Protesters in Los Angeles took to the streets, setting autonomous vehicles on fire in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking a major freeway. Videos from the scene showed cars ablaze and locals fleeing the area. Local law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets, and flashbangs to control the crowd.
Police officers patrolled on horseback, while others in riot gear stood behind National Guard troops deployed to secure federal facilities, including a detention centre where immigrants had been brought in recent days.
The clashes came on the third day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 federal troops spurred anger and fear among some residents. Trump ordered the National Guard to the city on Sunday, overriding objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom and other local officials.
Newsom said he had formally requested the White House rescind the “unlawful” deployment and return the troops to his command, warning it would only inflame tensions. He requested that Trump remove the Guard members, which he called a “serious breach of state sovereignty.”
Trump justified deploying the National Guard, citing Newsom’s and other Democrats’ inability to quell recent protests targeting immigration agents. This deployment marked a significant escalation, as it appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without the governor’s request, aimed at countering efforts to obstruct the administration’s mass deportation initiatives.
The National Guard deployment came after two days of protests, starting on Friday in downtown Los Angeles and spreading to Paramount and Compton, predominantly Latino cities south of Los Angeles, on Saturday.
