Trump Doubles Soldier Deployment To LA, And Protests Spread Across Southland

LOS ANGELES, CA — With hundreds of Marines en route to Los Angeles and the city still reeling from a night of unrest, thousands of protesters converged downtown Monday, hoping their peaceful, anti-immigration enforcement message would rise above the violence.

But tensions lingered, and rubber bullets, water bottles, fireworks and gas cannisters flew into the crowd and police skirmish lines by evening as the Los Angeles Police Department declared the assembly unlawful and ordered the crowd to disperse.

Even as Mayor Karen Bass called for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to leave the city, raids spread across the Southland with a large raid confirmed in Santa Ana and ICE agents observed staging in the church parking lot next to Huerta Elementary School in Norwalk. With the new raids, came new protests. Multiple demonstrators in Santa Ana were taken into custody by federal authorities after allegedly hurling objects at them, and tear gas has been deployed as protest continues in Orange County. Similarly, more than 600 people demonstrators gathered in Whittier Monday night.

The escalation comes a day after Downtown businesses were vandalized and burglarized, punctuating days of violence, that began when protesters clashed with officers Friday amid a series of immigration raids outside Home Depot stores and garment distrct workplaces.

Monday night multiple protests in across Downtown Los Angeles were declared illegal. Crowds resisted police orders to disperse. The air was thick with a noxious mix of spray paint fumes, tear gas, sulfurous bottle rockets.

Many demonstrators bore red polka dots on their skin from the Los Angeles Police Department's rubber bullets. The hundreds of California National Guard soldiers and federal officers called in by President Donald Trump largely stayed away from the fray, lining up to protect federal buildings as police pushed back the demonstrators.

LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell indicated that federal officers and soldiers are not coordinating or communicating with local law enfrcement. Late Monday, he issued a plea for professional cooperation.

“The arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles—absent clear coordination—presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city," he said in a written statement. "The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, has decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively. That said, our top priority is the safety of both the public and the officers on the ground. We are urging open and continuous lines of communication between all agencies to prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time.”

California officials have argued that the National Guard's presence helped fuel the unrest's transformation from largely peaceful protests to the violence present on Sunday. Newsom doubled down on Monday afternoon in a post where he wrote "Trump is trying to provoke chaos by sending 4,000 soldiers onto American soil."

Trump was unfazed by the criticism, and on Monday he annonced plans to double the National Guard presence by deploying 2,000 more troops.

“We’re gonna have troops everywhere," Trump said. “We’re not going to let this happen to our country.”

Some of the most intense activity Monday evening took place in Little Tokyo and the Arts District, where people threw fireworks and other objects at police in riot gear, who responded with flash bangs and rubber bullets.

Video showed some demonstrators being placed on police buses with hands zip-tied behind their backs.

The continued violence and vandalism drew a sharp rebuke from Assemblyman Mark Gonzalez, D-Los Angeles.

"What's happening in Little Tokyo and parts of Downtown LA is absolutely unacceptable," Gonzalez said in a statement late Monday. "Tagging historic landmarks, launching fireworks at officers, and terrorizing residents is not protest -- it's destruction. Causing chaos, damaging neighborhoods, and live-streaming for likes helps no one. Our elders, small businesses, and public spaces deserve better.

"If you're out here chasing clout while our neighbors are scared and storefronts are boarded up -- you're not helping, you're harming. You're playing right into Trump's hands and undermining the very movement you claim to support.

"If you're not here to protect and uplift this community -- go home. We need peace, not provocation. Healing, not havoc. This is not your playground. Our community is not your stage."

U.S. Northern Command on Monday, confirmed the activation of roughly 700 Marines deployed to LA. Their mission is to support the California National Guard, which was deployed to the city on Sunday by the Trump administration. That order came despite the strenuous objection of California leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who typically has command of the Guard. Newsom plans to sue Trump over the federalization, calling it "unlawful."

Trump, in turn, suggested Newsom should be arrested.

The last time the U.S. Marines were deployed on domestic soil was during the 1992 Los Angeles Riots to help control widespread unrest that led to more than 60 deaths, thousands of injuries and roughly $1 billion in property damage.

Monday afternoon, the streets of downtown Los Angeles were peaceful. A rally was held on behalf of a labor union leader detained by federal authorities during a demonstration Saturday. Union leaders urged demonstrators to remain peaceful, and the mood was festive as a band played for the dispersing crowd.

Violence After Dispersal Order

Daytime protests were centered around the federal Metropolitan Detention Center and Robert Young Federal Building, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers and California National Guard members lined up outside the building as growing crowd of people gathered, shouting at them to leave.

As the crowd grew to over a thousand people, the LAPD declared their assembly unlawful and ordered them to disperse. Tensions began to boil over soon after.

Loud explosions accompany the firing of rubber bullets and smoke into the crowd of protesters in Downtown Los Angeles. Some people were hit with rubber bullets repeatedly Monday evening. pic.twitter.com/uC3oTSqSNY
— Los Angeles Patch (@LosAngelesPatch) June 10, 2025

At around 5:30 p.m., people were chanting "peaceful protest" as law enforcement moved to clear Los Angeles Street by the federal building. Officers began shooting less-lethal rounds, while some protesters threw water bottles in return as police pushed the crowd toward the intersection of Temple and Los Angeles streets.

Several loud explosions rang out around that time after police detonated crowd-dispersal devices, one officer at the scene said. The explosions prompted numerous people to run away.

Several people were hit by the less-lethal rounds, including a Sacramento man who declined to provide his name. He told Patch he was forming a human fence with several other people on the front line when officers shoved them down to the ground.

He said he began arguing with an officer, who shot him with several rounds from a distance of less than 5 feet.

By 6:30 p.m., the protesters remained largely peaceful, though single protesters were occasionally throwing items at officers in isolated incidents — prompting the crowd to express anger at the demonstrator and police to respond by setting off dispersement devices.

A skirmish broke out between a protester and another person, presumed to be a supporter of Trump, wearing MAGA gear. Shortly after, a police officer was shot in the head with a paintball by someone riding in a passing vehicle.

Staff and customers at local restaurants on 1st Street peeked out the windows as police officers chased protesters down the street.

Personal Impact

Earlier Monday, an 18-year-old named Rafael, who declined to provide his last name, said he was heartened by people showing up peacefully, which he said indicates just how much Angelenos care about each other.

"We're hoping to accomplish getting ICE out of our city. Los Angeles is the worst city ICE could show up at (because there's) a lot of Hispanics, a lot of culture," he said.

LA resident Fernando Fonseca, 19, who is of Salvadorian and Mexican ancestry, said he knows firsthand how immigration enforcement can tear apart families — his grandfather was deported from the U.S. when Fonseca was a child.

"Los Angeles, first of all, was stolen from Mexico. It's wrong for them to deport people from stolen land — no human is illegal on stolen land," he said.

'The Road To Tyranny'

Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, warned that anyone — including public officials like Newsom — would be arrested if they obstructed federal immigration enforcement.

“No one’s above the law,” he said on Fox & Friends, although he added that “there was no discussion” about arresting Newsom.

Newsom responded in an interview with MSNBC. “Come after me, arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy,” Newsom said.

Trump grinned when asked about the exchange after landing at the White House.

“I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Trump said. “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing. He’s done a terrible job.”

Tensions between state and federal leaders continued to simmer on Monday as unease grew in LA with the arrival of more military presence.

"The Trump Administration's escalation and provocation in California inflames tensions and incites violence," former Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote on X Monday afternoon. "Now, the President of the United States said he would arrest a sitting American governor just for disagreeing with these actions."

"This is a hallmark of authoritarianism on the road to tyranny."

Newsom later pegged the "chaos" in Los Angeles on Trump, though he warned "foolish agitators who take advantage of Trump’s chaos will be held accountable."

A Peaceful Protest, A Labor Leader Freed

A group gathered at Grand Park Monday morning to demonstrate against the arrest of David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union, California. Huerta was scheduled to appear in federal court and was released Monday afternoon on a $50,000 bond. He was charged with "conspiracy to impede an officer" during a protest against ICE.

Huerta had been arrested outside a garment warehouse Friday, where federal authorities were conducting an immigration action.

"Today we protest, today we say 'free David Huerta,'" said Yvonne Wheeler, president of the LA County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO, leading the crowd on a chant prior to his release. "We do so peacefully. Because our power is not in how loud we shout, but in how firmly we stand ... let them see us, let them hear us, and let them know we're not going anywhere."

But the energy at Monday's rally was not focused just on Huerta — many of those gathered said they were there continuing the demonstrations that had begun on Friday, before all of the violence made headlines.

"I'm here for all my family, and all the people who have no papers — the immigrants," Maria Flores told Patch. Those who were "arrested and taken by ICE, they're hard workers, like myself ... I'm marching for them because they can't come, but I can."

Sunday

After the first law enforcement actions on Friday, protests largely began peacefully and continued as such on Saturday and during the day Sunday. But later Sunday, while much of the city was spared from any violence, clashes swept through several downtown blocks and a handful of other places.

A strong police presence was noticeable throughout the Civic Center area Monday morning, with officers standing guard over businesses with shattered glass windows, looted shelves and copious amounts of graffiti.

The blocks surrounding City Hall and the LAPD headquarters bore a ubiquitous spray-painted messages: "F— ICE," "F— LAPD" and "F— Trump," the Los Angeles Times reported.

Spent rubber rounds and broken glass bore proof of the chaotic night that unfolded downtown.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol collectively arrested 42 people, an LASD spokesperson told KTLA.

SEE ALSO:

• FBI Offers 50K Reward For Info On Anti-ICE Protester
• Photos Show Tense Moments During Los Angeles ICE Protests
• Nearly 90 Arrested As ICE Protests Turn Violent In LA, San Francisco

Most of those arrested by the CHP were marchers who were on the 101 Freeway in downtown, while the LAPD arrested people on charges of failure to disperse, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, looting and arson.

Ramps on and off the 101 Freeway remained closed Monday afternoon.

The LAPD also reported that looters broke into a shoe store and other businesses between Sixth Street and Broadway on Sunday. A reporter from Australia was shot by law enforcement in the leg with rubber bullets during a broadcast. A shirtless man driving a mini-van was taken into custody after doing donuts near protesters on the streets in downtown around 9 p.m. Sunday.

Those incidents came after National Guard troops arrived in downtown LA at 4 a.m. Sunday.

“Donald Trump—in the midst of a war with Elon Musk and his ugly tax bill that would rip healthcare from 17 million people— is in desperate need of a diversion,” Sen. Chuck Schumer said in a statement Monday. “His order to deploy the National Guard in California is unnecessary, inflammatory, and provocative. Trump should immediately revoke his command to use the National Guard, and leave the law enforcement to the governor and the mayor, who are more than capable of handling the situation.”

By early afternoon Sunday, Guard members were facing off with protesters as the troops were trying to protect the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and the Metropolitan Detention Center on Alameda Street downtown. National Guard members threw tear gas canisters and smoke grenades toward the demonstrators.

By evening, police declared an unlawful assembly for the entire Civic Center area of downtown, closing traffic on Spring Street between Temple and First streets, where demonstrators used chairs from Grand Park and other items to blockade the street. Less-lethal munitions were authorized and were used.

Around 6:30 p.m. Sunday, protesters used pink chairs, possibly from nearby Grand Park in an attempt to establish barricades in multiple locations, including Spring and Temple streets, outside City Hall and LAPD Headquarters.

Meanwhile, black smoke emanated from about a half-dozen Waymo driverless cars that were summoned to Los Angeles Street only to be destroyed and set on fire. Authorities allowed the vehicles to burn themselves out rather than send in firefighters to extinguish them. The toxic gasses posed a risk to those around them, officials said.

Video also showed multiple LAPD vehicles vandalized. By 7 p.m. Sunday, the car fires were extinguished by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Patch staffer Paige Austin, City News Service and the Associated Press contributed to this report.