National Guard troops arrived in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday after being ordered into the city by President Trump in response to a weekend of violent clashes between law enforcement officers and protesters triggered by immigration enforcement operations in the area on Friday.
Protesters clashed with soldiers on Sunday afternoon after a crowd gathered near the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown. Images captured by CBS News Los Angeles showed members of the National Guard using what appeared to be tear gas and firing non-lethal rounds toward some groups of demonstrators.
Large-scale protests have sprouted throughout L.A. County including in the Westlake District, downtown L.A. and Paramount, and have escalated to violence on several occasions, following a large-scale operation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday. A federal law enforcement official told CBS News that multiple federal law enforcement officers were injured during confrontations with protesters on Friday and Saturday.
During a Sunday evening news conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell said 39 people had been arrested in total — 29 on Saturday and 10 on Sunday. McDonnell also addressed accusations that the police department was slow to respond to the unrest.
“We can’t participate in any way in civil immigration enforcement,” McDonnell said, noting that the department must comply with the California Values Act, also known as SB 54, which prohibits local and state law enforcement agencies from assisting federal immigration enforcement actions.
“Federal partners have been reticent to provide information to us before something happens because of that reason,” McDonnell said.
Mr. Trump announced Saturday night that he’d deploy the guard in response to the protests. In a post to his Truth Social late Saturday night local time, Mr. Trump called the events in L.A. “two days of violence, clashes and unrest.”
He posted again on Sunday, saying that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass should “apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots.”
“These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists,” the post said. “Remember, NO MASKS!”
A Presidential Memoranda issued Saturday stated that at least 2,000 National Guard troops were going to be deployed. The majority of the soldiers are from the California National Guard, a Defense Department official told CBS News.
The U.S. military’s Northern Command also confirmed to CBS News that 300 National Guard troops were in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, specifically in Paramount, Compton and the downtown area. They also said that 500 active-duty U.S. Marines based at Twentynine Palms were in “prepared to deploy” status and were ready to augment the National Guard if ordered to do so.
Newsom on Saturday criticized Mr. Trump’s military deployment, calling it “purposefully inflammatory” in a post to X. In another post he said Mr. Trump was “escalating the situation.”
“The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,” he said in another post. “Don’t give them one.”
He formally requested that Mr. Trump rescind the deployment of troops to L.A. in a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying there was “no need” for the National Guard.
“State and local authorities are the most appropriate ones to evaluate the need for resources to safeguard life and property,” Newsom’s letter said. “Indeed, the decision to deploy the National Guard, without appropriate training or orders, risks seriously escalating the situation.”
On Sunday afternoon, Newsom’s office confirmed that he was in Los Angeles. He met with Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonell and L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna, shown in a picture posted to his X account.
The situation appeared calm to start on Sunday, with CBS News Los Angeles reporters at the scene reporting no signs of conflict until about 3 p.m., when a large group of demonstrators marched from the steps of L.A. City Hall to the federal building, where the detention center is located.
