrators throwing rocks at officers, blocking a highway and setting cars ablaze. Police have responded with "less lethal" munitions such as pepper balls, as well as flash-bang grenades and tear gas. The Los Angeles Police Department said it arrested more than 100 people on Monday, raising the regional total since Saturday to more than 180. On Tuesday, police holding shields and wearing helmets formed a line close to protesters hoisting banners with slogans such as "When injustice becomes the law, resistance becomes duty." Protests have concentrated outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, where many detained migrants are held. The Trump administration has vowed to intensify immigration raids in response. Protests have taken place in other cities including Chicago, where on Tuesday about 100 protesters marched through downtown, blocking traffic and carrying signs calling for ICE to be abolished. Christina Berger, 39, said it was heartbreaking to hear about children who are afraid of being separated from their families due to immigration raids, adding, "I just want to give some hope to my friends and neighbours." Fireworks explode around police officers in riot gear during a protest in response to federal immigration operations in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of downtown Los Angeles, on 9 June, 2025. Photo: FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP Business owners in LA's Little Tokyo neighbourhood - where some of the most intense clashes between police and protesters occurred late on Monday - were washing graffiti off storefront windows and sweeping up litter on Tuesday. Every building on Little Tokyo's main streets was hit with graffiti, except for a public defender's office that stood untouched. Frank Chavez, 53, manager of an office building in the neighbourhood, was sweeping glass shards from an entrance door that had been shattered after midnight by a young masked man wielding a skateboard, according to security video that Chavez showed a Reuters reporter. "I agree with what the protesters are defending - they're standing up for the Latino community," Chavez said. "But there are a few carrying out vandalism and violence, and that must be stopped." Chavez and other business owners said they did not support the immigration raids and felt Trump's response was only fanning the flames. - Reuters
