Protests intensify in LA after Trump deploys hundreds of National Guard troops

LOS ANGELES AP 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 Certain 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 certain immigrants were taken in fresh days The clashes came on the third day of demonstrations against Trump s immigration crackdown in the region as the arrival of around federal troops spurred anger and fear among specific 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 various protesters closely approached the guard members another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street Minutes later the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters who they revealed were assembled unlawfully Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the freeway until California Highway Patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon The presence of the Guard was inflaming tensions in the city according to a letter sent to Trump by Gov Gavin Newsom on Sunday afternoon He formerly requested Trump remove the guard members which he called a serious breach of state sovereignty What we re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration noted Mayor Karen Bass in an afternoon press conference This is about another agenda this isn t about citizens safety Trump has announced the National Guard was necessary because Newsom and other Democrats have failed to stanch latest protests targeting immigration agents Their deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state s national guard was activated without a request from its governor a essential escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration s mass deportation efforts Deployment follows days of protest 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 Territory line Patrol vehicles with particular 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 personnel the previous day as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement The latest 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 protests against police violence in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor s permission was in when President Lyndon B Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama according to the Brennan Center for Justice Trump says there will be very strong law and order In a directive Saturday Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal institution members when there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Authorities of the United States He revealed he had authorized the deployment of members of the National Guard Trump communicated reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown New Jersey Sunday that there were violent people in Los Angeles and they re not gonna get away with it Appealed if he planned to send U S troops to Los Angeles Trump replied We re gonna have troops everywhere We re not going to let this happen to our country We re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden He didn t elaborate Trump also revealed that California personnel who stand in the way of the deportations could face charges A Wisconsin judge was arrested last month on accusations she helped a man evade immigration bureaucrats If administrators stay in the way of law and order yeah they will face charges Trump announced Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about minutes according to the governor s office It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday There was specific confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard s arrival Shortly before midnight local time Trump congratulated the National Guard on a job well done But less than an hour later Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass mentioned troops had yet to arrive in the city Defense secretary threatens to deploy active-duty Marines if violence continues In a comment Sunday Assistant Homeland Prevention Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California s politicians and protesters of defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans safety Instead of rioting they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer McLaughlin added The troops included members of the California Army National Guard s th Infantry Brigade Combat Squad according to a social media post from the Department of Defense In a signal of the administration s aggressive approach Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines if violence continues in the region About Marines stationed at Twentynine Palms about miles kilometers east of Los Angeles were in a prepared to deploy status Sunday afternoon according to the U S Northern Command Vermont Sen Bernie Sanders declared the order by Trump reflected a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism and usurping the powers of the United States Congress Former Vice President Kamala Harris who lives in Los Angeles disclosed the immigration arrests and Guard deployment were designed as part of a cruel calculated agenda to spread panic and division She explained she supports those standing up to protect our bulk fundamental rights and freedoms House Speaker Mike Johnson a staunch Trump ally endorsed the president s move doubling down on Republicans criticisms of California Democrats Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary so the president stepped in Johnson explained Offenhartz revealed from New York Associated Press writer Michelle Price contributed to this assessment from Bridgewater New Jersey