Sawt Falasteen - Unrest in Los Angeles over immigration raids as troops sent by Trump fan out

Protests in Los Angeles, home to a large Latino population, broke out on Friday, triggered by immigration raids that resulted in dozens of arrests of what authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members.

Critics say the US president -- who has made clamping down on illegal migration a key pillar of his second term -- was deliberately stoking tensions with his deployment of California's National Guard, a stand-by military usually controlled by the state governor.

Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops did not appear to be to keep order, with one calling it an "intimidation tactic."

"You have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights," protester Thomas Henning said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump's order a "serious breach of state sovereignty" and demanded the president to rescind the order and "return control to California."

He also urged protesters to stay peaceful, warning that those who instigate violence will be arrested.

"Don't take Trump's bait," he said on social media platform X.

Authorities declared downtown Los Angeles a place of "unlawful assembly" by late Sunday evening. Local media showed a heavy police presence blanketing mostly deserted streets in various areas.

A few protesters remained scattered, with some lobbing projectiles and fireworks according to local aerial TV coverage.

Trump called the protesters "insurrectionists," and demanded authorities "ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!"

"BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!!" he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

At least three self-driving Waymo cars were torched as demonstrators thronged around downtown Los Angeles earlier on Sunday, and local law enforcement deployed tear gas and smoke grenades to disperse protesters.

An Australian reporter was hit in the leg with a rubber bullet fired by a police officer while on live television. Her employer 9News said she was unharmed.

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers established containment lines some distance from federal buildings by Sunday afternoon, preventing contact between angry demonstrators and the scores of armed National Guardsmen from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team who had gathered in helmets and camouflage gear.

Law enforcement had arrested at least 56 people over two days and three officers had suffered minor injuries, the LAPD said.

Police in San Francisco said on Sunday about 60 people had been arrested in similar protests in the northern Californian city.

- 'Troops everywhere' -

Trump was unrepentant when asked about the use of troops, hinting instead at a more widespread deployment in other parts of the country.

"I think you're going to see some very strong law and order," he told reporters.

Responding to a question about invoking the Insurrection Act -- which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force -- Trump said: "We're looking at troops everywhere. We're not going to let this happen to our country."

US Northern Command, part of the Department of Defense responsible for national defense, said "approximately 500 Marines... are in a prepared-to-deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support" the ongoing federal operations.

The National Guard is frequently used in natural disasters, and occasionally in instances of civil unrest, but almost always with the consent of local authorities.

Trump's deployment of the force -- the first over the head of a state governor since 1965 at the height of the civil rights movement -- was criticized by Democrats, including Kamala Harris. The former vice president called it "a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos."

Newsom said Trump was "putting fuel on this fire."

"Commandeering a state's National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral," he said on X. "California will be taking him to court."

- 'Intimidation' -

However, Republicans lined up behind Trump to dismiss the pushback.

"I have no concern about that at all," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, accusing Newsom of "an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary."

Demonstrator Marshall Goldberg, 78, told AFP that deploying Guardsmen made him feel "so offended."

"We hate what they've done with the undocumented workers, but this is moving it to another level of taking away the right to protest and the right to just peaceably assemble."

H.Darwish--SF-PST