Protests intensify in LA after Trump deploys troops

Tensions in Los Angeles escalated as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump's extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.

Police were making more arrests after at least 10 on Sunday and 29 the previous night, Los Angeles police officers told a news briefing.

National Guard troops guarded federal government buildings, as police and protesters clashed in separate demonstrations over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police declared several rallies to be "unlawful assemblies", accusing some protesters of throwing concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at police.

Video images showed several self-driving cars from Alphabet's Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street on Sunday evening.

Los Angeles police officers on horseback attempted to control the crowds as demonstrators shouted "Shame on you!" at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. One group blocked the 101 Freeway, a major downtown thoroughfare.

Groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing US immigration authorities, gathered in spots around the city.

California Governor Gavin Newsom asked the Trump administration to withdraw its order to deploy 2000 National Guard troops, calling it unlawful.

In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom said he planned to sue the administration over the deployment, adding that Trump "has created the conditions" around the protests.

Newsom accused Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California's state sovereignty. "These are the acts of a dictator, not a president," he wrote on X.

However, Police Chief Jim McDonnell told a media briefing on Sunday night that the protests were getting out of control.

Asked if the National Guard was needed, McDonnell said police would not "go to that right away" but added, "Looking at the violence tonight, I think we've got to make a reassessment".

In a social media post, Trump called on McDonnell to do so.

"He should, right now!!!" Trump added. "Don't let these thugs get away with this. Make America great again!!!"

The White House disputed Newsom's characterisation, saying in a statement, "Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness."

Earlier, about a dozen National Guard, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed.

US Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area. Their mission was limited to protecting federal personnel and property.

In a social media post on Sunday, Trump called the demonstrators "violent, insurrectionist mobs" and said he was directing his cabinet officers "to take all such action necessary" to stop what he called "riots".

Despite Trump's rhetoric, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events like civil disorder.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilise active-duty troops "if violence continues" in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were on "high alert".

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tension by sending in the National Guard, but also condemned protesters who became violent.

"I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily," Bass told a press conference.

Vanessa C?rdenas, the head of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice, accused the Trump administration of "trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration".

Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the US-Mexico border, setting ICE a goal of arresting at least 3000 migrants a day.

A significant part of the population in Los Angeles is Hispanic and foreign-born but the sweeping enforcement measures have also included legally residents, some with permanent residence, spurring legal challenges.

Trump's justification for the National Guard deployment cited a provision of Title 10 of the US Code on the Armed Forces. However, Title 10 also says the "orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States".

with ap