Protest curfews spread to Washington as LA moves to arrest 'bad actors' and unrest continues in NYC and Chicago

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Massive anti-ICE riots have spread from coast to coast as Los Angeles tries to crack down on 'bad actors' at fiery protests that continued for a sixth consecutive day on Wednesday.
The City of Angels has been reeling since Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents first conducted raids in the city on Friday, sparking viral clashes between officers in riot gear and protesters who set vehicles on fire.
Some have even taken advantage of the chaos as they looted more than 20 stores.
But in cities across the nation, residents are rallying to show their support for the people of Los Angeles as they hold their own anti-ICE demonstrations - prompting Republicans to investigate who may be behind the uprising.
Protests have popped up in cities like New York City and Chicago, and in Spokane, Washington, Mayor Lisa Brown was forced to impose a curfew after large groups of protesters took to the streets and blocked off roads.
Officers who responded to the scene were then seen donning gas masks and deploying a device that released smoke into the crowd, causing them to disperse and begin shouting at police, CNN reports.
A total of 30 people have since been arrested in the Washington city.
It comes just one day after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued her own lockdown from 8pm to 6am, saying she was trying to 'stop bad actors who are taking advantage of the President's chaotic escalation' after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard and Marines to the city.
But protesters have remained on the scene, with 17 people arrested on Tuesday for violating the curfew, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Even more arrests were made Wednesday, as curfew went into effect for a second consecutive and police quickly drove rioters out.
Officers were seen on horseback charging into a crowd at City Hall, causing several demonstrators to fall to the ground.
Cops then pushed hundreds of protesters into Gloria Molina Grand Park, where they gathered and began chanting 'Shame.'
Yet they seemed to be aware of their situation, as they wrote the number for bail support on their arms.
Meanwhile, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced criminal charges against eight people who allegedly attacked police, vandalized building and looted stores since the unrest began.
'If people want to hurl insults, we will protect that,' he said at a news conference Wednesday. 'If people want to engage in crimes, we will prosecute that.'
His office said three people were charged with using fireworks and motorcycles to hurt officers, after two were caught on camera slamming their bikes into a police skirmish line.
Hochman also announced charges against two people who allegedly joined a break in at a downtown Los Angeles Nike store and felony vandalism charges against people accused of tagging the downtown Hall of Justice - which houses the headquarters for the District Attorney's Office and the Sheriff's Department.
More unruly rioters may also find themselves criminally charged in the coming days, LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said.
He explained that officers are continuing to review footage from the riots.
'If you didn't get caught in the last couple of nights, there's a lot of evidence,' Luna said. 'You're probably going to have a detective knocking at your door.'
Yet detectives are also trying to figure out how to work with members of the National Guard and the Marines, who arrived in the city on Wednesday.
'The role is still not clear, to us, the Marines or the National Guard, other than they're a support entity to protect federal employees and facilities,' Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell told CNN's Kaitlan Collins.
'This is unprecedented,' he continued.
'As far as the scope of their responsibilities or their abilities relative to arrest or dealing in a municipal environment, that's not something that they do certainly.
'What their training is, we're not sure of that - either on the Army or the Marines as it relates to crowd management, crowd control in an urban environment.'
Attorneys representing President Donald Trump, though, argued in court documents on Wednesday that the military forces in Los Angles were not engaging directly in policing as they hit out at California Gov. Gavin Newsom's lawsuit.
The governor and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a suit over the president's deployment of the National Guard and the Marines earlier this week, arguing it was unconstitutional because it violates state sovereignty and federal laws that limit the use of military forces for policing.
In a desperate attempt to get the forces out of Los Angeles, Newsom also asked a judge on Tuesday for a temporary restraining order on Trump's deployment - which the judge denied.
Lawyers for the Trump administration have since filed a response calling California's request for the restraining order a 'crass political stunt endangering American lives.'
If it were to be granted, they said, it would prevent the president 'from exercising his lawful statutory and constitutional power' to ensure federal facilities and personnel are protected and that the nation's immigration laws are adequately enforced.
A hearing on the matter is now scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
In the meantime, local and federal officials have vowed to investigate who may be funding the massive cross country riots.
LA County Sheriff Robert Luna on Wednesday said he found 'evidence' outside agitators or an organized group is behind the riots in the city, and said authorities were 'looking to see if there is a conspiracy of some kind or organization,' Newsweek reports.
At the federal level, FBI Director Kash Patel also said the bureau 'is investigating any and all monetary connections responsible for these riots' as reports emerged that Chinese influence could be behind the chaos, according to The Signal.
The US-based Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL) organized some of last week's protests in response to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that snowballed into violence over the weekend.
The Marxist revolutionaries also played a role in last year's anti-Israel protests that roiled Columbia University. PLS has ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) through Neville Roy Singham, a Connecticut-born tech entrepreneur who operates from Shanghai.
Singham, together with his wife, Jodie Evans, the founder of antiwar group Code Pink, have been investigated by House Republicans for promoting protests, dissent and unrest in the US for their bosses in Beijing.
Yet even though there may be financial links between Singham, PSL and the peaceful demonstrations against Trump's immigration crackdown, there is nothing to suggest that those protestors are involved in any of the violence or looting in LA.
Meanwhile, Republican Sen. Josh Hawley has turned the blame on a Los Angeles immigration organization, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, which he said is 'bankrolling' the unrest.
In a letter to Angelica Salas, the head of the organization, Hawley wrote that it should 'cease and desist any further involvement in the organization, funding or promotion of these unlawful activities.'
'Credible reporting now suggests that your organization has provided logistical support and financial resources to individuals engaged in these disruptive actions,' wrote Hawley, who chairs the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism.
'Let me be clear: bankrolling civil unrest is not protected speech. It is aiding and abetting criminal conduct.'
Salas, though, has denied the accusations.
'This is trying to take away the spotlight from the pain and suffering that this administration is causing,' she told the LA Times.
'I refuse to make it about anybody else but them.'