UPDATE 5 p.m.:
Hours after calling in the National Guard to quell increasingly tense demonstrations against ongoing immigration raids in Los Angeles, President Trump doubled down, calling on cabinet members to “take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles.” In a Sunday afternoon Truth Social post, Trump wrote:
“A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations — But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve. I am directing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, in coordination with all other relevant Departments and Agencies, to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots. Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
UPDATE 4:30 p.m.:
Gov. Gavin Newsom has formally requested that Donald Trump recall the National Guard from Los Angeles and other areas where Californians are protesting the ongoing immigration raids, calling the federal deployment “a serious breach of state sovereignty.”
Newsom shared his official letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday afternoon in an Instagram post, saying, “I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles County and return them to my command. We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the Order. Return order to California.”
UPDATE 2 p.m.:
Several moments of violence erupted in downtown Los Angeles and surrounding areas on Sunday, as protesters clashed with officers, several of whom were injured in the skirmishes over immigration raids taking place in the area, federal law enforcement officials told reporters.
Large-scale protests that sparked off Friday grew in numbers and intensity by Sunday, as National Guard forces, by order of memorandum from President Trump, began arriving to help quell the violence. Local news stations showed lines Guardsmen, armed with guns and nonlethal crowd-control weapons, moving toward the demonstrators to expand their perimeter.
Hotspots included the Westlake District, Paramount and the downtown federal building where people detained by ICE were being held. No official tally of arrests had been given as of mid-afternoon Sunday.
“These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED,” Trump posted his Truth Social. Trump said masks will no longer be allowed at protests, but did not suggest how that rule might be enforced.
PREVIOUSLY:
Crowds of protesters were gathering again Sunday in central Los Angeles, waving flags, yelling, spraying graffiti and confronting law enforcement as 2,000 National Guard troops – ordered by President Trump in a Saturday night memorandum – arrived in Los Angeles to shut down the mass demonstrations against federal immigration raids in the area.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the arrival of Guardsmen, saying their presence “will only escalate tensions.” Police in riot gear clashed with protesters on Saturday night, and L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna said some agitators were openly attacking officers.
Luna said midday Saturday he would soon meet with federal law enforcement partners to see how to best handle the still-escalating situation, as Guardsmen and police officers with batons, rifles and tear gas advanced on the growing demonstration lines. “None of us want anyone to be injured or hurt,” Luna said.
The night before, tear gas filled the air in downtown L.A., affecting dozens of people – including a local CBS reporter.
“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,” Newsom tweeted. “Don’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.”
Trump deployed the guardsmen as demonstrations opposing ICE operations continued to roil the state, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement Saturday evening.
“In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens,” Leavitt said. “That is why President Trump has signed a Presidential Memorandum deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Defense Department was immediately mobilizing to assist federal officers in Los Angeles and, “if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.”
Newsom said the federal government was moving to “take over the California National Guard,” calling the move purposefully inflammatory and saying it will “only escalate tensions.”
“L.A. authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice,” Newsom said on X. “We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need.”
Weekend protests included the city of Paramount on Saturday, and Friday demonstrations in Los Angeles’ city limits where immigration enforcement operations were being carried out. Protesters also clashed with authorities at the Edward Roybal Federal Building in downtown L.A., where hundreds of people were being detained.
