A whole lot of California Nationwide Guard troops converged on Los Angeles on Sunday after President Donald Trump deployed them to assist deal with violent clashes which have erupted between demonstrators and authorities over immigration enforcement operations there.
The Nationwide Guard troops started arriving in Los Angeles early Sunday morning as town braced for violence to proceed over raids the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) performed within the second-largest metropolis within the nation on Friday.
“We’re not intimidated or apprehensive,” FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino mentioned on Sunday morning in a post on X. “Unlawful immigration operations will proceed, and anybody utilizing violence to impede or impede these operations might be investigated and prosecuted.”
President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Saturday authorizing the deployment of “2,000 Nationwide Guardsmen to deal with the lawlessness” in Los Angeles stemming from protests over the ICE operations.
Members of the California Nationwide Guard arrive in Los Angeles, June 8, 2025.
KNN
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s workplace instructed ABC Information on Sunday that about 300 Nationwide Guard troops are on the bottom in Los Angeles, far fewer than the two,000 troops the Trump administration mentioned had been activated.
The U.S. Northern Command confirmed on Sunday that Nationwide Guard troops are on the bottom in Los Angeles, posting on X that the California Nationwide Guard 79th Infantry Brigade Fight Workforce (IBCT) “has deployed roughly 300 troopers to three separate areas within the higher Los Angeles space.”
“They’re conducting security and safety of federal property & personnel,” the publish added.
A person waves a Mexican flag as smoke rises from a burning automobile throughout a standoff by protesters and regulation enforcement, following a number of detentions by ICE within the Los Angeles County metropolis of Paramount, Calif. June 7, 2025.
Barbara Davidson/Reuters
Secretary of Protection Pete Hegseth on Saturday threatened to ship in energetic responsibility Marines to deal with what he described in a post on X as a “big nationwide safety danger.”
The Los Angeles Police Division mentioned eleven folks had been arrested throughout protests on Saturday. A minimum of 22 demonstrators had been arrested in New York Metropolis throughout protests exterior the Manhattan federal courthouse, based on the New York Police Division.
A automobile burns in flames following a number of detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement within the Los Angeles County metropolis of Paramount, Calif., June 7, 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
Home Speaker Mike Johnson mentioned he’s “not involved in any respect” over President Donald Trump’s order to ship 2,000 Nationwide Guard troops to answer immigration protests in Los Angeles.
“I feel the president did precisely what he wanted to do,” Johnson told ABC News’ “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl on Sunday. “That’s actual management and he has the authority and the accountability to do it.”
ICE brokers rounded up greater than 40 folks throughout Los Angeles who allegedly violated immigration legal guidelines, federal authorities mentioned. As phrase of the raids filtered into the neighborhood, protesters gathered exterior a federal detention heart in downtown Los Angeles, demanding their launch. Police declared an illegal meeting, warning protesters they risked being arrested in the event that they remained within the space.
Officers in riot gear, based on witnesses, tossed tear gasoline canisters to disperse the gang. The LAPD mentioned a “small group of violent people” responded by throwing massive items of concrete at police.
Violence continued at a protest on Saturday that was centered within the metropolis of Paramount in Los Angeles County, following false studies of an immigration raid occurring at that location.
The protest got here after federal brokers on Friday raided a number of workplaces within the Los Angeles vogue district and different areas, based on the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, resulting in a number of folks, together with kids, being detained by ICE brokers on the Edward Roybal Federal Constructing in downtown Los Angeles, the ACLU mentioned.
Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons mentioned throughout a information convention that ICE brokers had been staging in her metropolis on Saturday, not conducting a raid, when violence broke out.
In the course of the clashes between protesters and police, a number of folks had been seen looting a gasoline station retailer in Paramount.
Violence over the ICE exercise additionally unfold to Compton on Saturday, the place extra protesters gathered and a automobile burst into flames on a road. The fireplace division put the blaze out. It was unclear how the hearth began.
“I feel the president did precisely what he wanted to do,” Home Speaker Mike Johnson instructed ABC Information’ “This Week” on Sunday, referring to Trump’s deployment of the Nationwide Guard to Los Angeles. “That’s actual management and he has the authority and the accountability to do it.”
In a press release, White Home press secretary Karoline Leavitt defended Trump’s determination to deploy the Nationwide Guard, saying, “Within the wake of this violence, California’s feckless Democrat leaders have fully abdicated their accountability to guard their residents.”
A protester holds a placard as they collect across the Los Angeles Federal Constructing following a number of detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in downtown Los Angeles, June 6, 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
Movies of the protests on Saturday confirmed Border Patrol brokers posted up with many protesters throughout the road, yelling at them. Footage seems to indicate some smoke projectiles being deployed as properly.
In a press release on social media, United States Border Patrol Chief Michael Banks mentioned a number of arrests had been made Saturday for alleged assaults on federal brokers.
On Saturday, Gov. Newsom mentioned the federal authorities was shifting to “take over the California Nationwide Guard,” calling the transfer “purposefully inflammatory” and saying it is going to “solely escalate tensions.”
Federal brokers hearth flash-bang smoke grenades at protestors close to a House Depot after a raid was performed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Paramount, Calif., June 7, 2025.
Allison Dinner/EPA-EFE/Shuttersterstock
Newsom mentioned native California authorities do not want the assistance.
“LA authorities are capable of entry regulation enforcement help at a second’s discover,” Newsom mentioned in a publish on X. “We’re in shut coordination with town and county, and there’s presently no unmet want.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Division mentioned its personnel responded to Paramount Boulevard in Paramount on Saturday on account of a big crowd blocking the road.
“As deputies arrived, it appeared that federal regulation enforcement officers had been within the space, and that members of the general public had been gathering to protest. The Sheriff’s Division was not concerned in any federal regulation enforcement operations or actions and responded solely for visitors and crowd management administration,” the sheriff’s division mentioned in a press release Saturday.
Smoke fills the road as protesters confront Border Patrol personnel throughout an illustration within the Paramount part of Los Angeles, June 7, 2025.
Eric Thayer/AP
FBI Deputy Director Bongino mentioned authorities had been searching for to establish individuals who threw rocks at regulation enforcement autos.
U.S. Legal professional Invoice Essayli mentioned federal regulation enforcement operations would proceed as deliberate in Los Angeles County this weekend.
“I urge the general public to chorus from interfering with these lawful actions. Anybody who obstructs federal brokers will face arrest and prosecution,” he mentioned.
Police detains a protester blocking the storage entrance of the Los Angeles Federal Constructing following a number of detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in downtown Los Angeles, June 6, 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
The LA County Sheriff’s Division mentioned its personnel responded to Paramount Boulevard Saturday, the place a big crowd was blocking the road.
“As deputies arrived, it appeared that federal regulation enforcement officers had been within the space, and that members of the general public had been gathering to protest. The Sheriff’s Division was not concerned in any federal regulation enforcement operations or actions and responded solely for visitors and crowd management administration,” the sheriff’s division mentioned in a press release Saturday.
Border Patrol personnel deploy tear gasoline throughout an illustration over the handfuls detained in an operation by federal immigration authorities a day earlier in Paramount part of Los Angeles, June 7, 2025.
Eric Thayer/AP
The sheriff’s division mentioned it doesn’t take part in any civil immigration enforcement actions or mass deportation sweeps.
We remind the general public to train their proper to protest peacefully, with respect for the security of all neighborhood members. Our main accountability is to make sure public security for all people current—each demonstrators, residents, and bystanders—by addressing potential security issues whereas supporting the protected and lawful expression of First Modification rights,” the sheriff’s division mentioned.
Native, federal officers level fingers
A police officer makes use of stun grenades as they method the protesters gathered across the Los Angeles Federal Constructing following a number of detentions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in downtown Los Angeles, June 6, 2025.
Daniel Cole/Reuters
The response to the 2 days of protests has native and federal officers pointing fingers.
In a press release Saturday, ICE Appearing Director Todd Lyons faulted native officers, together with LA Mayor Karen Bass, and police for his or her response to the scenario on Friday night.
“What occurred in Los Angeles yesterday was appalling,” Lyons mentioned. “As rioters attacked federal ICE and regulation enforcement officers on the LA streets, Mayor Bass took the facet of chaos and lawlessness over regulation enforcement.”
Lyons’ assertion went on to say: “Our courageous officers had been vastly outnumbered, as over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal constructing. It took over two hours for the Los Angeles Police Division to reply, regardless of being referred to as a number of occasions. The courageous women and men of ICE had been in Los Angeles arresting prison unlawful aliens together with gang members, drug traffickers and people with a historical past of assault, cruelty to kids, home violence, theft, and smuggling.
The LAPD issued a press release afterward Saturday denying the ICE director’s claims, saying its response was delayed, partly, as a result of federal authorities had deployed chemical irritants into the gang of protesters.
“Opposite to the declare that LAPD delayed its response for over two hours, our personnel mobilized and acted as swiftly as circumstances safely allowed,” the assertion mentioned. “Our response time was impacted by important visitors congestion, the presence of demonstrators, and, notably, by the truth that federal brokers had deployed irritants into the gang previous to LAPD’s arrival. This created a hazardous atmosphere for responding officers. Inside 55 minutes of receiving the decision, we started to disperse the hostile and riotous crowd.”
Massive crowds first started gathering close to the federal detention heart in Downtown LA Friday afternoon, protesting the immigration raids and resulting in some reported clashes with authorities. Some protesters may very well be seen throwing objects at autos, and others tried to dam vans from leaving on Friday, KABC reported.
Shortly after 7 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Division declared an illegal meeting, warning protesters they risked being arrested in the event that they remained within the space. LAPD officers had been seen lining the streets close to the federal constructing, KABC reported.
The LAPD mentioned in a social media publish late Friday that officers had reported a “small group of violent people” throwing massive items of concrete.
“As soon as once more, an UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared. It’s essential to go away the realm. The usage of much less deadly munitions has been approved by the Incident Commander,” the LAPD mentioned within the publish.
Individuals react as a Division of Homeland Safety officer shoots pepper balls throughout a protest on the U.S. Division of Justice Federal Bureau of Prisons after federal immigration authorities performed an operation, on June 6, 2025, in Los Angeles.
Jae C. Hong/AP
Bass has condemned the ICE operations in her metropolis.
“As Mayor of a proud metropolis of immigrants, who contribute to our metropolis in so some ways, I’m deeply angered by what has taken place. These techniques sow terror in our communities and disrupt fundamental rules of security in our metropolis. My Workplace is in shut coordination with immigrant rights neighborhood organizations. We won’t stand for this,” Bass mentioned.
Bass instructed ABC Los Angeles station KABC that neither she nor the Los Angeles Police Division was conscious that the ICE raids had been going to occur.
On Saturday, protests within the metropolis of LA itself remained peaceable and ended with out incident, the LAPD mentioned in a press release.
In a press release posted to social media later Saturday, Bass mentioned many within the metropolis are feeling concern following the immigration enforcement operations, however she additionally decried violence.
“Reviews of unrest exterior town, together with in Paramount, are deeply regarding. We’ve been in direct contact with officers in Washington, D.C., and are working intently with regulation enforcement to seek out one of the best path ahead. Everybody has the correct to peacefully protest, however let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and people accountable might be held accountable.”
-ABC Information’ Luis Martinez, Michelle Stoddart, Luke Barr and Vanessa Navarrete contributed to this report.
