Los Angeles set for fourth day of unrest as Newsom resists National Guard

By Alicia A. Caldwell and John Gittelsohn

  Los Angeles is heading into a fourth day of unrest with California Governor Gavin Newsom vowing to sue to block the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops in the city, escalating a standoff over immigration raids that sparked protests over the weekend. 

Overnight, looting broke out in several areas of LA, including downtown, after demonstrators shut down a major freeway. Authorities made dozens of arrests including for assault with a deadly weapon and arson, according to local news station KTLA. Crowds clashed with law enforcement and at least five self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire. 

Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have accused President Donald Trump of making the situation worse by deploying hundreds of National Guard troops. The governor said he’s formally asked the White House to rescind what he called an “unlawful” order federalizing the troops. 

“He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard,” Newsom posted Monday on X. “The order he signed doesn’t just apply to CA. It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing. We’re suing him.” 

The Trump administration has argued the situation is spiraling and that federal forces are needed to support immigration agents and restore order.  

Trump, in a series of posts on Truth Social, described the protests as “migrant riots” and said LA had been “invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals.” He ordered federal agencies to take “all such action necessary” to continue immigration enforcement and restore control, including arresting demonstrators wearing face coverings. 

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said demonstrations early on Sunday were largely peaceful but that conditions deteriorated as new crowds arrived.  

“This violence that I’ve seen is disgusting,” McDonnell said at a news conference on Sunday night. “What we saw the first night was bad. What we’ve seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent.” 

McDonnell said that he believes the police could have handled the initial situation without the assistance of the National Guard, but “looking at the violence tonight, I think we’ve got to make a reassessment.” 

The unrest followed a wave of protests sparked by federal immigration raids across LA County that started on Friday, including outside a downtown detention center in downtown LA, as well as in the greater LA area in the cities of Paramount and Compton.  

Officers used tear gas and flash-bang grenades as demonstrators threw bottles and chunks of concrete, police said. The LAPD declared unlawful assemblies in several locations and issued dispersal orders. 

On Sunday night, vandals shattered storefront windows, painted graffiti across buildings and smashed and lit street posts on fire in some areas, according to KTLA. 

The turmoil is limited to a few small pockets of the city, which is a sprawling metropolis stretching over several hundred square miles that’s connected by a web of freeways. There was no sign of unrest in areas such as Century City, Hollywood Hills and Santa Monica that are miles away from downtown, with businesses and residents largely unaffected. 

According to local media reports, at least two more protests were planned for Monday — one beginning in the morning and another expected later in the afternoon. Officials said they were monitoring the situation closely amid growing concerns that violence could escalate further. 

As of Sunday at least 300 troops from the California National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team have been stationed across the LA area to protect federal property and personnel, according to US Northern Command. Trump has authorized as many 2,000 National Guard if he deems them needed. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the military presence could be expanded, including potential deployment of active-duty Marines from Camp Pendleton in southern California. Newsom condemned the idea as “deranged,” while Hegseth called the unrest a failure of local leadership.