LOS ANGELES, California. Mayor Karen Bass imposed a curfew in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, declaring a local emergency after nighttime violence and looting that targeted at least 23 businesses.
The curfew, running from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday covers a one-square-mile section of downtown Los Angeles, an area where protests have been ongoing since Friday. It exempts residents, people who are homeless, credentialed media, and public safety and emergency officials, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.
“We reached a tipping point,” Bass said during a news conference. “This is to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting.”
McDonnell described escalating “unlawful and dangerous behavior” over the weekend, adding that the curfew is essential to protect lives and property.
Meanwhile, National Guard troops began protecting immigration agents conducting arrests in Los Angeles, expanding their duties from solely guarding federal property. Photos released by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement show National Guard troops stationed alongside federal officers. ICE said the troops are also assisting with transportation and can temporarily detain attackers, although any arrests must be carried out by law enforcement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has challenged President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard and Marines in immigration enforcement. Newsom’s emergency court filing argues the move risks inflaming tensions. A judge has scheduled a hearing for Thursday.
Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith told lawmakers the Marines have not been called to respond to the protests directly but are stationed to protect federal officials and property. The Marines have no arrest authority and have not been seen on the streets.
President Trump said he may invoke the Insurrection Act, one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a U.S. president, if the situation worsens. “If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it,” Trump said from the Oval Office. He also referred to protesters as “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a later speech.
Protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Demonstrators blocked freeways and set vehicles ablaze over the weekend, prompting police to use tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades. Protests have since become more peaceful, with thousands rallying at City Hall and outside a federal complex that houses a detention center.
However, incidents of looting and vandalism continued, with businesses in the Los Angeles Jewelry District targeted by opportunists. At least 100 arrests have been made, mostly for failure to disperse, with some facing charges for assault with a deadly weapon and looting.
In nearby Santa Ana, armored National Guard vehicles have blocked access to federal immigration offices, while Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested on Tuesday that troop deployments inside the United States could expand further under Trump’s policies.
Mayor Bass and Gov. Newsom have accused Trump of creating a “manufactured crisis” and warned that deploying the military without coordination undermines public safety. Los Angeles Police Chief McDonnell expressed confidence that the department could manage the protests without the additional military presence.
Demonstrations have spread to other cities nationwide, including San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City. The Pentagon says the troop deployment is costing $134 million. Meanwhile, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to halt the deployment.
Trump, for his part, claimed the city would have been “completely obliterated” without his decision to deploy the National Guard. This deployment marks the first time in decades that the federal government has activated a state’s National Guard without the request of its governor.
Edgaroo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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