On June 8, the White House deployed hundreds of National Guard troops to the streets of Los Angeles in an attempt to quell intensifying riots and protests that have sprung up in opposition to the Trump administration’s efforts to expel illegal immigrants from the state.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, over the weekend, two officers were injured and several vehicles were set ablaze including four self-driving Waymo cars.
Large plums of smoke filled the city’s sky with small explosions being reported as the vehicles burned.
On Sunday, Trump took to his social media platform, Truth Social, and 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.”
Trump added that he directed the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, the Secretary of Defence, Pete Hegseth, and the Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to coordinate resources and to “take all such action necessary” to put an end to the “Migrant Invasion.”
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“Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,” Trump wrote.
The riots sprung up on Friday, June 6 following a number of raids conducted by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Home Depot and other locations across the city.
Over 100 people were arrested during the raids which prompted protestors to gather resulting in clashes with federal agents.
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Thousands hit the streets
Starting Friday, thousands of protesters flooded the streets of Los Angeles, with crowds largely concentrated in the downtown core. Many demonstrators were carrying Mexican national flags.
Police responded to the disorder with flashbang grenades and pepper balls.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnall said at a news conference on Sunday that the protests have been largely peaceful.
However, tensions ran high as demonstrators clashed with police, setting multiple vehicles — including police cruisers — on fire. Authorities were pelted with rocks, and widespread vandalism swept through the area.
As of Monday, June 9, there have been at least 56 arrests, NBC News reported.
The chaos prompted the Trump administration to move to deploy 2,000 members of the California National Guard to assist with managing the situation. In addition, around 500 Marines are reportedly prepared to move in to protect the area.
Trump issued the order on Saturday night, a move that was celebrated by a number of his administration.
As of Monday, 300 members of the California National Guard were working alongside Los Angeles Police officers to protect the city.
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Newsom sues
California governor, Gavin Newsom, condemned the deployment of troops and has sued the Trump administration for deploying troops.
The last time National Guard troops were deployed to a U.S. city was in 1965, when then-president Lyndon B. Johnson, deployed troops to protect a civil rights march in Selma, Alabama.
The lawsuit was filed on June 9 by California Attorney General Rob Bonta who accuses the Trump administration of “unlawfully” federalizing the state’s National Guard and for infringing on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s authority as commander-in-chief of the state’s military reserve force.
Newsom accused Trump of manufacturing “a crisis” and “inflaming conditions.” The city’s mayor, Karen Bass, also criticised Trump’s move, calling it a “chaotic escalation” and added that she believes Trump is intentionally “provoking” chaos.
“Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach,” Bonta said. “It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”
Prior to this, Trump said that he would support his border czar arresting Newsom over possible obstructions to ICE actions in the state amid the unrest.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, Trump met with military leaders and top Cabinet officials at Camp David.
Speaking to reporters on Sunday, Trump said, “We’re going up to Camp David; we have meetings with various people about very major subjects.”
“We’ll be meeting with a lot of people, including generals, as you know, and admirals,” the president said.
