Police said about 470 protesters in Los Angeles have been detained or arrested since Saturday, and reported a relatively quiet night on the city's streets late Thursday, the third night since the mayor imposed an 8 p.m. curfew.
Most of the sprawling city of 4 million people has been spared any disruption as protests have been concentrated in a few blocks downtown near City Hall and a federal detention center.
The protests intensified after Trump called up the Guard and have spread to other cities nationwide. More are scheduled for Saturday — Trump's 79th birthday — to coincide with a military parade in Washington, D.C., ostensibly to celebrate the Army's 250th anniversary.
Here are some things to know about the protests:
Appeals court extends the battle over troops in LA
The battle over Trump's plan to have the military control protests in Los Angeles will continue at least until Tuesday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom had asked a judge to order an emergency stop to Trump's troop deployment to protect federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents making arrests across Los Angeles. He said the presence of troops at the raids has further inflamed tensions.
The Trump administration called Newsom's lawsuit a "crass political stunt endangering American lives," and said it was willing to send troops to other cities to assist with immigration enforcement and controlling disturbances, in line with Trump's campaign promises.
On Thursday evening, a federal judge ruled that the president’s Guard deployment in LA was illegal because it violates the Tenth Amendment and exceeds his statutory authority. The judge directed Trump to return control of California’s Guard troops to the state.
The White House called the order “unprecedented” and said it “puts our brave federal officials in danger.”
The federal government immediately appealed, and later Thursday, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked that order.
“If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now,” Trump said Friday in a post on his Truth Social platform.
The appeals court said it would hear arguments in the case June 17.
On Friday, Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51 who is overseeing the 4,700 troops deployed to Los Angeles, said the 200 or so Marines already deployed will take over operations at noon local time at the federal building downtown.
What troops are in LA, and what are they doing?
Trump's orders moved thousands of National Guard personnel closer to engaging in law enforcement actions including deportations as the president has promised in his crackdown.
Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, overseeing Trump's troop deployment, said the 700 Marines deployed to the city were undergoing civil disobedience training in Orange County.
About 500 of the Guard troops deployed to the protests were trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, he said. ICE said some troops were providing security at federal facilities and protecting federal officers.
California senator removed from Noem event
U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla was forcibly removed after he interrupted a Los Angeles news conference held by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on immigration.
Padilla, a California Democrat, was removed as he tried to shout over Noem.
“I think everybody in America would agree that that was inappropriate,” Noem said.
Newsom called the removal “outrageous, dictatorial and shameful.”
The Department of Homeland Security said Padilla refused to back away, leading agents to think he was dangerous. Despite DHS assertions that Padilla did not identify himself, he is heard saying “I’m Sen. Alex Padilla” as an agent pushes him away.
Noem met with Padilla afterward for 15 minutes.
Americans await military parade and counter-protests
Protests have been breaking out across the country, driven by anger over Trump's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws and ahead of Trump's military parade on Saturday. A series of "No Kings" protests are also planned for Saturday to counter the parade in the nation's capital.
In Newark, New Jersey, protesters gathered Thursday outside a New Jersey federal immigration detention center, locking arms and pushing against barricades as disorder broke out at Delaney Hall, a 1,000-bed facility that Immigrations and Customs Enforcement opened this year.
Immigration crackdown
Los Angeles County presents a ripe target for the immigration raids, as an estimated 10% of its residents aren’t in the country legally.
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff and chief architect of Trump’s immigration policies, said late last month that ICE should make at least 3,000 arrests a day, nearly five times the norm this year.
Democratic governors called before Congress Thursday vowed to follow the law when it comes to immigration but insisted the White House do the same.
“As we speak, an American city has been militarized over the objections of their governor,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul told the House Oversight committee. “This is a flagrant abuse of power and nothing short of an assault on our American values."
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Associated Press writers Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas; Jake Offenhartz, Krysta Fauria and Dorany Pineda in Los Angeles; Eliott Spagat in San Diego; Jesse Bedayn in Denver; Sudhin Thanawala in Atlanta; Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia; and Lolita C. Baldor and Joey Cappelletti in Washington, D.C., contributed.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Credit: AP