There were demonstrations in some two dozen cities yesterday against the Trump administration’s response to unrest in Los Angeles.
The new protests were orderly with significant exceptions.
Several vandalism suspects were arrested on the fringes of a demonstration yesterday in San Francisco, where 150 people were arrested on Sunday evening as radical protesters threw eggs, bottles and metal barricades at city police in riot gear on Sansome Street in the downtown area. At least two officers were injured and several public transportation vehicles were damaged. A Chase bank branch window was smashed.
Amid the clash, some protesters tried to de-escalate while others clearly reveled in the fight.
Yesterday in Santa Ana, a city about 30 miles southeast of downtown Los Angeles, protesters threw rocks, bottles and fireworks at federal agents, who responded with teargas, pepper balls and rubber bullets.
In downtown Dallas yesterday, a 400-strong demonstration descended into brief skirmishes with police.
In Austin, Texas yesterday, hundreds of demonstrators marched to the state Capitol building before a clash erupted in which police used tear gas and pepper spray to disperse participants.
There were peaceful demonstrations yesterday in cities including New York, Boston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Minneapolis, Seattle, Las Vegas, Santa Fe, New Mexico and Tampa, Florida.
Los Angeles was calmer yesterday, with police arresting some protesters in the downtown area and dispersing others in the nearby Little Tokyo neighborhood with teargas and flash-bang grenades.
At least 150 people have been arrested in Los Angeles since Friday.
The unrest began when protesters in Paramount, 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, blocked vehicles and otherwise attempted to interfere with an apparent illegal migrant arrest operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers.
Protests spread on Saturday to the Federal Building and Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA, leading to violence there.
On Sunday, California Highway Patrol officers fired flash-bang grenades as they pushed hundreds of protesters off Highway 101 in the downtown area. Later in the day, troublemakers threw objects onto CHP vehicles from highway overpasses in the area.
Enflaming the protests, President Donald Trump on Saturday used an obscure federal law to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Trump subsequently doubled the deployment of the National Guard, which largely has stayed out of confrontations with protesters.
Some 700 active-duty US Marines have been ordered by Trump to deploy in Los Angeles today to protect federal buildings and ICE and other federal personnel.
It is important to note that most of Los Angeles County has not been affected at all by the unrest.
It also should be noted that protests in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities have focused on federal buildings.
Personnel throughout the US should monitor developments and avoid protest areas.
