Protests intensify in Los Angeles

Protests against his administration’s immigration policies have crossed the line into outright rebellion, U.S. President Donald Trump declared over the weekend.

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Rubber bullets and tear gas flew Sunday in Los Angeles as protesters faced off against city, state and federal law enforcement after President Donald Trump declared the city in a state of rebellion and deployed the National Guard.

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.

By midday, hundreds had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where people were detained after earlier immigration raids. Protesters directed chants of “shame” and “go home” at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields.

After some protesters closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street.

Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway.

The protests arose after heavily armed and masked ICE began widespread sweeps in the L.A. County suburbs on Friday. According to the Los Angeles Police Department protestors “remained peaceful” and their activity “concluded without incident.”

But while the local law enforcement authorities publicly commended residents for “exercising their first Amendment rights responsibly,” Trump saw the situation differently.

“To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States,” he said in a statement.

Trump later declared that Los Angeles had been “invaded and occupied” by criminals and illegal aliens. He promised to free the city from “violent, insurrectionist mobs” and said he will order his administration “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,” he wrote.

On Sunday, U.S. Northern Command confirmed that “elements of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the California National Guard” were already on the ground in the L.A. region and that more were in the process of deploying.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said that “if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.”

The presence of the Guard was “inflaming tensions” in the city, according to a letter sent to Trump by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday afternoon.  Newsom formerly requested Trump remove the guard members, which he called a “serious breach of state sovereignty.”

Trump has said the National Guard was necessary because Newsom and other Democrats have failed to stanch recent protests targeting immigration agents.

Trump went on to proclaim that those who participate in protests against his administration’s policy of allowing unidentifiable federal agents to perform their law enforcement duties while wearing masks would no longer be afforded the same sort of anonymity.

“These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED. Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests,” Trump said via his personally owned social media platform, before wondering with no apparent sense of irony “what do these people have to hide, and why?”

“Again, thank you to the National Guard for a job well done,” he added.

Newsom urged protesters to remain peaceful.

“Don’t give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully,” the Democratic governor said, adding later that state residents should not “give Donald Trump what he wants.”

“Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm. Do not use violence and respect the law enforcement officers that are trying their best to keep the peace,” he wrote.

Newsom called Hegseth’s threat to deploy active duty Marines on U.S. soil against U.S. citizens “deranged behavior.” Hegseth responded that deranged behavior actually occurs when local political leaders are “allowing your city to burn [and] law enforcement to be attacked.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said via social media that Trump’s decision to deploy troops to California over the objections of local leaders amounts to “an abuse of power and a dangerous escalation.”

“It’s what you would see in authoritarian states and it must stop. Americans have the right to speak out and peacefully protest,” she wrote.

Connecticut’s U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said that Trump’s domestic troop deployment is cover for a darker plan.

“The state and city have the means to control the protests. Donald Trump is getting involved to intentionally make the situation more violent. And potentially to create a pretext for some sort of martial law,” he said via social media.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president’s move, doubling down on Republicans’ criticisms of California Democrats.

“Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in,” Johnson said.

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.

In a statement Sunday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California’s politicians and protesters of “defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans’ safety.”

“Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer,” McLaughlin added.

A protester is detained in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Originally Published: June 8, 2025 at 8:46 PM EDT

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