Despite Calm, Protesters Arrested In Police Crackdown

UPDATE:

• Los Angeles Police Department officers pursued a driver suspected of an assault with a deadly weapon on a Los Angeles Police Department officer for reportedly driving through a skirmish line in Koreatown. The high speed chase led to the South Bay, where the driver lost a tire and fled on foot before being taken into custody, KTLA reported.

LOS ANGELES, CA — For the second day in a row, police vastly outnumbered anti-ICE protesters in Downtown Los Angeles Wednesday, largely dispersing or arresting the members of the crowd near the Civic Center before the 8 p.m. curfew took effect.

The relative quiet comes amid aggressive police efforts to crackdown on unrest after demonstrations turned violent three days in a row. Well before the 8 p.m. downtown curfew went into effect, police declared the demonstration an unlawful assembly and fired rubber bullets and flash bangs into the crowd and charged in on horseback.

The aggressive police response wasn't the only reason the demonstration remained peaceful. Protesters were determined to avoid confrontation with federal agents and the national guard, steering clear of the freeway and marching away from the Edward R Royal Federal Building.

“We’re going to remain peaceful,” said Najee Gow, 27, as he led a crowd of a few hundred into Chinatown, urging them not to give President Donald Trump the violence he's spoiling for, according to The Los Angeles Times.

“We need to be smarter than him and out-think him, right? He wants us to be violent, so he can have an excuse to send more military, more Marines in here.," he told the crowd, the Times reported.

In fact, Trump, who initially said he called in the National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell the unrest has resisted calls to withdraw the troops or cease sending them with ICE agents conducting arrests across the Southland.

As they did on Tuesday, police boxed in the remaining few dozen protesters, and began arresting them by the dozens Wednesday evening, mainly on suspicion of failure to disperse.

'Stop Terrorizing Our Residents'

Dozens of Southland mayors and legislators Wednesday called on the Trump Administration to cease the now militarized ICE raids.

“I’m asking you, please listen to me, stop terrorizing our residents,” said Mayor Jessica Ancona of El Monte, who said she was hit by rubber bullets during a raid in her city.

The calls come as shocking footage emerged from around the Southland showing dramatic arrests and aggressive tactics used by federal agents on city streets.

Members of the Southern California Democratic congressional delegation lashed out at the Trump Administration and accused federal immigration authorities of flouting the law by conducting warrant-less raids that have led to days of protests.

Rep. Norma Torres, D-Ontario and a former Los Angeles-area 911 dispatcher, accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement of "indiscriminately" carrying out "violent raids in California and illegally detaining people without warrants."

During a news conference in Washington, D.C., she and other congressional representatives called for an end to the immigration activity in the area. They also accused ICE officials of denying members of Congress their legal right to inspect immigration enforcement facilities in the Los Angeles area.
"The conditions that we have been told these migrants are being held under are nothing more than inhumane," Torres said.

RELATED: Scenes Of 'Fear And Panic' Prompt Southland Mayors Call For ICE, Soldiers To Get Out

Similarly, First Ammendment groups are pushing back on federal law enforcement tactics.

A coalition of 27 press and civil liberties advocacy groups wrote to U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Monday "to express alarm that federal officers may have violated the First Amendment rights of journalists covering recent protests and unrest related to immigration enforcement in the Los Angeles area."

The coalition, led by the Los Angeles Press Club, First Amendment Coalition and Freedom of the Press Foundation, further wrote that "The press plays an essential role in our democracy as the public's eyes and ears. The timely reporting of breaking news is necessary to provide the public with complete information, especially about controversial events.

"A number of reports suggest that federal officers have indiscriminately used force or deployed munitions such as tear gas or pepper balls that caused significant injuries to journalists. In some cases, federal officers appear to have deliberately targeted journalists who were doing nothing more than their job covering the news."

The LA Press Club referred to at least 24 "documented" instances of journalists being targeted by law enforcement while covering the protests in Los Angeles between June 6-8, and multiple media workers report having been shot by police with less-than-lethal munitions.

Those journalists included Southern California News Group's Ryanne Mena, freelance journalists Anthony Cabassa and Sean Beckner-Carmitchel, The Southlander's Ben Camacho, British photojournalist Nick Stern, and LA Taco's Lexis Olivier-Ray.

Australian TV reporter Lauren Tomasi was also caught on tape being shot with LLM by police while reporting live on air, and a video posted by NBC4 shows police in military-style gear aggressively pushing reporter Mekahlo Medina.

No Kings Day

Protests are expected to continue throughout the week. More than a dozen rallies, meanwhile, will take place in Los Angeles County on Saturday in what's being referred to as "No Kings Day of Defiance."

The "No Kings" rallies are also taking place nationwide and coincide with Flag Day, Donald Trump's 79th birthday and a military parade commemorating the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary.
The rallies are a direct response to Trump's "self-aggrandizing $100 million military parade and birthday celebration," according to organizers.

“No Kings is a nationwide day of defiance,” according to organizers. “From city blocks to small towns, from courthouse steps to community parks, we’re taking action to reject authoritarianism — and show the world what democracy really looks like.”

In Los Angeles County, rallies are planned at City Hall, Filipino Town, Hollywood, Culver City, Beverly Hills, Glendale, Pasadena, Long Beach, Torrance and several more cities. Rally locations and times can be searched for here.

Organizers expect millions of people to take part in the nationwide rally.

More Victims Feared After Minivan Plowed Into LA Protest Crowd: Deputies

Authorities say there are likely more people who were hurt when a motorist drovea minivan into a crowd of protesters in downtown Los Angeles over the weekend and are asking those people to come forward.

Deputies identified the vehicle as a silver 2010 Honda Odyssey with California license plate 8XSZ585 that plowed into a crowd near Alameda and Bauchet streets on Sunday at around 9:20 p.m., according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

The driver, who has not been identified by authorities, struck several pedestrians while driving toward the crowds, according to aerial footage captured by KTLA. He drove the wrong way a times, side swiped vehicles and ignored traffic lights.

'A Challenging Moment In Our City'

Archbishop José H. Gomez called for peace and unity during a midday Mass celebrated Wednesday at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in downtown Los Angeles, urging the faithful to come together in prayer amid ongoing unrest.

"Today we are united with parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Los Angeles in praying for peace in our streets and in our city," Gomez said during his homily. "We are facing a challenging moment in our city and many of our neighbors are frightened."

"We all agree that we don't want undocumented immigrants who are known terrorists or violent criminals in our communities," Gomez added. "But there is no need for the government to carry out enforcement actions in a way that provokes fear and anxiety among ordinary, hardworking immigrants and their families."

Though the demonstrations were more calm Tuesday and Wednesday, tenions are boiling over, and it remains to be seen how Saturday nationwide protest will play out in Los Angeles.

Hundreds were also arrested in Los Angeles on Tuesday as protests continued in the Downtown area, with police using aggressive tactics to keep anti-ICE protesters at bay through the night.

The aggressive response started just before the 8 p.m. curfew went into effect, with officers firing less-lethal ammunition at around 200 demonstrators near the Broadway Metro station, sending dozens scattering across the area.

The approach continued as another crowd of about 200 people gathered near the Federal Building on Temple Street, across from the Los Angeles Mall. There, police, some on horseback, quickly descended on protesters, thinning them out.

Near the Little Tokyo district, about 40 remaining protesters were confronted by officers, who fired tear gas and more non-lethal rounds as a police helicopter circled overhead. One demonstrator could be seen shining a laser at the helicopter while others ran away, trying to avoid getting hit with the non-lethal rounds. Still, there appeared to be fewer clashes between police and demonstrators than the previous night, when the Little Tokyo district descended into momentary chaos as police declared an unlawful assembly.

On Wednesday morning, the Los Angeles Police Department announced 203 people were arrested on suspicion of failing to disperse, 17 in connection with curfew violations, three on suspicion of possessing a firearm, one on suspicion of assaulting an officer with a deadly weapon and another on suspicion of discharging a laser at an airship.

Two LAPD officers were injured Tuesday, according to the department, although the extent of their injuries or how they got them was not specified. It's unclear how many protesters were injured Tuesday, but a Patch reporter saw paramedics take at least one person to a hospital after being hit with a non-lethal round.

• Curfew, Aggressive LAPD Tactics Thin Demonstrations As ICE Raids Spread
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Before Wednesday night's mass arrests, more than 300 people had been arrested since the protests started last week, and several more officers have been injured, according to the LAPD. Curfew was enacted by Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday following reports of several businesses being looted in the aftermath of the protests. Bass said she expects it will be reinstated through the next several days.

City News Service and Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.