Los Angeles Protests: A City in Turmoil
LOS ANGELES — Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting autonomous vehicles on fire as local law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to control the crowd.
Some police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities including a detention center where some immigrants were taken in recent days.
The clashes came on the third day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 federal troops spurred anger and fear among some residents.
By midday, hundreds had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where people were detained after earlier immigration raids. Protesters directed chants of “shame” and “go home” at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields.
After some protesters closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street.
The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.
As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives, and pepper balls.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
The recent protests remain far smaller than past events that have brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Gov. Gavin Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.
Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until California Highway Patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon.
