June 14, 2025
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Law enforcement officers fired tear gas and rubber bullets at protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday as they gathered downtown. The clashes came on the third day of demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region.
Trump’s ordered the deployment of the National Guard in response, over the objections of the governor and mayor.
By midday, hundreds had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where people were detained after earlier immigration raids. Members of the National Guard, 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.
Gov. Gavin Newsom 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.
The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.
As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. Agents in riot gear responded with tear gas, flash-bang explosives, and pepper balls.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.
Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles, and they’re not gonna get away with it.”
Asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country."
Trump also said that California officials who stand in the way of the deportations could face charges. A Wisconsin judge was arrested last month and charged with helping a man evade immigration authorities.
“If officials stay in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges,” Trump said.
Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor’s office. It was not clear if they spoke on Saturday or Sunday.
There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard's arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a “job well done." But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.
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.
The troops included members of the California Army National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense.
In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region.
