Tensions erupted in Los Angeles on Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s unexpected deployment of the National Guard. The protests escalated, leading to the blocking of a major freeway and arson of autonomous vehicles, while local law enforcement deployed tear gas, rubber bullets, and flashbangs to disperse the crowds.
Demonstrators were protesting Trump’s immigration policies, which they viewed as aggressive and unjust. The deployment of around 300 federal troops sparked anger and anxiety among residents, particularly in light of recent immigration raids.
By midday, hundreds of protesters had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where recent immigration detainees were held. They directed chants of “shame” and “go home” at the National Guard members stationed there.
As protests intensified, some demonstrators approached the troops closely, prompting law enforcement to escalate their response with smoke-filled canisters. Soon after, the Los Angeles Police Department employed crowd-control munitions to disperse the assembly, citing their unlawful gathering. Subsequently, many protesters moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway but were cleared by the California Highway Patrol by late afternoon.
Governor Gavin Newsom sent a letter to President Trump asserting that the Guard’s presence was “inflaming tensions” in the city and requested their removal, labeling the deployment a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” Newsom condemned the unrest as chaos induced by the administration, asserting that it stemmed from a political agenda rather than a genuine concern for public safety.
In contrast, Trump defended the National Guard’s deployment, claiming it was necessary due to what he described as Democrats’ failure to curtail protests against immigration enforcement. This deployment marks a significant moment in U.S. history, as it appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a governor’s request.
The protests had originally begun on Friday in downtown Los Angeles and quickly spread to the heavily Latino city of Paramount and nearby Compton. On Saturday, clashes with federal agents intensified as demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles by throwing rocks and cement chunks, prompting law enforcement to respond with tear gas and other crowd control measures.
The recent demonstrations were fueled by a series of immigration sweeps in the area that led to over 100 arrests, with reports highlighting a union leader’s arrest during the protests for allegedly obstructing law enforcement. While the size of these protests remains less compared to past events that led to National Guard interventions, such as the Watts riots, they signify a renewed unrest amid heightened immigration tensions.
The last instance of a National Guard activation without a governor’s approval was in 1965 when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama.
Trump invoked a legal clause allowing federal deployments during what he characterized as
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