Protesters were met with tear gas and rubber bullets in downtown Los Angeles yesterday as unrest targeting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity continued for a third day despite President Donald Trump’s controversial deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops.
Rocks and other objects were thrown at police, and at least five Waymo driverless taxis were set on fire.
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, there were reports of troublemakers throwing objects onto CHP vehicles from highway overpasses in the area.
The LAPD made at least 17 arrests and the CHP at least 10.
Indicating that the situation was not under control, the LAPD late yesterday declared downtown an unlawful assembly area and ordered protesters to go home.
Looting was reported in some neighborhoods late yesterday.
Freshly deployed National Guard personnel protected federal buildings, including some in the immediate vicinity of violent protesters.
Trump on Saturday used an obscure federal law to deploy the National Guard over objections from California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The unrest erupted on Friday when protesters in Paramount, 20 miles south of downtown Los Angeles, blocked vehicles and otherwise attempted to interfere with an operation by ICE officers.
Protests spread on Saturday to the Federal Building and Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA, leading to violence there.
It is important to note that most of Los Angeles County has not been affected at all by the unrest.
Personnel throughout the region should monitor developments closely and avoid protest areas.
