National Guard troops arrived in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday morning following a couple of days marked by violent clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters over President Trump’s immigration enforcement operations conducted in the area.
Protesters clashed with soldiers on Sunday afternoon after a crowd gathered near the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown. Images captured by CBS News Los Angeles showed members of the National Guard using what appeared to be tear gas and firing non-lethal rounds toward some groups of demonstrators.
Large-scale protests have sprouted throughout L.A. County including in the Westlake District, downtown L.A. and Paramount, and have escalated to violence on several occasions. A federal law enforcement official tells CBS News that multiple federal law enforcement officers were injured during confrontations with protesters on Friday and Saturday. The amount of total arrests made is not yet clear, but a senior city official in L.A. told CBS News that at least 29 protesters were arrested Friday night.
Mr. Trump announced Saturday night that he’d deploy the guard in response to the massive protests. In a post to his Truth Social late Saturday night local time, Trump called the events in L.A. “two days of violence, clashes and unrest.”
“These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED,” he continued. Mr. Trump added that masks will no longer be allowed to be worn at protests, although he did not specify how or if this would be enforced.
FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images
A Presidential Memoranda issued Saturday stated that at least 2,000 National Guard troops were going to be deployed. The majority of the soldiers are from the California National Guard, a Defense Department official told CBS News.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Saturday criticized Mr. Trump’s military deployment, calling it “purposefully inflammatory” in a post to X.
“The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” he said in another post. “Don’t give them one.”
He formally requested that Mr. Trump rescind the deployment of troops to L.A. in a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying there was “no need” for the National Guard.
“State and local authorities are the most appropriate ones to evaluate the need for resources to safeguard life and property,” Newsom’s letter said. “Indeed, the decision to deploy the National Guard, without appropriate training or orders, risks seriously escalating the situation.”
Gina Ferazzi
Mayor Karen Bass called the deployment of the National Guard a “chaotic escalation” of the situation in a post to X.
“The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real – it’s felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk,” she said in part. “This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protestors to remain peaceful.”
Standing outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center before violent clashes began on Sunday, Rep. Maxine Waters, who represents parts of South L.A., called Mr. Trump’s deployment of the National Guard a “disruption.”
“People have to stand up for what is right,” she said.
In a statement to CBS News, an ICE spokesperson said immigration enforcement operations have resulted in the arrest of a “domestic abuser” and a “child rapist.”
“Irresponsible politicians continue to push dangerous and misleading rhetoric that puts communities and law enforcement at risk,” the statement reads. “Even the Los Angeles Police Departments referred to violent riots yesterday as ‘peaceful protests.’ Americans can look at the videos and images and see with their own eyes that they are dangerous not ‘peaceful.'”
Protesters clash with law enforcement again
KCAL News
For the third straight day, some protesters and activists gathered in downtown L.A. to protest the ongoing operations and presence of federal authorities in the city.
The situation appeared calm to start on Sunday, with CBS News Los Angeles reporters at the scene reporting no signs of conflict until about 3 p.m., when a large group of demonstrators marched from the steps of L.A. City Hall to the federal building, where the detention center is located.
They began to clash with the large group of federal agents located outside of the building, including some who looked to be members of the National Guard. In response to the escalation, the LAPD issued a Tactical Alert for the entire city.
“An UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared for the area of Alameda between 2nd St and Aliso St. A DISPERSAL ORDER has been issued. Arrests are being made. To our media partners, please keep a safe distance from active operations,” said a post on X by LAPD’s Central Division.
Just before 4 p.m., demonstrators moved onto the 101 Freeway, blocking traffic on the busy thoroughfare. They blocked the Aliso Street offramp and several lanes while hundreds of others watched from the Main Street overpass.
In nearby Pasadena, a small gathering began Sunday afternoon after federal officers were spotted at a local hotel, a city spokesperson confirmed.
Pasadena Mayor Victor M. Gordo said in a statement that no enforcement activity was confirmed.
“We understand the anxiety and fear that these reports can create for many in our community,” he said. “I urge our community to remain calm, united, and peaceful, and not be baited or provoked into violence. The right to peacefully assemble and express ourselves is a fundamental part of who we are—not just as Pasadenans, but as Americans.”
How this all started
The new military presence in L.A. comes after days of escalation between protesters and law enforcement, notably Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
On Friday evening, multiple immigration operations were conducted across L.A., primarily in the Westlake District, downtown and South L.A., ICE officials confirmed. A single operation at a job site Friday resulted in the arrest of 44 unauthorized immigrants, ICE told CBS News on Sunday. An additional 77 were arrested around the same time frame in the greater L.A. area.
The exact charges of those arrests were not yet clear as of Sunday afternoon.
ICE confirmed to CBS News Los Angeles that four federal search warrants were served at three locations in L.A. on Friday night. As news of those warrants spread, protests broke out. The most notable of which was Friday night, and took place outside the Federal Building in downtown L.A. after demonstrators learned that detainees were allegedly being held inside.
As tensions escalated and some protesters threw objects toward law enforcement, the Los Angeles Police Department eventually issued an unlawful assembly declaration and a dispersal order. Dozens of officers sporting riot gear and shields formed a skirmish line.
A federal law enforcement official with knowledge of the operations tells CBS News that ICE requested assistance from LAPD multiple times over the course of Friday night. That same official said it took local authorities more than 2 hours to honor that request, although a senior city official in L.A. told CBS News that it took LAPD 55 minutes to respond, not 2 hours.
Eric Thayer / AP
On Saturday, protests centered in on the city of Paramount after ICE and other federal law enforcement officers were spotted. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said in a statement that there was no ICE “raid” on Saturday in Paramount, but instead the agents were staging at an office.
The protests in Paramount eventually spilled over into Compton, where hundreds of demonstrators gathered around a car that was set on fire in the middle of the intersection of Alondra Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue, near Dale’s Donuts,
Images captured at the scene by CBS News Los Angeles showed law enforcement deploying what appeared to be tear gas to disperse crowds and shooting non-lethal munitions at some protesters.
Going forward
U.S. Rep. Nanette Barragán, who represents parts of L.A.’s South Bay, tells CBS News that ICE enforcement and removal operations are expected daily for the next 30 days in LA County.
A federal law enforcement official tells CBS News that deputies with LA County Sheriff’s Office are now assisting ICE officials with perimeter protection, although they will not be assisting with any immigration enforcement efforts.
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