The president could activate the Insurrection Act, allowing the deployment of federal troops to the city.
Riots in Los Angeles over ICE arrests of criminal aliens have continued as tensions escalate and state authorities push back against President Donald Trump’s crackdown in the sanctuary city that involved deploying 2,000 National Guard troops, with more on standby.
Many people have already been arrested in connection with crimes committed during the riots, which have largely been centered in a few blocks of downtown Los Angeles.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom and local authorities side against the administration’s immigration enforcement, the issue threatens a showdown over state versus federal authority.
Here’s what to know about the unfolding events in America’s second-largest city.
Protests, Riots
The protests and riots began on Friday after ICE agents arrested dozens of illegal immigrant criminals in the longtime sanctuary city.
Those arrests came as part of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration criminals across the United States.
On Saturday, the protests escalated, leading police to begin using tear gas and flashbang grenades to disperse protests that had been declared illegal or riotous. The same day, Trump ordered the National Guard to deploy to the city.
Several protestors waved Mexican flags.
Looting has been reported in the Compton neighborhood amid the chaos.
Sunday, the third day of protests against the administration, members of the National Guard faced off with demonstrators, leading to tear gas being fired at a growing crowd near a federal complex in the city, according to video footage.
The confrontation broke out in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles as a group shouted insults at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.
As the sun set over the city Sunday evening, riots continued. Near downtown, at least four Waymo self-driving cars were set on fire, and flashbang crowd control grenades were deployed throughout the evening.
Guardsmen Deployed, Marines on Standby
On Saturday, Trump expressed frustration with Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and indicated that National Guardsmen would step in if the two refused to act.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “If [Newsom] and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
The same day, he announced that he was deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to quell the protests, marking the first time since 1965 that a president has activated a state’s guardsmen without a request from the governor.
By Joseph Lord
