Tensions in Los Angeles escalated on Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard. The protesters blocked major freeways and set self-driving cars on fire, prompting law enforcement to use tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs to disperse the crowds.
Some police officers patrolled the streets on horseback, while others in riot gear formed lines behind National Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities, including a detention center where immigrants have recently been held. Police declared the assembly unlawful, and by early evening, many demonstrators had left the area.
Clashes Intensify
However, some protesters remained, using chairs from a nearby park to create makeshift barriers and throwing objects at police. Others stood above the closed southbound 101 Freeway, hurling chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters, and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the highway. Officers took cover under an overpass as the tensions heightened.
This marked the third day of demonstrations against President Trump’s immigration policies in the region. The arrival of approximately 300 federal troops sparked anger and fear among residents. Sunday’s protests were concentrated in several downtown blocks of Los Angeles, a city of 4 million people.
National Guard Deployment
Starting in the morning, National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. Protesters shouted “Shame!” and “Go home!” at the troops. As some approached the line, another group of uniformed officers advanced, firing smoke-filled canisters into the street.
Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, whom they declared were assembled unlawfully. Many protesters then moved to block traffic on the 101 Freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway in the late afternoon, while southbound lanes remained closed.
Escalating Violence
Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order, shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles.
California Governor Gavin Newsom requested that President Trump remove the National Guard members in a letter sent Sunday afternoon, calling their deployment a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” The governor was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and officials. It was unclear if he had spoken to the president since Friday.
This deployment appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard has been activated without a request from its governor, marking a significant escalation against those opposing the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
Protests Spread Across the City
The National Guard’s arrival followed two days of protests that began on Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a predominantly Latino city south of Los Angeles, and neighboring Compton.
Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA’s fashion district, at a Home Depot parking lot, and several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were seen at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, drawing protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later stated there was no enforcement activity at that location.
Demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles by hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear used tear gas, flash-bang explosives, and pepper balls.
The week-long tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, according to federal authorities. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader accused of impeding law enforcement.
Historic Activation
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
President Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, on Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not gonna get away with it.”
