At least 56 people were arrested after protesters opposing federal immigration raids were ordered to leave downtown Los Angeles, following several days of rioting marked by violence, arson, and attacks on officers deployed to restore order.
The demonstrations began in Southern California after federal agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) carried out coordinated immigration raids across Los Angeles.
The protests broke out last week Friday at the sites of the raids in downtown Los Angeles. However, by Saturday, they had spread to Paramount, a predominantly Latino city south of Los Angeles and the neighboring city of Compton.
As tensions escalated, crowds attempted to block federal agents from leaving the raid sites by throwing trash bins at vehicles and obstructing roads.
In addition to the street confrontations, the U.S. police also reported incidents of looting, with demonstrators spilling onto the 101 Freeway and partially shutting it down.
Elsewhere, protesters were said to have set fire to several driverless Waymo cars, intensifying the unrest.
In response to the growing chaos, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops, in addition to thousands of police personnel already on the ground attempting to restore calm.
The National Guard was specifically deployed to protect federal buildings, including a downtown detention center that had become a major gathering point for protesters.
Defending the decision, President Trump said the troops would help “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester”, a move criticized by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who described the deployment as inflammatory and unauthorized.
“If Governor Gavin Newscum of California, and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs — which everyone knows they can’t — then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!” Trump posted.
In response, Governor Newsom reiterated that California would take legal action against the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard without state consent.
“This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard. The order he signed doesn’t just apply to [California]. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We’re suing him,” newsom wrote on his X handle.
The governor added that the move was an “unconstitutional act,” vowing, “We’re going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow.”
