LA Under Second Night of Curfew as Trump Crackdown Expands
Protests over immigration raids that began in Los Angeles continued to spread across the US as President Donald Trump escalated his crackdown by unleashing new federal powers.
Los Angeles remained the epicenter of the demonstrations, which have triggered roughly 600 arrests since the weekend and led to clashes with law enforcement. The downtown area at the forefront of tensions is under a curfew for the second night as Mayor Karen Bass tries to stop acts of vandalism and looting.
With the curfew in place Tuesday, protests and disorder were muted compared with previous evenings. Yet tensions remain high as the city is gripped by the divide between local and federal powers. California Governor Gavin Newsom used a national address to slam Trump for activating 700 active-duty Marines and authorizing the deployment of up to 4,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles.
“Democracy is under assault right before our eyes,” Newsom said. “This moment we have feared has arrived.”
Workers clean up in downtown Los Angeles on June 11.
The federal government has further expanded its show of force. The National Guard in Los Angeles will support immigration arrests made by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on city streets. On Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi said the administration is invoking the Hobbs Act to allow federal prosecutors to take over criminal cases that would typically be handled by California authorities.
The White House has defended the actions as necessary to support what they describe as overwhelmed immigration agents and to maintain order.
“If you loot the store, we are going to charge you with robbery under the Hobbs Act, and you’re looking at maximum 20 years in prison,” Bondi said.
Demonstrations have spread to cities including New York, Chicago and Milwaukee, with protesters clashing with police and local officials, including Newsom, warning about the potential for broader unrest ahead.
Bass has repeatedly criticized the lack of communication from federal authorities and said local law enforcement, including the Los Angeles Police Department and a unified command of other agencies, has handled virtually all crowd control and arrests. She warned that further militarization could inflame the situation.
In a joint statement, Democratic attorneys general from 18 states including New York and Illinois said the deployment was “unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic” because it was done without California’s consent.
According to local officials, ICE operations in Los Angeles are expected to continue daily for at least a month. Raids have targeted communities and job sites ranging from the city’s Fashion District to Home Depot parking lots frequented by day laborers.
“The Trump administration’s chaotic escalation here in Los Angeles is reckless,” Bass said on Wednesday. “When you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you deploy troops to our streets, you’re not trying to keep anyone safe — you’re trying to cause fear and panic. These raids must stop.”
The back and forth between Newsom and Trump also continued over social media.
Trump, who has leaned into the chaos politically, claimed credit for preventing Los Angeles from “burning to the ground.”
“If our troops didn’t go into Los Angeles, it would be burning to the ground right now,” he wrote on Truth Social. “The great people of Los Angeles are very lucky that I made the decision to go in and help!!!”
Newsom has engaged in a flurry of attacks against the president, with his office weaving in memes that are gaining traction on social media. In two of the latest posts, the governor’s office used an apparently AI-generated voice resembling the Star Wars villain Emperor Palpatine to read out Trump’s recent statements against the backdrop of Imperial stormtroopers from the movie series.
Source : Bloomberg
