Los Angeles is preparing for more protests after days of demonstrations over the Trump administration's immigration raids and deportation efforts.
President Trump made the extraordinary decision Sunday to deploy roughly 2,000 National Guard troops to the city, describing the demonstrations as "violent, insurrectionist mobs." This move by Trump caused tensions to escalate. (The last time a president sent National Guard troops against the state's governor's wishes was in 1965.)
At one point Sunday, protesters blocked the 101 freeway in Los Angeles and set self-driving cars on fire. Police clashed with demonstrators, and dozens of protesters have been arrested. Law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bangs, The Associated Press reported.
📹 An Australian journalist was hit by a rubber bullet
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) bashed Trump's National Guard deployment as a "chaotic escalation."
From Bass: "When [Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you cause fear and panic," she added. "And deployment of federalized troops on the heels of raids is a chaotic escalation."
California plans to legally fight back: California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) told MSNBC that his state will sue the Trump administration over its National Guard deployment.
Trump's team is fully on board with a military response: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said over the weekend that he would send active-duty Marines to respond to the protests if the situation escalates.
Trump seems to agree. He posted shortly after midnight on his Truth Social account, "Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!"
💡 For context: It would be a big deal for the White House to deploy active-duty military to control U.S. protests. The Wall Street Journal notes that "when unrest erupted around the country in 2020, President Trump's then-Defense Secretary Mark Esper drew a line in the sand: active-duty military troops should rarely be deployed on American streets to quell protests."
📹 Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) was denied entry to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles Watch here
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