Law enforcement clash with demonstrators in front of the federal building during a protest following federal immigration operations, in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday.
Donald Trump is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor, Gavin Newsom, after a second day of clashes between hundreds of protesters and federal immigration authorities in riot gear.
According to Euronews, Newsom wrote on social media: “The federal government is creating chaos so it can have an excuse to escalate things. This is not the way any civilized country behaves”.
He described the decision to deploy the National Guard as a “deliberate and cowardly” action, adding that it would “only escalate tensions.”
Trump reacted to Gavin Newsom in a posting on his “Truth Social” platform on Saturday, writing, “If Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles can’t fulfill their duties that everyone knows they can’t, then the federal government will step in and solve the problem of rioters and looters the way it needs to be solved!!!”
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Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby.
Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.
More than a dozen people were arrested and accused of impeding immigration agents, Essayli posted on X, including the names and mug shots of some of those arrested. He didn’t say where they were protesting.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement that the work the immigration authorities were doing when met with protests is “essential to halting and reversing the invasion of illegal criminals into the United States. In the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens.”
The president’s move came shortly after he issued a threat on his social media network saying that if Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass did not “do their jobs,” then “the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
Speaking on TV station ABC7, Bass said that “we certainly want to make the opportunities available for people to exercise their First Amendment rights, but the minute that things turn to violence … that is not acceptable and people are going to be held accountable.”
She said she had spoken with members of the Trump administration and insisted that she and Newsom were in control and there was no need for the National Guard to be deployed.
Arrests in Los Angeles
Protests kicked off a day earlier in Los Angeles after federal authorities arrested 44 people for violating immigration law Friday.
The Department of Homeland Security later said recent ICE operations in Los Angeles resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants, including five people linked to criminal organizations and people with prior criminal histories.
David Huerta, regional president of the Service Employees International Union, was also arrested Friday while protesting. The Justice Department confirmed that he was being held Saturday at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles ahead of a scheduled Monday court appearance.
Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called for his immediate release, warning of a “disturbing pattern of arresting and detaining American citizens for exercising their right to free speech.”
The Trump administration’s continued warnings and threats come as the Los Angeles Police Department says protests across the city are now proceeding “peacefully.” — Euronews via SG
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