In response to escalating violence and looting in downtown Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass has declared a curfew for the area starting on Tuesday at 8pm local time, which will last until 6am the following morning and is expected to continue for several days.
The decision to implement a curfew comes after a chaotic night on Monday where at least 23 businesses were vandalized and looted.
At a press conference, Mayor Bass indicated that the recent events marked a tipping point, pushing her to take decisive action alongside the police.
The designated curfew area spans approximately 2.5 square kilometers, encompassing significant sections of the Fashion District, Arts District, and Chinatown.
Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell has warned that anyone violating the curfew will face arrest.
He emphasized, “Let me be clear that this behavior, blocking freeways, city streets and on ramps, refusing to comply with lawful dispersal orders and interfering with public safety operations, is dangerous, unlawful and won’t be tolerated.”
Exemptions to the curfew include residents of the area, individuals experiencing homelessness, credentialed media members, and public safety officials.
Protests in Los Angeles have sparked similar demonstrations on the East Coast in New York City, leading to confrontations between police and protesters.
Since the onset of the protests, an alarming total of 379 individuals have been arrested in Los Angeles alone, with 197 arrests occurring on Tuesday, including 67 activists obstructing the 101 Freeway.
As the curfew took effect at 8pm, police began enforcing lockdown measures in various pockets of the city.
Sky News host Peter Stefanovic, who is reporting live from Los Angeles, noted a decrease in crowds following the curfew announcement, yet a significant number of protesters remained engaged in demonstrations.
He reported that law enforcement, including a line of officers from the LAPD, was actively moving through the streets announcing the curfew.
Some officers were seen physically removing individuals from the streets, and the sounds of flash grenades could be heard in the background, used to disperse crowds.
Stefanovic also observed a truck from the National Guard in the vicinity, though he had not yet encountered any Marines deployed in the area.
Californian Governor Gavin Newsom, recently ignited in a war of words with President Donald Trump over the deployment of the National Guard, abruptly left a press conference due to technical difficulties but later criticized Trump’s actions.
Newsom condemned the federal government’s targeting of vulnerable individuals, calling it “weakness masquerading as strength,” and asserted that Trump’s approach was traumatizing rather than protecting communities.
He stated, “If some of us could be snatched off the streets without a warrant, based only on suspicion or skin colour, then none of us are safe. Authoritarian regimes begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves.”
The clash between state and federal leadership intensified following President Trump’s insistence that deploying federal troops was necessary to prevent Los Angeles from descending into chaos.
Trump claimed, “Take a look at what is happening. There were certain areas of Los Angeles last night, you could have called it an insurrection.”
He highlighted the need for immediate action, stating, “If we didn’t get involved, right now, Los Angeles would be burning.”
The President has also hinted at the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, which would allow military intervention to enforce law and order in cases of rebellion.
In light of ongoing protests, the Trump administration has ramped up immigration enforcement, planning to arrest at least 3,000 migrants daily across the country.
In response to the unrest, President Trump warned that any riots would elicit an equally forceful response, stating “equal or greater force” would be applied.
Currently, a small contingent of National Guardsmen is present in Los Angeles for minor duties, primarily tasked with protecting federal properties, rather than engaging in crowd control.
This limited presence has faced skepticism from Los Angeles officials.
Mayor Bass has expressed her doubts about the necessity of such federal deployments, questioning what role the Marines would fulfill when they arrived.
She stated, “People have asked me, ‘What are the Marines going to do when they get here?’ That’s a good question. I have no idea.”
Bass reiterated her confidence in local law enforcement, declaring, “We know how to take care of these issues ourselves,” pointing out that during the chaos, the National Guard was restricted to static positions, offering little active crowd management.
As tensions continue to rise, Mayor Bass has emphasized her intention to contact representatives in the Trump administration, expressing her desire to communicate the repercussions of the federal strategy on immigrant communities.
She insisted, “I want to tell him to stop the raids. I want to tell him that this is a city of immigrants. I want to tell him that if you want to devastate the economy of the city of Los Angeles, then attack the immigrant population.”
In a solemn reflection, Mayor Bass remarked, “I think we’re an experiment, because if you can do this to the nation’s second largest city, maybe the administration is hoping that this will be a signal to everybody everywhere to fear them.”
Throughout this turbulent time, President Trump has criticized California officials, labeling Governor Newsom and Mayor Bass as “incompetent.”
Despite the unrest, the scale of protests has reportedly diminished over the past few days, with Los Angeles police arresting over a hundred individuals on Monday.
Most arrests were made on charges ranging from failing to disperse to assault with a deadly weapon, with two officers reportedly injured during the unrest.
Amid this ongoing turmoil, Mayor Bass has affirmed that those engaging in vandalism and violence will be prosecuted, asserting they possess a different agenda than peaceful demonstrators.
To regain control and restore order, she is considering implementing a series of nightly curfews.
Looking ahead, it appears at least one rally is set to proceed on the fifth day of protests, leaving the situation in a state of unpredictability as both community leaders and law enforcement grapple with the challenges ahead.
image source from：https://www.skynews.com.au/world-news/united-states/donald-trump-doubles-down-on-decision-to-send-in-national-guard-over-la-protests-and-warns-of-uswide-immigration-crackdown/news-story/f2af165ecf00770ef0f0138f234b66d7
