Authorities braced for a fifth day of protests in Los Angeles on Tuesday as the tense standoff between California leaders and the Trump administration escalated after President Donald Trump’s deployment of Marines and the National Guard.
Tensions flared on the streets, where violence once again marred the protests Monday. LAPD said protesters threw objects at officers near the federal courthouse, prompting use of gas canisters and other munitions.
The protests have sprung up against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps. ICE is carrying out a directive from President Trump to find immigrants living in the United States without legal status.
“The use of less lethal munitions has been authorized,” LAPD Central Division said in a social media post, warning that “less lethal munitions may cause pain and discomfort.”
Officers have had running confrontations with protesters as people watched from balconies and tourists huddled inside hotels. LAPD officers and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies fired tear gas and flash bangs that boomed through side streets. Mayor Karen Bass, blaming “fringe groups” for the violence, said over 100 people were arrested Monday night.
“What we’re seeing downtown is just horrible, but you know that the majority of people that attended the protest this afternoon were peaceful,” Bass told KABC-TV.
Most of Los Angeles has been quiet
Most of the unrest is taking place across a few square miles in a mostly commercial area downtown. The city is sprawled across hundreds of square miles and the county covers thousands of square miles. The vast majority of the metropolitan area has been quiet, with people able to continue their daily routines.
State officials said they will sue the Trump administration over its decision to “trample over” Gov. Gavin Newsom’s authority by calling in the Marines and Guard. Bass called the escalated military presence a “deliberate attempt to create disorder and chaos in our city.”
Trump has insisted that he had no choice but to increase the level of force in response to growing unrest over his immigration crackdown.
700 Marines heading to LA for riot assistance; Newsom calls move ‘deranged fantasy’ of Trump
Hegseth says National Guard is ‘huge component’ going forward
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a House committee Tuesday the United States was entering a new phase in which the National Guard would “become a critical component of how we secure that homeland.”
“The National Guard is a huge component of how we see the future,” he told the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense.
Hegseth has deployed thousands of Guard troops to Los Angeles in recent days to help suppress sometimes violent protests against the Trump administration’s deportations. He has faced criticism from Newsom and other Democrats who say troops are making the situation worse and are not being put to good use.
− Mayes-Osterman, Cybele
Newsom, Trump aide spar on social media
Newsom criticized Trump on X Tuesday after Stephen Miller, Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy, blasted the governor on the same social media site hours earlier. Miller wrote that “when the rioters swarmed, you handed over your streets, willingly. You still refuse to arrest and prosecute the arsonists, seditionists and insurrectionists.”
Newsom made reference to Trump’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of hundreds of people in connection with the assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
“The only people defending insurrectionists are you and @realDonaldTrump,” Newsom wrote. “Or, are we pretending like you didn’t pardon 1500 of them?”
Civil rights groups rip Trump’s show of force
Several national civil rights groups described the Trump administration’s National Guard deployment as an overreach of power that was “deeply disturbing’’ and “reckless.’’
“It is not lost on us that no such show of force was deployed in advance of the January 6 insurrection at our nation’s capital despite the clear threat to democracy. The contrast is alarming,’’ the leaders wrote in statement released Monday night. “Peaceful protesters in Los Angeles are met with military presence, while violent actors in Washington, D.C. were allowed to breach the heart of our government with little resistance. This inconsistency amplifies questions about how power is used and against whom.’’
The right to protest the Trump administration’s “unjust policies targeting Black and Brown communities must be protected,’’ they wrote.
The groups include the NAACP, the National Urban League, the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, the National Action Network, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Leadership Conference, the National Council of Negro Women and the Legal Defense Fund.
Separately, Judith LeBlanc, executive director of Native Organizers Alliance Action Fund, called the administration’s decision to call in the National Guard and the Marines “an act of violence meant to silence organizers who are taking a righteous stand against the illegal and brutal ICE raids happening everyday.”
− Deborah Barfield Berry
Multiple journalists injured by nonlethal rounds
Multiple members of the media have reported being caught in the crossfire or targeted by authorities using tear gas or rubber bullets.
The incidents included Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi, who was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet on camera in a video that shows an officer appearing to aim at her. A New York Post photographer, Toby Canham, also said he was shot in the forehead with a nonlethal round. British freelance photographer Nick Stern told the BBC he underwent emergency surgery after he was hit in the leg by a plastic bullet.
The Committee to Protect Journalists has sounded the alarm over the incidents, warning against the intimidation of journalists.
“Any attempt to discourage or silence media coverage by intimidating or injuring journalists should not be tolerated,” Katherine Jacobsen, program coordinator for the Committee to Protect Journalists in the U.S., Canada and the Caribbean, said in a statement. “It is incumbent upon authorities to respect the media’s role of documenting issues of public interest.”
National Press Club President Mike Balsamo warned that law enforcement “cannot pick and choose when the First Amendment applies. Journalists in Los Angeles were not caught in the crossfire — they were targeted. “
-Jeanine Santucci
Multiple journalists injured by police nonlethal rounds while covering LA protests
CNN correspondent briefly detained, warned by LAPD
Police briefly detained CNN correspondent Jason Carroll while on air Monday night during the network’s coverage of the protests. CNN was covering the protests live when in-studio anchors briefly lost contact with Carroll, who could be seen being led away from the protests by LAPD officers with his hands behind his back. Carroll returned to the mic, informing the anchors: “I am being detained.”
An officer then can be heard telling Carroll: “We’re letting you go. You can’t come back. If you come back, you will be arrested.”
CNN issued a statement saying “we are pleased the situation resolved quickly once the reporting team presented law enforcement with their CNN credentials. CNN will continue to report out the news unfolding in Los Angeles.” Read more here.
− Taijuan Moorman
National Guard lawsuit a ‘test case’
On Monday, California sued the Trump administration, alleging that the president’s deployment of Guard troops was unnecessary and unlawful. Newsom later indicated that he will take similar action to prevent the Marines from being deployed, describing the order as a “blatant abuse of power.”
“It makes me feel like our city is actually a test case,” Bass said at a news conference. “A test case for what happens when the federal government moves in and takes the authority away from the state or away from local government.”
‘I hate it’: LA residents who surveyed vandalism fear more violence in future protests
Day laborers ‘looking for work to survive’
Some day laborers and other community members in Los Angeles County are warily watching federal troops, bracing for more raids and trying to look to the future while looking out for each other. Some are still searching for detained family members. Some say they’ve seen worse.
Jose Luis Valencia, 54, is an undocumented immigrant who was born in the Tepito neighborhood of Mexico City. This week he was looking for work outside a Home Depot in Los Angeles County.
“We’re a little nervous, but we’re here looking for work to survive,” Valencia told USA TODAY. “We need money to put food on the table and support our family.” Read more here.
− Pamela Avila and Trevor Hughes
Newsom: ‘Checks and balances are crumbling’
The California governor, in a post to social media blasting Trump’s decision to send the military members to California, said Marines are “not political pawns.” Newsom said Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was “illegally” deploying the Marines and argued it was a stunt so Trump could have a “talking point” at a planned parade in Washington on Saturday to celebrate the 250th birthday of the Army, also the day of Trump’s 79th birthday.
“The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling,” Newsom added.
-Jeanine Santucci
Federal forces present ‘challenge’ for police
Officials at the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday that despite violent demonstrations, local police can handle whatever protesters throw at them and that federal help is unnecessary and could become a hindrance.
“The possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles – absent clear coordination – presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,” Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement. “The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, have decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively.”
LAPD said officers have fired over 600 non-lethal bullets and used tear gas on the “hostile crowd.” Among those hit was an Australian journalist covering the protests.
At least five officers received minor injuries, according to police. Five police horses also “were targeted and sustained minor injuries,” police said. Read more here.
− Michael Loria
Days of protests sparked by ICE raids in LA
The protests began Friday after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps near Los Angeles resulted in more than 40 arrests. The protests had largely been peaceful but flared up when heavily armed, masked agents raided Los Angeles businesses.
Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, defended the raids and said those arrested by ICE included a Vietnamese man convicted of second-degree murder, an Ecuadoran man convicted of possession of five kilograms of cocaine, and a Filipino man convicted of sexual offenses.
On Monday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said local immigrant rights groups had confirmed at least five ICE raids in the Los Angeles region. The mayor said officials were still working to compile more information on the raids but noted that in some cases, ICE targeted day laborers and detained people who appeared for scheduled immigration appointments.
“As you know, ICE does not tell anybody where they’re going to go or when they’re going to be there,” Bass said at the Monday news conference.
Protests also sprang up in at least nine other cities across the U.S. on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, according to Reuters.
When does a protest become a riot?
Protests in Los Angeles were relatively peaceful when they began on Friday, but escalated into scenes of chaos, with electric vehicles lit aflame, large clouds of tear gas and clashes between law enforcement and demonstrators. Trump has backed his move to send in troops, calling the protests “violent, insurrectionist mobs” and “lawless riots.” But Newsom said it was Trump who “instigated violence.”
Experts say while there are legal definitions for a riot, the term has become increasingly politicized and encapsulates a wide variety of incidents. In most states including California, the key determinator lies in whether multiple people are involved and whether they are committing acts of violence, Brian Higgins, a professor at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, said.
“One person is not a riot and neither is a group that is nonviolent,” he said. “They can even be breaking the law, like refusing to disperse. It’s when you add in the factor of violence that it becomes a riot.”
There are some gray areas, he said. Experts also said while violence is a defining factor in a riot, such violence could be incited by law enforcement. Read more.
Waymo suspends some LA service after self-driving cars torched
Waymo has temporarily suspended its ride hailing service in downtown Los Angeles after several of the company’s self-driving cars were set on fire in the weekend’s protests.
A Waymo spokesperson told USA TODAY on Monday the company has removed its vehicles from downtown Los Angeles and is currently not serving the area “out of an abundance of caution.”
The spokesperson said the company is still operating in Los Angeles and is working in coordination with the Los Angeles Police Department.
Footage shared on social media captured several Waymo driverless taxis engulfed in flames in the June 8 protests. Others were vandalized with messages against Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, videos show.
Waymo cars are self-driving taxis operated by computers instead of humans. The company uses electric Jaguar I-PACE cars.
-Melina Khan
Contributing: Jeanine Santucci, Michael Loria, Christopher Cann, USA TODAY; Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA protests live updates: Mayor says 100 arrested; Trump, Newsom clash
The post Over 100 people arrested, mayor says; Newsom, Trump clash appeared first on USA TODAY.
