BREAKING NEWS Los Angeles erupts in anarchy as protesters storm major highway and clash with law enforcement
Los Angeles is under siege as rioters seize control of the 101 Freeway and ramp up violent clashes with the National Guard, LAPD and immigration officials in response to President Trump's efforts to track down and arrest illegal migrants.
Horrifying scenes of violence have stretched into a third day and sparked a political war of words between Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who accused the federal administration of making matters worse with divisive rhetoric and threats.
The Los Angeles Police Department has been issuing a series of rapid fire directives as authorities seek to regain control of the rioters and contain the protests.
But on Sunday afternoon authorities revealed rioters had shut down the 101 Freeway both southbound and northbound after they stormed the road en masse.
Extraordinary vision shows at least 2,000 protesters as they commandeered both sides of the road, grinding traffic to a complete halt as they marched down the streets waving flags and holding signs high above their heads.
Motorists stuck on the unmoving freeway have been instructed to turn around in an effort to clear the traffic, as even more rioters gathered on overpasses and ramps.
In nearby Alameda and Temple, arrests are now underway as officers report 'people in the crowd are throwing concrete, bottles and other objects.'
At least two officers were injured after motorcyclists ploughed through rioters and ran straight over the top of authorities. Both of the riders have been detained by police as the officers are treated by medical personnel on the scene.
The LAPD issued an urgent dispersal order for the regions, warning 'those at Alameda and Temple must leave the area.'
Protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center were warned that the LAPD incident commander had approved the use of 'less lethal munitions' to break up the crowd.
This came as authorities declared the area an 'unlawful assembly' and warned any protester who chose to stay would be subject to arrest.
The LAPD began issuing rolling dispersal orders and declaring some of the protests acts of 'unlawful assembly' as violence ramped up on Sunday afternoon.
Authorities issued a separate warning that the city has been placed on 'tactical alert', meaning all of the department's officers are now on notice that they could be called up for service at any given moment.
Officers who are already on duty are not allowed to end their shift until they have been relieved by their commanders, and residents of Los Angeles are warned that low priority calls may go unanswered while the alert is ongoing.
These officers will now join the 2,000 California National Guard troops Trump earlier deployed to Los Angeles to quell the protests, which he called 'a form of rebellion.'
Trump issued an extraordinary directive on Sunday vowing to 'liberate Los Angeles' from illegal aliens which have 'invaded and occupied a once great American city.'
A combined effort led by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi will restore order, Trump said.
He has directed his key personnel to 'to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.
'Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,' Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon.
Trump lamented the current state of the city, expressing concern that 'a once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals.
'Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations.'
But he vowed 'these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve' as images emerge of troops on the ground in the downtown area of the city ready to defend the city from more violent demonstrations.
The president congratulated the National Guard on doing a 'great job' in the city in the early hours of Sunday morning, although they hadn't arrived yet.
But Governor Newsom shared a very different perspective just hours later, revealing he has urged Trump to ' rescind the order [and] return control to California.'
'We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved,' Newsom said in his extraordinary rebuke.
'This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed.
'These are the acts of a dictator, not a President.'
Mayor Karen Bass echoed those statements, telling CNN: 'This sows chaos that is not warranted nor needed in the city of Los Angeles.
'It's as though troops were rolled out in a provocative manner and I do not see how that is helpful to Los Angeles right now, it's not the type of resources that we need in the city.
'We do not need to have our city under siege.'
Early Sunday, the violence was limited to a small area in downtown Los Angeles, with the rest of the city of 4 million people largely unaffected. Since then, pockets of protests have began popping up in broader parts of the community.
The arrival of the National Guard and federal reinforcements follows days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount and neighboring Compton.
Hegseth had warned on Saturday that 'active duty Marines' were on 'high alert' as the riots created havoc on the streets.
On Sunday, Noem said the National Guard would 'keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order.'
The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armored vehicle.
Governor Gavin 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.
Newsom described Trump's decision to call in the National Guard as a 'provocative show of force' that would only escalate tensions.
He added that Hegseth's threat to deploy Marines on American soil was 'deranged behavior.'
Rioters have also been warned that the use of non-lethal munitions has been authorized to maintain order, prompting a warning from the LAPD urging people to 'leave the area' to avoid the 'pain and discomfort' such weapons can bring.
But the escalation comes in response to rioters using flaming projectiles and throwing rocks at authorities, as they set fire to cars in their path of destruction.
They were met by federal agents in riot gear and gas masks. The mob was warned to leave in both Spanish and English.
Tear gas and smoke filled the air as confrontations between immigration authorities and demonstrators extended into a third day.
These riots were set against the backdrop of Trump's latest immigration raid, targeting the safe haven of Los Angeles on Friday.
DHS said in a statement that the recent ICE operations resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants.
Trump's border czar Tom Homan said those arrested included child sex offenders, gang members and national security threats.
'They arrested a lot of bad people yesterday and today,' Homan asserted. 'We're making Los Angeles safer.'
Homan also remarked that ICE agents were often wearing masks as they conducted raids because they were worried about their families being doxxed.
By Saturday night federal agents reported having arrested more than a dozen 'agitators who impeded agents in their ability to conduct law enforcement operations.
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