The protests began Friday night after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers across the Westlake District, downtown and South LA.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed an emergency curfew on downtown Los Angeles Tuesday night following five days of protests against federal immigration raids that have left scores of businesses looted and nearly 400 people arrested.
“We reached a tipping point,” Bass said during a news conference Tuesday. “Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted.”
Covering a one-square-mile section of downtown from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday, LAPD moved swiftly to enforce the order by deploying officers on horseback and using crowd control methods to disperse protesters still on the streets.
Police Chief Jim McDonnell said “unlawful and dangerous behavior” making the curfew “a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest.”
The protests began Friday night after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers across the Westlake District, downtown and South LA.
Each day brought escalating confrontations, with police using tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades to disperse crowds.
By Sunday, hundreds of protesters had flooded the 101 Freeway, leading to clashes with California Highway Patrol officers.
In response, President Donald Trump activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and deployed 700 Marines to the area over the objections of city and state leaders.
Initially sent to protect federal buildings, the troops have moved closer to engaging in law enforcement actions as Trump promised to escalate his administration’s immigration crackdown.
Trump has left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which would authorize him to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress domestic violence.
“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see,” he said from the Oval Office. Later, speaking at Fort Bragg, the president called protesters “animals” and a “foreign enemy.”
California Governor Gavin Newsom hit back by accusing Trump of drawing a “military dragnet” across the city and asked a court Tuesday to put an emergency stop to military assistance for federal immigration agents. A judge set a hearing for Thursday.
“Trump, without consulting California leaders, commandeered 2,000 of our state’s National Guard members to deploy on our streets illegally and for no reason,” Newsom said in a statewide address Tuesday evening.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk.”
Newsom called Trump’s actions the start of an “assault” on democracy, warning that “California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next.” The governor urged people to stand up to the president’s actions while cautioning against violence.
“What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence. To be complicit in this moment,” he said. “Do not give it to him.”
Despite the curfew and heavy police presence, immigration enforcement has continued throughout Los Angeles County. City leaders and community groups report ICE agents present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots.
School graduations have increased security over fears of ICE action, with some offering parents the option to watch on Zoom.
By late Tuesday night, most protesters had dispersed from downtown, though sporadic confrontations continued on a much smaller scale than previous nights.
Bass said the curfew is expected to last several days as the city works to restore order while federal immigration operations continue.
Meanwhile, anti-ICE demonstrations have spread beyond Los Angeles to cities including Dallas, Austin, Chicago and New York, where a thousand people rallied and multiple arrests were made.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott’s office said National Guard troops were “on standby” in areas where demonstrations are planned.
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