An ugly night of vandalism, robbery and conflict in downtown Los Angeles struggled to get an upside after three days of scattered anxiety surrounding the immigrant raid.
Some businesses were destroyed and robbed downtown overnight, Waymo’s cars burned, police cruisers smashed over rocks, electric scooters and various forms of Downtown and Civic Center. Most of the issues came within a few blocks, but they attracted attention from around the world after President Trump deployed the National Guard to LA following a clash between immigration agents and protesters.
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Trump threatened to bring in “armies” to alleviate his anxiety, but it is unclear what this will look like.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Sunday violence in the city only escalated as protesters clashed with officers outside a federal jail in downtown L.A. on Friday. He described the violence as “unpleasant.”
“In the past few nights, we’ve seen the level of disliked all the good guys in this city,” he said.
So far, the National Guard forces have mostly protected federal buildings.
McDonnell lost when asked if the city needed National Guard troops.
“Do we need them? Well, looking tonight, this has gone out of control,” he said. Still, McDonnell said they need to know more about how the military can help maintain order before deciding whether their presence is necessary.
Protesters close 101 highway when clashing with law enforcement
(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)
He spoke with Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna Sunday and talked about the possibility of implementing a curfew, but they decided it wasn’t necessary. The chief said he spoke to district attorney Nathan Hochman. Nathan Hochman has pledged to indict people who attacked officers and injured their property.
Mayor Karen Bass Sunday denounced the obstacles, but put Trump blame.
“If people become violent, if people break the law, they’ll be arrested and held liable,” she said. “It’s just as easy.”
Bass called Los Angeles a “city of immigration,” pushing back federal claims that immigration officers targeted criminals and violent individuals during recent raids in workplaces and at Home Depot parking lots.
“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is the chaos caused by the administration,” Bass said. “When you attack Home Depot and workplaces, you tear your parents and children apart, and you run an armored caravan down our streets, it creates fear and panic.”
Sen. Alex Padilla blasted the Trump administration, sent the troops and cracking down on immigrant communities would distract him from what he called a “devastating” Congressional bill, encouraging him to continue his peaceful protest.
“Donald Trump wants everyone to sit quietly to bring cruelty to every corner of America and violate the law,” he said.
“What he’s doing is the classic Donald Trump. He’s trying to distract him and distract him,” he said. “They have this catastrophic bill that cuts down healthcare for so many Americans, raises the costs of working families, and takes on billionaires tax credits. Trump doesn’t want people to talk about it, so he’s back to immigrants who try to demonise immigrants and slap his chest to be a tough guy.”
Padilla used the situation to condemn some of the violence against the agitators, but he called on the National Guard to pullback, saying they were neither immigrant advocates nor organizers.
“Let local law enforcement do the job,” he said.
Governor Eleni Kounalakis added: “What Trump is doing seems to be intentionally escalating this. There’s no reason to send the National Guard except to show a bend in strength,” Kounalakis said Sunday evening. “Usually, that’s one way things start to escalate, so my conclusion is not because he needed him, but because he wanted to have the opportunity to protest to demonstrate his strength and ruthlessness.”
Earlier in the day, Kounalakis told CNN he hopes California leaders will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday over the federalization and deployment of the federal government in Los Angeles. She declined to comment further on the potential lawsuit during the interview.
But while underlining that burning cars and other obscure protests are not appropriate, she said local law enforcement has the ability to address such issues given the scale of what happened in Los Angeles this weekend.
Protesters clash with law enforcement in downtown Los Angeles
(Jason Armand/Los Angeles Times)
“It was under control,” Kunarakis said. “There was no need to bring in the National Guard… That seems to be true. [Trump] You are about to escalate a conflict. ”
However, other local officials said they were plagued by violence and that it had to stop.
“Let’s be absolutely clear. The violent acts we see – officers, CHP cars, rocks thrown into Waymo vehicles due to arson on the 101 highway – have nothing to do with immigration, justice, or community values.” “These are not protesters, they are not agitators. Their actions are reckless and dangerous, and they play exactly what Trump wants. When our emergency services are already fading, these actions will alienate important police resources from real emergencies and put their lives at risk.
Sunday was full of dramatic images of downtown.
Protesters gathered in the Civic Center area in downtown LA on Sunday morning and spilled onto the 101 highway around 3:30pm. The road was then stuck for several hours as California Highway Patrol officials worked to push the protesters back, and in the process they locked up some.
Then, around 5pm, a group of demonstrators lined up at five Waymo Taxis lined up on Los Angeles Avenue between Arcadia and Alameda Avenues.
Tires were cut, windows were destroyed, anti-ice messages were spray-painted on self-driving taxis, three of which were on fire.
Protesters flocked around the vehicle, tore the doors and stomped the windshield. One man with a mask on his face slashed a car window with a skateboard. Another appeared to use a makeshift flamethrower to burn the interior of the car.
Some people threw lime electric scooters at burning shells when cars were consumed by flames, while others rose from the fiery scene. At one point, the besieged Waymos began to sing the horns with witted, coordinated dissonances over the heads of protesters’ chants and police helicopters.
Inside the crowd, 101 lobbed rocks and concrete blocks shattered concrete blocks towards the CHP, which had detained people who protested on the highway. He attacked the police cruiser with shud, yelling loud cheers. CHP officials responded by firing flash ban rounds over the crowd.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested at least 10 people on Sunday. For example, the police said it includes a man who allegedly plunged his motorcycle into a police line. Colonel Raul Jobel, who oversaw LAPD’s response to the recent immigration attack in Los Angeles County, said others were arrested Sunday on suspicion of stealing Molotov cocktails from officers.
Three LAPD officers were injured, but nothing serious enough to demand hospitalization, Jovel said at a press conference. LAPD arrested 29 more people on Saturday on suspicion of not paying attention to the dispersed order, Jovel said.
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