‘Mass arrests’ after curfew issued for city’s downtown area
Welcome to the Guardian’s continued coverage of the protests in Los Angeles. If you are just tuning in, here is a handy summary to bring you up to speed.
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The LAPD says it has made ‘mass arrests’ in downtown LA after the Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for the city’s downtown area following several days of intense protests against Ice raids. The protests have been marked by clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, widespread vandalism and some looting. The curfew began at 8pm local time on Tuesday and will last until 6am local time on Wednesday. It will apply to a one-square-mile area in downtown.
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California governor Gavin Newsom delivered a searing rebuke of the Trump administration on Tuesday evening, accusing the government of “pulling a military dragnet” across LA and warning democracy is “under assault before our eyes”. The Democratic governor’s remarks come after Trump ordered the deployment of nearly 5,000 troops, including National Guard and Marines, to the nation’s second-largest city.
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Protests against the Trump administration’s newly intensified immigration raids, centred on Los Angeles, spread across the country on Tuesday, with demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Omaha and Seattle. Thousands attended a protest against the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in New York City’s Foley Square.
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A federal district court judge declined California’s request to issue an immediate temporary restraining order that would bar Marines and National Guard troops dispatched to Los Angeles from doing anything other than guarding federal buildings. The judge instead scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the state’s request for a restraining order.
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Trump delivered a deeply partisan, political speech to the avowedly non-partisan US army at Fort Bragg, where he called Los Angeles “a trash heap”, repeated baseless conspiracy theories and announced he was not yet done changing the names of military bases back to honour confederates. Trump said he would “liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean, and safe again”.
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Trump denied accusing California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, of paying agitators to turn the protests in the city violent. Video footage from his speech at Fort Bragg just hours earlier, shows him clearly making the accusation.
Key events
Trump takes early-morning dig at Newsom
President Donald Trump is awake, and has already taken shots at California Governor Gavin Newsom.
“The INCOMPETENT Governor of California was unable to provide protection in a timely manner when our Ice Officers, GREAT Patriots they are, were attacked by an out of control mob of agitators, troublemakers, and/or insurrectionists. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” Trump wrote Wednesday morning on a post on his Truth Social social media platformg
Judith Levine
My colleague, Judith Levine, has written a comment piece about Trump’s decision to deploy US troops to LA, arguing that his actions amount to “soft authoritarianism”.
On Monday, the Pentagon sent 700 active-duty marines to Los Angeles and doubled the number of national guard troops deployed there to 4,000, to quell protests Donald Trump said on Sunday were already “under control”, “still simmering … but not very much”.
The same day, the US president used the word “insurrectionists” to describe demonstrators against the unprecedentedly large and fierce immigration deportation raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) that started on Friday in that city. The remark echoed his long-held desire to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which would authorize him to send the military anywhere in the country to put down dissent.
Read the full piece here…
Here’s an explainer of the LA protests…
Democratic senator Bernie Sanders has excoriated President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy military personnel in LA.
In a video post on social media platform X, Sanders argued that Trump’s actions were not made due to any concerns about immigration, but represent nothing more than a lurch for more power.
“What’s going on is all about Trump’s never-ending desire for more and more power,” Sanders said. “Calling out the National Guard is the responsibility of the governor of the state, not the President of the United States, and what Trump is doing is simply trying to put more and more power into his own hands in terms of the military.”
Sanders went on to call for people to come together and stand against authoritarianism and for democracy.
There are three hours left of the curfew in Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has called on businesses to report damages to property.
The LAPD earlier said mass arrests have been made. The curfew will lift at 6am local time.
Curfew is in effect until 6 am.
Businesses and residents are requested to document all damage and vandalism to properties. Complete a police report on line at https://t.co/mfC8vj5Qil.
To report anonymously report at LACRIMESTOPPERS.
— LAPD Central Division (@LAPDCentral) June 11, 2025
Texas govenor announces deployment of National Guard
Governor Greg Abbott has pledged to deploy National Guard troops across his state of Texas, becoming the first governor to do so as protests against Trump’s immigration raids spread throughout the United States.
Abbott said on X that the Texas National Guard will “use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order”.
“Peaceful protest is legal,” he added. “Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.”
On Monday night, protesters were arrested in Austin outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Abbott said.
Texas National Guard will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order.
Peaceful protest is legal.
Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.@TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order. https://t.co/rS8b5zgE3T
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) June 11, 2025
Anna Betts
My colleague Anna Betts has written a piece about the journalists condemning the behaviour of authorities during the LA protests.
Many journalists say they have been attacked by police while covering the demonstrations over the last few days, and have called for press freedom to be respected.
On Sunday, Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi from Nine News was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet while reporting live from the protests.
In a statement, Nine News said Tomasi was “struck by a rubber bullet” and said that she and her camera operator “are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events”.
“This incident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests, underscoring the importance of their role in providing vital information,” the network added.
Read more here…
Here are some of the latest images coming over the wires …
It’s approaching 1am in Los Angeles, California.
Reports of minor disturbances and pockets of protests around the city are coming in across various news outlets.
Meanwhile, hundreds of marines are standing by in the Seal Beach area, 30 miles south of Los Angeles, a US official has told Reuters.
The National Guard maintains a presence of about 2,000 troops, just over 50% of the 4,000 to be activated.
Marines and the National Guard have no powers of arrest, and are only there to protect federal buildings.
Robert Mackey
The Guardian has been reporting on the protests against ICE raids in Los Angeles, as Donald Trump ramps up his administration’s efforts to detain undocumented migrants.
My colleague Robert Mackey has fact-checked a speech President Trump made at military base Fort Bragg, which contained lies and conspiracy theories about LA.
Here’s an excerpt from Robert’s piece:
Trump falsely claims protesters are bearing foreign flags as part of a ‘foreign invasion’
In his deeply partisan speech at Fort Bragg, Trump made the baseless claim that the protests against immigration raids in LA are being led by paid “rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion”.
The comments echoed accusations by top Trump adviser and speechwriter Stephen Miller, who on Sunday wrote on social media that “foreign nationals, waving foreign flags” were “rioting”, and an unfounded allegation by Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, who earlier this week accused Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum of “encouraging violent protests”.
Sheinbaum on Tuesday said the allegation is “absolutely false”.
Some protesters in recent days have waved the flags of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador – as well as flags that combine the banners of those nations with the US flag – in a show of ethnic pride and solidarity with immigrants in their community now targeted by immigration officials.
Read the rest here…
Trump ‘going after families and children’ says LA mayor
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has taken aim at President Donald Trump, saying his decision to deploy the military is not making the city safer.
“The Trump administration told us they were going after violent criminals, gang members, and drug dealers,” Bass posted on social media.
“But they went after a Home Depot. They’re going after families and children. That does not make Los Angeles more safe.”
Metro temporarily suspended many of its transport links through downtown Los Angeles as the curfew took effect at 8 pm Tuesday. Trains and bus routes were suspended, leaving many commuters stranded.
“I’m a young, able-bodied person, so it’s not a huge impediment for me,” Joseph Cohen May, who was taking the Metro E Line home to downtown from Santa Monica, told the LA Times. “But there are thousands of people who live downtown, there are thousands of people who are still going to need to go to work tomorrow early morning.”
May added: “This was executed horribly. It seems like the mayor and city council aren’t aware that there are people who live downtown.”
This full report provides a comprehensive overview of the civil unrest unfolding on the streets of Los Angeles…
The BBC reports that there is no sign of US Marines or National Guard troops out on the streets in LA this evening.
There’s also no sign of them patrolling demonstrations or arresting people during protests.
‘Mass arrests’ after curfew issued for city’s downtown area
Welcome to the Guardian’s continued coverage of the protests in Los Angeles. If you are just tuning in, here is a handy summary to bring you up to speed.
-
The LAPD says it has made ‘mass arrests’ in downtown LA after the Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for the city’s downtown area following several days of intense protests against Ice raids. The protests have been marked by clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, widespread vandalism and some looting. The curfew began at 8pm local time on Tuesday and will last until 6am local time on Wednesday. It will apply to a one-square-mile area in downtown.
-
California governor Gavin Newsom delivered a searing rebuke of the Trump administration on Tuesday evening, accusing the government of “pulling a military dragnet” across LA and warning democracy is “under assault before our eyes”. The Democratic governor’s remarks come after Trump ordered the deployment of nearly 5,000 troops, including National Guard and Marines, to the nation’s second-largest city.
-
Protests against the Trump administration’s newly intensified immigration raids, centred on Los Angeles, spread across the country on Tuesday, with demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Omaha and Seattle. Thousands attended a protest against the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in New York City’s Foley Square.
-
A federal district court judge declined California’s request to issue an immediate temporary restraining order that would bar Marines and National Guard troops dispatched to Los Angeles from doing anything other than guarding federal buildings. The judge instead scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the state’s request for a restraining order.
-
Trump delivered a deeply partisan, political speech to the avowedly non-partisan US army at Fort Bragg, where he called Los Angeles “a trash heap”, repeated baseless conspiracy theories and announced he was not yet done changing the names of military bases back to honour confederates. Trump said he would “liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean, and safe again”.
-
Trump denied accusing California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, of paying agitators to turn the protests in the city violent. Video footage from his speech at Fort Bragg just hours earlier, shows him clearly making the accusation.
