Unrest escalates in Los Angeles as protest enters fourth day
New Delhi, Jun 10: For a fourth straight day, the streets of Los Angeles have been engulfed in unrest as demonstrators clash with law enforcement over federal immigration raids and the Trump administration’s decision to double the deployment of National Guard troops across the country. The tensions are reverberating far beyond California, drawing condemnation from state leaders, igniting lawsuits, and prompting solidarity protests in cities across the U.S. and even across the border in Mexico reports CNN.
On Monday evening, downtown Los Angeles once again turned into a scene of confrontation. As protesters gathered to denounce recent ICE raids and the growing military presence in American cities, police in riot gear advanced through the crowds, issuing dispersal orders before deploying flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets, reports CNN.
Demonstrators, some of whom retaliated by throwing objects and setting off fireworks, were seen being detained by the dozens, zip-tied and loaded into LAPD buses, according to CNN crews on the ground. Among those caught up in the standoff was a CNN crew, escorted out of the protest zone by police.
President Donald Trump announced the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard members, doubling the number of federal troops initially sent to support immigration enforcement and crowd control. This comes alongside the activation of 700 Marines designated to safeguard federal assets.
The state of California has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the constitutionality of the National Guard deployment. According to the lawsuit, the Guard was not “properly federalised,” making the administration’s move an infringement on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s authority as commander-in-chief of the state’s National Guard. LA Mayor Karen Bass went further, saying, “Our city is being used for an experiment in federal control.”
In San Francisco, thousands rallied Monday evening against federal immigration enforcement, marching through the Civic Center and the Mission District. The event was largely peaceful, though police later reported that two groups broke off late at night, engaging in vandalism and defying police orders to disperse.
