The National Guard and police officers clashed with more than 1,000 demonstrators in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday as crowds shut down the 101 freeway and set cars in the street on fire after troops were sent by President Donald Trump to quell a series of protests against federal immigration raids.
Video on social media showed California National Guard troops with riot shields pushing protestors into the streets, as well as tear gas being deployed and less-than-lethal rounds exploding in the roadway.
By mid-afternoon, a massive crowd had assembled.
The Los Angeles Police Department went on Tactical Alert, declared an unlawful assembly in the area of Alameda Street between Second and Aliso streets and battled with more than 1,000 demonstrators who marched from Boyle Heights to the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building.
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But later Sunday night, shortly after 9 p.m., the LAPD declared an unlawful assembly in downtown L.A., ordering people to leave the area. Video showed at multiple dumpsters and other items set on fire in the middle of streets around downtown.
By midnight, activity had slowed significantly from earlier in the day, although there was still a significant police presence and scattered demonstrators around downtown.
At one point earlier Sunday, the 101 Freeway through downtown LA was completely shut down. With the influx of protesters near the Little Tokyo Metro A/E line Station, trains bypassed it and the LAPD asked that it be kept closed.
Arrests were reported as some protesters threw bottles and other objects at officers and attempted to breach police lines. Two people riding motorcycles were detained after they allegedly attempted to breach a skirmish line at the intersection of Alameda and Temple streets and injured two officers, according to the LAPD.
Video also showed protesters at one point surrounding a police vehicle that appeared to be trying to drive through the crowd, with at least one person throwing an object at the car.
LAPD officials said demonstrators halted vehicles on Main Street north of Arcadia Street in the downtown area and ignited cars. Three self-driving vehicles were believed to be burned, with explosions sounding as the cars were destroyed.
By 7:30 p.m., police declared an unlawful assembly for the entire Civic Center Area of downtown, and closed traffic on Spring Street between Temple and First streets, where demonstrators had used chairs from Grand Park and other objects to block the street.
Shortly after that, video from the scene showed California Highway Patrol vehicles pelted by rocks and debris, including a street sign, on the southbound side of the 101 Freeway. The vehicles appeared severely damaged by a crowd gathered on the overpass above, and at one point, one patrol car was briefly on fire. Motorists continued to drive on the northbound side of the freeway.
The LAPD, during a chief’s press conference Sunday night, said that there had been 10 arrests so far by their department related to the day’s protest. Another 17 people had been arrested on the freeway by the California Highway Patrol, they said.
Three LAPD officers had been injured, the LAPD said during the press conference, but they were treated at the scene and didn’t need to be taken to the hospital.
Trump late Saturday said he would deploy 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles — over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
“These radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED. Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why???” Trump posted on social media Saturday night.
A protester confronts a line of U.S. National Guard in the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
The Presidential Memorandum on the White House website states, in part, that “The members and units of the National Guard called into Federal service shall be at least 2,000 National Guard personnel and the duration of duty shall be for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.
“In addition, the Secretary of Defense may employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion.”
Newsom blasted the move in fundraising emails and on social media Sunday.
“Last night, President Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, using the excuse of protests against his immigration raids. Let me be totally clear about what is happening here. We have been working closely with law enforcement. There is no unmet need. The president is attempting to inflame passions and provoke a response,” Newsom wrote in an email.
“He would like nothing more than for this provocative show of force — and Pete Hegseth’s absurd threat to deploy United States Marines on American soil — to escalate tensions and incite violence,” he added.
Kamala Harris, the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee, also issued a statement on Sunday afternoon denouncing the National Guard deployment as a “dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos” and saying it was “part of the Trump administration’s cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.
“This Administration’s actions are not about public safety — they’re about stoking fear,” Harris wrote. “And as the LAPD, Mayor and Governor have noted, demonstrations in defense of our immigrant neighbors have been overwhelmingly peaceful.”
Republicans, however, saw it differently.
“Only one party supports this lawlessness, the same party that allowed millions of people to invade our borders,” the Los Angeles County Republican Party posted on X. “The only way to peace now is through enforcing the law, both state and federal, and anyone that hinders or opposes this will face the consequences.”
Troops arrived at the downtown Federal Building around 4 a.m. Sunday.
@TheCalGuard 79th IBCT has deployed approximately 300 soldiers to 3 separate locations in the greater Los Angeles area. They are conducting safety and protection of federal property & personnel,” the U.S. Northern Command posted at 9:07 a.m.
A standoff on the 101 Freeway at the Alameda exit in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday afternoon. (Photo by Scott Schwebke)
Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA’s fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on Sunday afternoon said people have a right to protest peacefully, but warned that those engaging in violence or break the law would face consequences, including possible arrest. She denounced actions such as taking over a freeway or throwing rocks and bottles as “not peaceful.”
A car burns in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday, June 8, 2025. (Photo by Scott Schwebke)
She added, “Protests and expressing your fears, your beliefs, is appropriate to do, but it is just not appropriate for there to be violence. And I don’t want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the (Trump) administration.”
She said she spoke to high-level officials in the Trump administration, including “border czar” Tom Holman, before the Guard was deployed, and “expressed to them that things were not out of control in the city of Los Angeles. Paramount has some issues, but I doubt very seriously that there’s a need for the National Guard there, either.”
In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, however, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has also threatened to deploy the U.S. military.
“If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said on X.
Trump’s order came after clashes in Paramount and neighboring Compton, where a car was set on fire. Protests continued into the evening in that area, with several hundred demonstrators gathered near a doughnut shop, and authorities holding up barbed wire to keep the crowd back.
Crowds also gathered again on Saturday outside federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles, including a detention center, where local police declared an unlawful assembly and began to arrest people.
The Homeland Security Department on Sunday identified six of the people who were detained in raids Friday and Saturday:
Jose Cristobal Hernandez-Buitron, 43, a citizen of Peru who allegedly has a criminal history that includes a conviction for robbery that resulted in a 10-year sentence.
Chrissahdah Tooy, 48, a citizen of Indonesia, who allegedly has convictions for narcotics, driving under the influence and illegal entry.
Jordan Mauricio Meza-Esquibel, 32, a citizen of Honduras, who allegedly has arrests for distribution of heroin and cocaine and domestic violence.
Francisco Sanchez-Arguello, 38, a citizen of Mexico, who allegedly has arrests for grand theft larceny and possession of a prohibited weapon.
Cuong Chanh Phan, 49, a citizen of Vietnam, who allegedly has a conviction for second-degree murder for which he was sentenced to 15 years to life.
Rolando Veneracion-Enriquez, 55, a citizen of the Philippines, who allegedly has convictions for theft, assault, burglary and rape.
Anti-ICE protests also took place in Long Beach and Pasadena on Sunday.
On Sunday afternoon, a growing march of about 150 people along Colorado Boulevard in Pasadena was accompanied by the din of supportive honks.
Marchers wielded handmade signs demanding “ICE out of Dena.” Marchers said some local hotels in the city were housing ICE agents during the duration of the federal operation.
“It is shameful,” said Hector Agredano, as he exhorted supporters at the corner of Madison Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. “It is humiliating. We are not going to stand for this. Get out of L.A. Get out of town.”
One marcher, who only gave his name as Peter, said his nearby home was destroyed by the Eaton fire. In the aftermath, immigrant laborers helped him and his neighborhood recover and clean up.
“These people are our neighbors,” he said. “They help each other out.”
Said another marcher, who gave their name as Caro: “It’s supposed to be a sanctuary city. Where’s the mayor? Why isn’t he here?”
The scene became defiantly festive as banda musicians played loudly and people danced, still holding their protest signs.
A candlelight vigil at LA City Hall planned for Sunday evening, with interfaith leaders to call for an “end to the violence of immigration raids, and the protection of immigrant families in LA County” was canceled. Organizers said the decision to postpone the event was made out of an “abundance of caution.”
This is a developing story. Please watch for updates.
Staff Writers Ryan Carter, Linh Tat and Mona Darwish, the Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this report.