Over 200 protesters clashed with National Guard troops in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, during the latest demonstrations against immigration raids that swept across California over the weekend.
“We want to protest peacefully. However, the Trump administration just sent soldiers to fight against us. Is it necessary?” one protester said.
Shortly after the clash, California Governor Gavin Newsom urged protesters to remain peaceful. “California—Don’t give Donald Trump what he wants. Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm,” Newsom wrote in an online post. “Do not use violence and respect the law enforcement officers that are trying their best to keep the peace.”
National Guard troops, sent by the Trump administration, arrived in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, as shown in footage broadcast by local news channels. It is the first time since 1965 that a president has activated a state’s National Guard without a request from that state’s governor.
The clashes followed raids conducted by agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal law enforcement agencies at several locations in southern California since June 6, which sparked mass protests. Despite opposition from local communities and officials, federal authorities vowed on June 7 to continue the raids.
The two-day raids resulted in more than 100 arrests, drawing angry protesters who confronted agents with tear gas, flash-bang grenades, and rocks.
President Donald Trump took action on June 7 by calling up 2,000 National Guard troops to quell immigration protests in the Los Angeles region, making rare use of federal powers and bypassing the authority of Governor Newsom.
The president said on Sunday that troops sent to Los Angeles would ensure “very strong law and order.” “You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it,” Trump stated.
The White House indicated that Trump relied on a seldom-used law, known as Title 10, which permits the federalization of the National Guard in times of “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” The U.S. Insurrection Act also allows the president broad powers to deploy the military domestically for law enforcement, although Trump has not invoked it so far.
Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass led the opposition to Trump’s decision. Newsom criticized the move, stating, “The president is attempting to inflame passions and provoke a response.” He warned that the deployment, along with the Pentagon’s threat to deploy U.S. Marines on American soil, would escalate tensions and incite violence.
Mayor Bass expressed disappointment over the decision, saying it was unnecessary. “There were protests last night in Los Angeles—my understanding is that there were about 120 protesters. Several of them committed acts of vandalism, but there was nothing happening in downtown Los Angeles that the Los Angeles Police Department could not manage,” she said.
