Tensions rise in Los Angeles as police declare 'unlawful' assembly

Tensions mounted in Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon as police clashed with protesters on a freeway and declared another protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center “unlawful.”

Dozens of protesters were arrested throughout the day. About 300 National Guard members were deployed in the city, after President Trump made the extraordinary decision to send members of the military to counter what he called “insurrectionist mobs.”

The protesters, responding to the Trump administration’s immigration raids in the city, blocked the 101 freeway starting at about 3:30 p.m. in Los Angeles. Police officers, firing tear gas canisters and other projectiles into the crowds, managed to clear the highway by 5 p.m. Hundreds of people continued to line the surrounding streets. 

Shortly after 3 p.m., the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) announced that a separate pocket of protesters outside the city’s prison in Alameda was illegal and that arrests were underway. 

“An UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY has been declared for the area of Alameda between 2nd St and Aliso St. A DISPERSAL ORDER has been issued. Arrests are being made,” the LAPD wrote on the social platform X.

CNN reported that police officers were seen striking and pushing protesters and deploying flash-bangs and tear gas into the crowd.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D), who slammed Trump’s decision to send the National Guard into the city, issued a warning to protesters who did not remain peaceful. 

“We will always protect the constitutional right for Angelenos to peacefully protest. However, violence, destruction and vandalism will not be tolerated in our City and those responsible will be held fully accountable,” she wrote on X. 

She later said the chaos on Sunday was “provoked by the administration.”

Dan Bongino, the deputy FBI director, also issued a warning as tensions mounted through the afternoon. 

“If you choose violence tonight, this message is for you. We will be investigating and pursuing all available leads for assault on a federal officer, in addition to the many arrests already made,” he wrote on X. 

All 23 Democratic governors issued a statement Sunday afternoon slamming Trump’s decision to federalize California’s National Guard, using a law that hasn’t been used in decades, arguing it was both unnecessary and escalatory. 

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) office sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday asking him to rescind the order deploying armed forces into the city. 

Trump spoke briefly to reporters before boarding Air Force One en route to Camp David on Sunday afternoon. He said he would meet military leaders at the presidential retreat but did not say what they were meeting about. 

Asked by reporters whether he would invoke the Insurrection Act, which expands the president’s powers during a national security crisis, Trump suggested the protests were not yet an “insurrection.” 

However, soon after that, he described the protesters as an “insurrectionist mob” in a post on Truth Social. 

“I am directing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi, in coordination with all other relevant Departments and Agencies, to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots,” Trump wrote. 

“Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free.”