Los Angeles police order immigration protesters in downtown to go home
Police declared all of downtown Los Angeles to be an unlawful assembly area and ordered protesters to go home on Sunday night after a third day of violence hit demonstrations against US President Donald Trump's immigration policy.
National Guard troops - deployed by Trump at the weekend to help quell the protests in a move that California Governor Gavin Newsom called unlawful - guarded federal government buildings on Sunday.
The unrest in Los Angeles has become a major flashpoint in Trump's signature effort to clamp down on illegal immigration.
The Republican president has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are in the country illegally and to lock down the US-Mexico border, setting the border enforcement agency ICE a daily goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants.
California state and local officials, mainly Democrats, accuse Trump of inflaming initially small-scale protests by mounting a federal response. He calls the protesters insurrectionists.
Several self-driving cars from Alphabet's Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street on Sunday evening.
Los Angeles police said some protesters had thrown concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at police. Police declared several rallies to be unlawful assemblies and later extended that to include the whole downtown area.
Police on horseback tried to control the crowds. Demonstrators shouted "Shame on you!" at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. One group blocked the 101 Freeway, a major downtown thoroughfare.
City Police Chief Jim McDonnell told a media briefing on Sunday evening that people had a right to protest peacefully but the violence he had seen by some was "disgusting" and the protests were getting out of control. Police said they had arrested 10 people on Sunday and 29 the previous night, adding arrests were continuing.
NEWSOM BLAMES TRUMP
California Governor Newsom, a Democrat, said he requested the Trump administration to withdraw its order to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles County, calling it unlawful. Newsom said in an interview with MSNBC he planned to sue the administration over the deployment, adding that Trump "has created the conditions" around the protests. He accused the president of trying to manufacture a crisis and of violating California's state sovereignty.
Asked if the National Guard was needed, the police chief, McDonnell, said police would not "go to that right away," but added, "Looking at the violence tonight, I think we've got to make a reassessment".
In a social media post, Trump called on McDonnell to do so. "He should, right now!!!" Trump added. "Don't let these thugs get away with this. Make America great again!!!"
The White House disputed Newsom's characterisation, saying in a statement, "Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness."
Earlier on Sunday, about a dozen National Guard members, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed.
The US Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS programme Face the Nation that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement.
'ALL ACTION NECESSARY'
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump called the demonstrators "violent, insurrectionist mobs" and said he was directing his cabinet officers "to take all such action necessary" to stop what he called riots.
Despite Trump's language, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events like civil disorder.
Asked on Sunday whether he was considering doing so, he said, "It depends on whether or not there's an insurrection".
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Saturday the Pentagon is prepared to mobilise active-duty troops "if violence continues" in Los Angeles, saying Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were on high alert. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tension by sending in the National Guard. She also condemned protesters who became violent. "I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily," she told a press conference.
Vanessa Cardenas, head of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice, accused the Trump administration of "trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration."
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Gulf Today
4 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Reclaiming the US Flag for ‘No Kings Day'
Paul Loeb, Tribune News Service Will marchers carry flags on "No Kings Day"? On June 14, more than 1,000 local demonstrations will challenge President Donald Trump's North Korean-style military parade for his birthday with our defense of democracy. The 14th is also Flag Day and the 250th anniversary of the US Army. The flag can't replace protest signs. But it complements and amplifies them. The demonstrations send a message that even as Trump and his allies wrap themselves in their flags, they are betraying the best of America. They highlight a culture of corruption where the only Americans who matter are allies of Trump at the top and persons or institutions who would challenge this become subjects of attacks. Our flags make clear, in contrast, that we are defending Americans' fundamental right to speak out, without which all other rights become meaningless. They're a message to all who agree with us but also to all those Americans who voted for Trump or stayed home, rejecting both candidates. Because to change the direction of our country, the support of at least some of these people will be essential. As "No Kings Day" reminds us, 'The flag doesn't belong to Donald Trump. It belongs to us.' But at most anti-Trump protests, flags have been absent or marginal. I counted one when several thousand people marched in Seattle this past May Day, plus scattered Uncle Sam and Statue of Liberty images. That may be because carrying the flag feels uncomfortable, a false embrace for many who've marched to challenge American wars, call out racial injustice, or push back against corporate power. But the flag also stands for legacies of courage and sacrifice that should give us all hope and strength, like the classic World War II image of GIs raising it over Iwo Jima. The flag represents the imperfect but essential mechanisms of democracy that Trump's regime so profoundly threatens, ones that allow us to keep working for justice. In defending these mechanisms and the rule of law, Thomas Jefferson condemned the very Alien and Sedition Acts whose remnants Trump is now abusing. These acts created the power of kings, Jefferson warned, writing of threats to the 'constitutional rights and liberties of the States and by the suspicions of the President, or be thought dangerous to his or their election, or other interests, public or personal.' These acts first targeted 'the friendless alien,' Jefferson wrote, but 'the citizen will soon follow.' Flags have long been part of the protest tradition and may have even more impact when those speaking out are being marginalized or attacked. American labor activists from the radical IWW union carried them at the Lawrence Textile 'Bread and Roses' Strike. They fly next to Martin Luther King Jr. in photos from the 1963 March on Washington and his talks at anti-war rallies. This year, demonstrators who helped defeat South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's dictatorial power grab waved South Korean flags along with their signs. Some recent anti-Trump rallies have featured them. But they need to become protest staples to help take the flag back. A recent Vietnam trip reminded me of the power of national pride. Americans are welcomed now, even as museums, statues, and street names commemorate heroes in what they call 'the American war,' and the related fights against the Japanese and French occupations. But Vietnam also honors 13th, 15th, and 16th-century kings who resisted and eventually defeated repeated invasions by the Chinese and Mongols. The country's leadership could have dismissed them as the embodiment of now-discarded feudalism. Instead, they present their stories as part of a continuing story of resistance, a history they highlighted during the war as Ho Chi Minh and other leaders talked of fighting for their country, not communism. Whatever the limits of Vietnam's current regime in terms of democracy, this worked because the roots of national patriotism ran deeper than any particular ideology. The threat to American democracy that those of us marching address is internal, of course (with help from white South African billionaires Elon Musk, Peter Thiel, and David Sacks). But the lesson of patriotism and national pride as a wellspring of resistance still holds true. I've learned to appreciate those who bring flags to social justice protests. And I finally bought my own the other week at my local hardware store to complement a 'Don't Putinize America' sign I plan to carry. The young woman at the counter's initial look seemed to mark me, an older white man, as a likely Trump supporter. When I said I was buying it for the Trump protest, 'No Kings Day,' she broke into a grin. No matter our anger or disappointment for America failing to achieve much of what it should be, we need to defend what we have had and the possibility of what could be. Making the flag our own helps us do that.
Gulf Today
4 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Empathy for animals should cross the party divide
Ashley Byrne, Tribune News Service When you hear the name Richard Nixon, what's the first thing that comes to mind? My answer might surprise you: the Endangered Species Act. Nixon signed this critical bill into law in 1973 after it sailed through Congress with nearly unanimous bipartisan support, stating, 'Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.' This landmark piece of legislation is responsible for saving many species from extinction, including the peregrine falcon, the gray wolf and the bald eagle. Before Nixon, Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act of 1958. While it hasn't effectively ended animal suffering during slaughter, both the Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush administrations worked to strengthen it. Barack Obama ended government funding for experiments on chimpanzees and oversaw the recoveries of numerous wildlife species. Throughout our nation's history, consideration for other species has never been a 'liberal cause' or a 'conservative cause.' It's an issue that we've been united over far more than we've been divided. If we polled Americans and asked, 'Do you support cruelty to animals?' it's likely that almost 100% of respondents would answer 'no,' regardless of their political affiliation. Considering that PETA has worked with such right-wing figures as Senator Bob Dole and G. Gordon Liddy, it's strange when I hear someone falsely suggest that 'only the left cares about animals' or that 'PETA is left-wing.' As a PETA spokesperson, I've been invited to appear on many conservative media platforms and have found much common ground on animal protection issues, including with hosts Tucker Carlson and Jesse Watters. Recently, under President Donald Trump, the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have committed to significantly reducing or eliminating many experiments on animals in favor of the sophisticated, human-relevant methods that PETA scientists have been urging the agencies to adopt for years. The president's appointee, NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, practically quoted their appeals when he noted, 'This human-based approach will accelerate innovation, improve healthcare outcomes, and deliver life-changing treatments. It marks a critical leap forward for science, public trust, and patient care.' PETA's Los Angeles office, the Bob Barker Building, is named in honor of a staunch PETA supporter and lifelong Republican. One of the few things that GOP strategist Mary Matalin and her husband, Democratic consultant James Carville, agree on is working with PETA to oppose 'ag-gag' bills, which seek to criminalize documenting abuse of animals raised for food—the very evidence that authorities have frequently relied on to prosecute egregious acts of cruelty. After PETA exposed extreme suffering and death at a Virginia facility that bred beagles for experiments—resulting in its closure and the rescue of nearly 4,000 dogs — Virginia lawmakers unanimously passed five PETA-backed bills providing better protection to animals bred and sold for experiments, which Governor Glenn Youngkin swiftly signed. The state has since passed additional laws requiring more transparency at publicly funded animal testing facilities and giving primates who've been experimented on a chance to retire to accredited sanctuaries. Other conservative leaders have endeavored to ban private ownership and breeding of primates and to put an end to the archaic mink fur farming industry in the US. There's nothing 'left' or 'right' about our ability to recognize that other living beings have the capacity to suffer or about our desire to treat them humanely. Go to any dog park and you'll see guardians sharing conversations, treats and water bowls — oblivious to any political lines that might strongly divide them, simply connecting over their shared appreciation for animals. At a time when things are divisive, it's helpful to remember our mutual respect for other species. And as we work together to promote kindness to animals, we may even find that we have more for one another.
Gulf Today
4 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Trump's new travel ban goes into effect against citizens of 12 nations
President Donald Trump's sweeping new travel ban came into effect early on Monday immediately after midnight, barring citizens from a dozen nations from entering the United States and reviving a divisive measure from his first term. The move is expected to disrupt refugee pathways and further restrict immigration as the Trump administration expands its crackdown on illegal entries. Many of the nations covered by the restrictions have adversarial relations with the United States, such as Iran and Afghanistan, while others face severe crises, like Haiti and Libya. In announcing his restrictions last week, Trump said the new measure was spurred by a recent "terrorist attack" on Jews in Colorado. The group had been protesting in solidarity with hostages held in Gaza when they were assaulted by a man the White House said had overstayed his visa. That attack, Trump said, "underscored the extreme dangers posed to our country by the entry of foreign nationals who are not properly vetted" or who overstay their visas. The move bans all travel to the United States by nationals of Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, according to the White House. Trump also imposed a partial ban on travelers from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela. Some temporary work visas from those countries will be allowed. New countries could be added, Trump warned, "as threats emerge around the world." Mehria, a 23-year-old woman from Afghanistan who applied for refugee status, said the new rules have trapped her and many other Afghans in uncertainty. "We gave up thousands of hopes and our entire lives... on a promise from America, but today we are suffering one hell after another," she told AFP. World Cup, Olympics, diplomats excluded The ban will not apply to athletes competing in the 2026 World Cup, which the United States is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico, or in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, Trump's order said. Nor will it apply to diplomats from the targeted countries. United Nations rights chief Volker Turk warned that "the broad and sweeping nature of the new travel ban raises concerns from the perspective of international law." US Democratic lawmakers and elected officials blasted the ban as draconian and unconstitutional. "I know the pain that Trump's cruel and xenophobic travel bans inflict because my family has felt it firsthand," congresswoman Yassamin Ansari, who is Iranian-American, posted Sunday on X. "We will fight this ban with everything we have." Rumours of a new travel ban had circulated following the Colorado attack, with Trump's administration vowing to pursue "terrorists" living in the United States on visas. US officials said suspect Mohamed Sabry Soliman, an Egyptian national according to court documents, was in the country illegally having overstayed a tourist visa, but that he had applied for asylum in September 2022. Trump's new travel ban notably does not include Egypt. His proclamation said Taliban-ruled Afghanistan and war-torn Libya, Sudan, Somalia and Yemen lacked "competent" central authorities for processing passports and vetting. Iran was included because it is a "state sponsor of terrorism," the order said. For the other countries, Trump's order cited an above-average likelihood that people would overstay their visas. Agence France-Presse
