Curfew enforced in parts of Downtown, Trump claims ‘paid agitators’ targeted LA police with bricks

LocalPolitics
11 Jun 2025 • 10:06 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

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Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has announced a curfew in the city in response to vandalism amid the protests against ICE raids. The curfew will be enforced from 8 p.m. local time Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, and anyone who breaks the curfew will be arrested, Bass warned.

Donald Trump flirted with invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the domestic use of the military, in remarks on Tuesday in the Oval Office. The president has already deployed thousands of federalized National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over his immigration raids.

The total cost of the deployment to date has been disclosed as $134 million, with Trump claiming that without them, the city “would be burning to the ground right now.”

Bass has dismissed those claims, given that the Guard is protecting two federal buildings and local law enforcement has been quelling civil unrest triggered by ICE raids. She has vowed to pursue vandals and looters to the fullest extent of the law after more stores were looted on Monday.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who claims the presence of troops exacerbates tensions, has asked a judge for an emergency injunction regarding the troop deployment, arguing it is “unlawful,” as well as “excessive and unnecessary.” A hearing is set for Thursday.

Speaking to soldiers at Fort Bragg on Tuesday afternoon, Trump accused the mayor and governor of paying “agitators” and “insurrectionists” who he claimed came ready with bricks to throw.

Trump has since seemed to walk back his claims, saying, “I didn’t say the governor or the mayor. I said, somebody's paying them, I think.”

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Key Points

  • 'These are paid insurrectionists ... they're animals': Trump would invoke Insurrection Act if needed
  • Trump defends decision to deploy Marines and National Guard: 'LA would be burnt to ground'
  • First Marines arrived in LA overnight
  • Cost of troop deployment to Los Angeles put at $134 million
  • Trump continues to attack LA mayor and Governor 'Newscum', claims they paid agitators
  • Trump says LA protesters 'came in with bricks' to throw
  • LA mayor announces city curfew

What you need to know so far...

Tuesday 10 June 2025 15:32

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Oliver O'Connell

  • President Donald Trump deployed 4,000 federalized National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over immigration raids, costing $134 million to date.
  • Mayor Karen Bass refuted Trump's claim that the city would be 'burning to the ground' without the troops, noting the Guard is protecting federal buildings while local law enforcement handles unrest.
  • California Governor Gavin Newsom sued the Trump administration and sought an emergency injunction, deeming the troop deployment 'unlawful,' 'excessive,' and 'unnecessary.’
  • A judge rejected Newsom’s emergency injunction and allowed the Trump administration more time to respond to the governor’s court filing.
  • Democrats in Congress said that the militarization seen in Los Angeles was a warning to other Americans.
  • After Trump claimed he spoke to Newsom about the unrest on Monday, the governor said the president doesn't even know who he is talking to, as the call didn’t happen.
  • Mayor Bass said that the solution to the violence gripping the city is an end to the raids by ICE.

LA protesters hold prayer vigil

03:50

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Rachel Dobkin

Watch LIVE: Prayer vigil held in Los Angeles for peace and solidarity with immigrants

More than 200 people arrested amid LA protests: Newsom

03:30

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Rachel Dobkin

California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a Tuesday night address that more than 220 people have been arrested so far amid the protests against ICE raids in Los Angeles.

“If you incite violence or destroy our communities, you’re going to be held to account. That kind of criminal behavior will not be tolerated. Full stop,” Newsom said.

The governor said that officials are reviewing footage to build more cases, “and people will be prosecuted.”

Most protesters have been peaceful, but there have been some bad actors.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said Tuesday night that 23 businesses were looted last night and “graffiti is everywhere.”

Newsom takes jab at Trump, telling Americans 'do not give into him'

03:02

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Rachel Dobkin

California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken another jab at President Donald Trump in their ongoing feud over the Los Angeles protests against ICE raids in the city.

Newsom said in a major address Tuesday night, “I know many of you are feeling deep anxiety, stress and fear. But I want you to know that you are the antidote to that fear and that anxiety.

What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty. Your silence. To be complicit in this moment. Do not give in to him.”

In an unprecedented move, Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles without Newsom’s permission in response to the protests.

Newsom claimed the move was illegal and a “brazen abuse of power” Tuesday night.

The governor said that the “situation was winding down” in Los Angeles before Trump deployed the military.

“But that’s not what Donald Trump wanted,” Newsom claimed.

Trump has claimed that without deploying the military, Los Angeles “would be burning to the ground right now.”

Watch Newsom’s remarks here:

LA mayor announces curfew amid protests

03:03

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Rachel Dobkin

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass announced a curfew Tuesday night amid the protests against ICE raids.

Bass said the curfew will be from 8 p.m. local time Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday, and those who break curfew will be arrested.

The curfew only covers one square mile, and there are exceptions for residents, people traveling to and from work and credentialed media.

Before announcing the curfew, Bass said that 23 businesses were looted last night and “graffiti is everywhere.”

It’s unclear when the curfew will be lifted.

“I will consult with elected leaders and law enforcement officials tomorrow on the continuation of the curfew but we certainly expect for it to last for several days,” Bass said.

Read more from Andrea Cavallier.

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Kim Kardashian speaks out in support of LA immigrants

02:50

Kim Kardashian has shared a message of support on Instagram Tuesday night for immigrants in Los Angeles amid mass protests against the Trump administration’s ICE raids in the city:

“When we're told that ICE exists to keep our country safe and remove violent criminals-great. But when we witness innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families in inhumane ways, we have to speak up. We have to do what's right.

Growing up in LA, I've seen how deeply immigrants are woven into the fabric of this city. They are our neighbors, friends, classmates, coworkers, and family. No matter where you fall politically, it's clear that our communities thrive because of the contributions of immigrants. We can't turn a blind eye when fear and injustice keep people from living their lives freely and safely.

There HAS to be a BETTER way.”

Kardashian has praised President Donald Trump in the past, saying she was “very grateful” after he commuted the sentence of Alice Johnson, a woman serving life in prison for a nonviolent drug offense, in 2018.

ICE raid protests erupt across the US

02:30

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Rachel Dobkin

Protests against the ICE raids in Los Angeles have spread across the U.S. with demonstrations popping up in Seattle, Austin, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Activists are planning more and even larger demonstrations in the days to come, including nationwide “No Kings” protests on Saturday to coincide with President Donald Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C.

The Trump administration said it would continue its ICE raids and deportations despite the protests.

Read more from Jim Vertuno.

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Trump team may cut education funding to California

01:50

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Rachel Dobkin

The Trump administration is considering cutting federal education funding to California amid rising tensions between the president and Governor Gavin Newsom over the Los Angeles protests.

In an unprecedented move, Donald Trump deployed thousands of National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines into Los Angeles amid mass protests over ICE raids in the city.

Newsom has called on Trump to rescind the order and return control of the National Guard to the state.

Now, Trump’s team said the Education Department may stop the disbursement of “formula funds” to California, according to Politico.

This could dramatically impact the state’s education system, as schools receive $8 billion from the federal government each year.

Read more from Michelle Del Rey.

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National Guard protecting ICE agents making arrests

01:30

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Rachel Dobkin

National Guard troops are now protecting Immigration and Enforcement agents as they make arrests in Los Angeles, The Associated Press reported.

The troops had just been protecting federal buildings in Los Angeles, while local police were conducting crowd control on people protesting against ICE raids in the city.

But the National Guard has since taken on the new duty of “providing perimeter and personnel protection for our facilities and officers who are out on daily enforcement operations,” ICE told the AP.

ICE had posted photos online earlier Tuesday, apparently showing National Guard troops protecting agents as they made arrests.

LA mayor responds to Trump's claims that she paid 'agitators' in protests

01:20

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Rachel Dobkin

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called President Donald Trump’s claims that she paid “agitators” in the protests against ICE raids in the city “absurd.”

While speaking to soldiers at Fort Bragg Tuesday afternoon, Trump accused Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom of paying “agitators” and “insurrectionists” who he claimed came ready with bricks to throw.

Trump has since seemed to walk back his claims, saying, “I didn’t say the governor or the mayor. I said, somebody's paying them, I think.”

When asked about Trump’s remarks on CNN, Bass acted shocked and said, “It is absolutely absurd that either myself or the governor would be supportive in any way shape or form to the vandalism and the violence that has taken place in the city.”

While most of the demonstrators have been peaceful, there have been some instances of vandalism and violence.

Los Angeles District Attorney Nathan Hochman sent a message to bad actors during a CNN interview Tuesday: “We are going to arrest you, prosecute you and punish you.”

“Do not cross that line into criminal conduct,” he said.

LA mayor to make announcement on possible curfew

01:10

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Rachel Dobkin

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told CNN that an announcement on whether a curfew will be placed on the city will be given before nightfall.

She said that she was expected to meet with the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department to discuss a possible curfew and announce their decision soon after.

Bass believes “it would not engulf all of downtown Los Angeles.”

Several journalists injured by police during LA protests

01:00

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Rachel Dobkin

Several journalists have been injured by law enforcement while covering the ICE raid protests in Los Angeles.

Australian TV journalist Lauren Tomasi was reporting on the protests Sunday when she was hit with a rubber bullet. Tomasi was seen on camera crying out and grabbing her calf.

British photographer Nick Stern said that a deputy with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department shot him in the thigh with a projectile on Saturday, The New York Times reported.

The sheriff’s department said it was “reviewing video footage related” to the incident and was not able to confirm whether it was a deputy who fired at him.

Protesters help clean up LA vandalism

Wednesday 11 June 2025 00:40

Some Los Angeles protesters have helped clean up the vandalism by bad actors in the city.

Susan Jekarl of Glendale is one of the volunteers who offered to remove spray paint from Little Tokyo storefronts.

“People are singing, people are dancing, people are helping each other clean their eyes out from pepper spray,” she told The Associated Press.

“The idea that we’re all rioting violently is just BS,” she added.

California Lt. governor responds to Mike Johnson's 'tarred and feathered' comments

Wednesday 11 June 2025 00:30

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Rachel Dobkin

California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis said House Speaker’s comments that California Governor Gavin Newsom “ought to be tarred and feathered” is “violent rhetoric.”

When asked Tuesday whether Newsom should face legal consequences over his handling of the protests against ICE raids in Los Angeles, Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, said, “I'm not going to give you legal analysis on whether Gavin Newsom should be arrested, but he ought to be tarred and feathered.”

Kounalakis later called Johnson’s comments “violent rhetoric” in an interview on CNN, adding that Newsom is “not afraid to stand up to the Speaker” and Trump.

Democrat senator rails against bad actors in LA protests

Wednesday 11 June 2025 00:20

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Rachel Dobkin

Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, told CNN that it’s “not free speech” when protesters in Los Angeles “start setting things on fire.”

“You can't defend when people start setting things on fire or they start damaging buildings or going after members of law enforcement. That's not free speech.

That is not that is not peaceful protests. And I'm very supportive of immigration as well, too. We have to find a way forward. The two must be true at the same time,” he said.

Watch Fetterman’s remarks here:

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, took a jab at Fetterman, telling CNN: “If Senator Fetterman or anybody else is concerned with law and order, we should be looking at one of the most law breaking agencies and administrations that we've seen in the United States,” seemingly referring to ICE under the Trump administration.

Watch Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks here:

Stephen Miller lit the fuse for LA protests: report

Wednesday 11 June 2025 00:00

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Rachel Dobkin

White House aide and anti-immigration hardliner Stephen Miller reportedly lit the fuse for protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles.

He pressed ICE officials to “just go out there and arrest illegal aliens,” The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Miller told federal agents to raid Home Depot parking lots and 7-Eleven convenience stores, according to the Journal.

Read more from Alex Woodward.

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Terry Moran out at ABC News following suspension over Stephen Miller tweet

Tuesday 10 June 2025 23:40

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Oliver O'Connell

ABC News is parting ways with correspondent and anchor Terry Moran just days after he posted a screed on X calling Donald Trump and his deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller “world-class haters.”

Justin Baragona reports.

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Watch: Trump flirts with invoking Insurrection Act to use military domestically

Tuesday 10 June 2025 23:20

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Oliver O'Connell

Hegseth tells Congress his ‘war fighters’ are primed for ‘lethality’ ... as he sends them to face American protesters

Tuesday 10 June 2025 23:05

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Oliver O'Connell

Richard Hall writes:

Pete Hegseth’s first congressional hearing as Defense Secretary was supposed to focus on budgetary matters, but the former soldier was not going to miss an opportunity to strike fear into the hearts of America’s enemies — in this case, a few hundred protesters in Los Angeles.

In his opening statement to the House Appropriations subcommittee, Hegseth delivered a made-for-Hollywood monologue about the U.S. military’s new “warrior ethos,” one that is focused squarely on “war fighting” and “lethality.”

So deadly are the soldiers under his command that the word “soldier” no longer suffices. In Hegseth’s Department of Defense, they are “war fighters” — a term he used repeatedly, implying an army of perpetually deployed and exhausted Rambo figures always searching for targets to shoot.

As he spoke, some 700 of these deadly war fighters had already left 29 Palms Marine base in the Southern California desert and were getting ready for their first deployment under his command.

Their destination? The deadly war zone of Los Angeles. Their target? The flag-waving street protesters who have wrought havoc on a few city blocks, prompting desperate calls for help from no one in the state.

Continue reading...

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'What Trump does in Los Angeles could become the authoritarian blueprint elsewhere in the country'

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:50

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Oliver O'Connell

California Senator Adam Schiff reiterates the warning from his Democratic colleagues in the House: “What Trump does in Los Angeles could become the authoritarian blueprint elsewhere in the country.”

Business owners count the cost of graffiti and broken windows

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:40

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Reuters

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Business owners in the Little Tokyo neighborhood - where some of the most intense clashes between police and protesters occurred late on Monday - were washing graffiti off storefront windows and sweeping up litter on Tuesday.

Every building on Little Tokyo's main streets was hit with graffiti, with the exception of a public defender's office that stood untouched.

A store owner who did not want to give her name, fearing reprisals, said it was frustrating that the neighborhood full of immigrants was paying the price of the protests against federal immigration agents.

Frank Chavez, 53, manager of an office building in the neighborhood, was sweeping glass shards from an entrance door that had been shattered after midnight by a young masked man wielding a skateboard, according to security video that Chavez showed a Reuters reporter.

"I agree with what the protesters are defending - they're standing up for the Latino community," Chavez said. "But there are a few carrying out vandalism and violence, and that must be stopped."

Chavez and other business owners said they did not support the LA immigration raids and felt Trump's response to the protests was only fanning the flames.

Watch: Trump attacks LA as 'trash heap' says 'we will liberate' city

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:35

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Oliver O'Connell

Kristi Noem claimed Mexico's president encouraged violence in LA — the opposite is true

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:30

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Oliver O'Connell

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Tuesday criticized Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum for comments that she said encouraged violence at protests in Los Angeles, drawing a rebuke from the Mexican leader, who denied the claims.

At a press conference on Monday, Sheinbaum criticized violent acts during the protests against immigration raids and asked U.S. authorities to respect the rule of law while policing migration.

“Claudia Sheinbaum came out and encouraged more protests in L.A., and I condemn her for that,” Noem told reporters at the White House.

“She should not be encouraging violent protests that are going on,” Noem added. “People are allowed to peacefully protest. But the violence that we're seeing is not acceptable, and it's not going to happen in America.”

In a post on X, Sheinbaum said Noem “mistakenly mentioned” that she encouraged violent protests, which was “absolutely false.” Sheinbaum then shared a video of her original comments on Monday.

“Here is my statement from yesterday, in which I clearly condemn violent demonstrations. We have always been against them, and even more so now in the high office I hold,” Sheinbaum said.

The Mexican leader, whose government is in the middle of trade negotiations with the Trump administration, said she was certain the “misunderstanding will be cleared up.”

Trump continues to attack LA mayor and Governor 'Newscum'

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:19

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Oliver O'Connell

President Donald Trump, true to form, lashes out at Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom. He maliciously claimed they paid “troublemakers, agitators and insurrectionists” to aid in the occupation of the city “by criminal invaders.”

“In LA the governor of California, the mayor—they're incompetent and they paid troublemakers, agitators and insurrectionists, they're engaged in this willful attempt to nullify federal law and aid the occupation of the city by criminal invaders,” the president said to troops at Fort Bragg.

And he couldn’t resist reeling out his nickname for the governor.

Trump says LA protesters 'came in with bricks' to throw

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:15

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Oliver O'Connell

Speaking at Fort Bragg, President Donald Trump says protesters in Los Angeles were breaking up the roadside curbs to throw at police — something he referenced earlier in the Oval Office — but says they also “came in with bricks, red bricks to throw.”

This might be a reference to a 2020 conspiracy theory that bricks were planted for Black Lives Matter protesters by “Antifa and professional anarchists” during the unrest following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

The conspiracy shared by the Trump White House at the time in a video compilation was quickly debunked when reporters revealed footage of bricks being taken from nearby construction sites.

Senator decries detention of on-air CNN reporter

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:13

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Oliver O'Connell

Democrat Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware has spoken out against the intimidation of members of the press covering the unrest in Los Angeles.

She wrote on X: “From firing on reporters to detaining them on-air, we’re seeing new levels of intimidation leveled at members of the press trying to hold this administration to account.”

“It’s totally unacceptable,” said the senator.

Trump claims LA unrest 'full blown assault' on national sovereignty

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:05

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Oliver O'Connell

Continuing his remarks at Fort Bragg, President Donald Trump claimed the unrest in Los Angeles was a “full-blown assault on peace, on public order, and on national sovereignty.”

Watch his remarks here:

Trump tells troops at Fort Bragg that LA 'would be burning today' if it weren't for National Guard

Tuesday 10 June 2025 22:01

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Oliver O'Connell

President Donald Trump is delivering remarks at Fort Bragg to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army and took time to comment on the unrest in Los Angeles.

The president told troops: “I want to say a few words about the situation in Los Angeles. You have heard of the place? Where I've deployed thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to protect federal law enforcement from the attacks of a vicious and violent mob. And some of the radical left. They say, oh, that's not nice. Well, if we didn't do do it, there wouldn't be a Los Angeles, it would be burning today, just like their houses were.”

According to Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the National Guard troops are guarding two federal buildings in the city and only arrived on Sunday.

Watch the president’s remarks here:

Trump administration responds to Newsom restraining order

Tuesday 10 June 2025 21:56

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Oliver O'Connell

The Trump administration’s brief response to California Governor Gavin Newsom’s motion for a temporary restraining order is in, and the Department of Justice is asking for 24 hours to “finalize declarations necessary to expose certain of Plaintiffs’ allegations as false and demonstrate the irreparable harm to the Defendants if the Court were to enter the proposed order.”

It reads in part:

Plaintiffs’ motion is legally meritless. It seeks an extraordinary, unprecedented, and dangerous court order. If entered, Plaintiffs’ proposed order would jeopardize the safety of Department of Homeland Security personnel and interfere with the Federal Government’s ability to carry out operations. Plaintiffs’ request that this Court supervise the President and Secretary of Defense’s management of military forces is itself highly unusual and indeed non-justiciable under constitutional principles. The Court should reject Plaintiffs’ suggestion that this Court enter an order—on a one-sided record and without hearing from Defendants—on a subject of grave importance that implicates the separation of powers.

ICE photos show immigration enforcement continuing in Los Angeles

Tuesday 10 June 2025 21:53

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Oliver O'Connell

National Guard troops appear to be protecting ICE agents.

Full story: Newsom claims military set to go on ICE raids as he demands a judge stop troop deployment in LA

Tuesday 10 June 2025 21:48

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Oliver O'Connell

California Governor Gavin Newsom urgently appealed to a federal judge on Tuesday and requested an immediate order barring the National Guard and Marines deployed in response to the Los Angeles protests from joining in immigration raids, saying such operations could be slated to begin any moment.

In a filing in a California federal court, Newsom said the Trump administration intends “to use unlawfully federalized National Guard troops and Marines to accompany federal immigration enforcement officers on raids throughout Los Angeles.”

Josh Marcus reports.

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180 arrested since Saturday

Tuesday 10 June 2025 21:42

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Oliver O'Connell

The Los Angeles Police Department said it arrested more than 100 people on Monday, including 14 for looting.

In all, state and local police have arrested more than 180 people since Saturday on charges including assaulting an officer and attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail.

Reuters

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