The curfew declared last week for parts of downtown Los Angeles has been lifted after crimes including looting and vandalism during ice attack protests were lifted last week, the city said Tuesday.
The overnight curfew first came into effect a week ago in parts of downtown Los Angeles, with almost peaceful daytime protests becoming violent as the night settled. The area included a federal building complex, including a federal detention center where protests were concentrated.
“Coupled with continued crime prevention efforts, the curfew has largely been successful in protecting shops, restaurants, businesses and residential communities from bad actors who don’t care about the immigrant community,” Mayor Karen Bass said. “I’m lifting up the curfew today, and as I continue to adapt quickly to the chaos coming from Washington, I’m ready to reissue curfews if necessary.
Curfew times were reduced to Monday as there were no reports of arrests in the area on Sunday. Arrests have steadily declined in the area since the first night of Tuesday’s curfew.
“The curfew was an effective tool to help prevent people trying to maintain public safety in downtown Los Angeles and promote peaceful protests against criminal activity,” said LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell. “LAPD will continue to closely monitor conditions to maintain a strong presence in the region, protect lives, maintain legitimate gathering rights and protect property.”
Since the protests began in early June, hundreds of arrests have been reported during the demonstrations related to violence.
LAPD reported a crash in which rocks, bottles, commercial-grade fireworks and other objects were thrown into officers as violence broke out at some of last week’s demonstrations. After reports of looting and vandalism on June 9, Los Angeles declared a limited curfew in the Downtown area.
The lifting of the curfew came on the same day prosecutors announced new charges in connection with the violence that erupted during the ice attack protest. Crimes included assault on the office, vandalism, looting and other crimes.
Local law enforcement is responding to anxiety. Federal estate and staff, revitalized by the Trump administration over local government objections, protect the area with about 700 active Marines assigned to the area.
The three judge panel heard debate Tuesday about whether the Trump administration should return the National Guard command to California.
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