National Guard and protesters clash in Los Angeles

LA's chaotic weekend of protests

Protests have erupted across pockets of Los Angeles, triggered by immigration enforcement operations in parts of the city on Friday.

As some protests turned violent, US President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to uphold "very strong law and order" in parts of the city, prompting California Governor Gavin Newsom to call the move "illegal and immoral".

Immigration raids have stepped up after Trump returned to the White House and pledged to crack down on illegal immigration. Here are the key moments from the raids and protests.

Waymo taxis burn on Los Angeles street
Robert Gauthier/Los Angeles Times

Friday, 6 June

The protests began on Friday after Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers carried out raids in heavily Latino parts of Los Angeles, including outside a clothing warehouse in the Fashion District near downtown LA.

It was one of four search warrants served at three locations in LA by ICE on Friday, the BBC's US partner CBS News reported, and as news of those warrants spread, protests broke out.

Map showing flashpoints in Los Angeles

Protesters threw objects at agents and attempted to block federal officials from carrying out their arrests.

Protesters push bin at officers
Daniel Cole/ Reuters

Officials in riot gear used flash bang grenades and pepper spray to subdue the crowd in response.

A police officer uses stun grenades as they approach the protesters gathered around the Los Angeles Federal Building
CAROLINE BREHMAN/ EPA

ICE agents also raided sites in the Westlake district and in Paramount, south of LA, where the population is more than 82% Hispanic, CBS news reported.

Hours later, people calling for an end to the immigration raids protested outside the Federal Building in downtown LA after it emerged that detainees were allegedly being held there.

Demonstrators protest outside the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and the Metropolitan Detention Center in response to ICE raids
Jason Armond / LA Times

Graffiti was sprayed on the building and objects were thrown at police leading to an unlawful assembly declaration. The Los Angeles Police Department was brought in to disperse crowds and said that "over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal building", and officers were "vastly outnumbered".

ICE told CBS that 44 unauthorised immigrants were arrested in a single operation at a job site on Friday, with another 77 taken in in the greater Los Angeles area.

Among those arrested was US labour union leader David Huerta, president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who officials said "deliberately obstructed" federal agents by blocking their vehicle – the union said Huerta was "peacefully observing" the operation.

Saturday, 7 June

In the morning, a hardware store in the predominantly Latino Paramount district, around 20 miles (32km) south of downtown LA, was the centre of immigration protests, sparked by rumours that day labourers here had been rounded up and arrested.

3D image showing the location of the Home Depot in Paramount City.
Google Earth

Many who live in the community told the BBC they saw immigration enforcement vehicles in the area, followed by reports of raids and arrests of day labourers at Home Depot, which the US Department of Homeland Security later called disinformation.

3D image highlighting the intersection of East Alondra Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue.
Google Earth

Protests escalated and one of those arrested allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at officers, while a car was set ablaze and businesses looted.

A car on fire at the intersection.
Getty
Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers stand guard behind clouds of tear gas on East Alondra Blvd
Carlin Stiehl / LA Times

Authorities used pepper spray, rubber bullets and smoke bombs to subdue the crowd.

Police clear demonstrators after they blocked a street with a barricade
David Ryder/ Reuters
An anti-ICE protester gets tear gassed and is helped by fellow protesters on Hunsaker Ave
Carlin Stiehl / LA Times
Protesters hide behind a dumpster near a set fire as LA County Sheriff deputies shoot projectiles to keep demonstrators from advancing after ICE raids at a nearby Home Depot and the Garment District
Gina Ferazzi / LA Times

Responding to the protests, the LA Police Department said it made 29 arrests, almost all for failure to disperse, which is a misdemeanour.

Around 18:00 local time, President Trump used his authority to call in 2,000 members of the California National Guard, something typically decided by a state's governor.

Sunday, 8 June

Just before 07:00 local time, the first group of National Guard troops began arriving in the city, staging outside the downtown Metropolitan detention centre, where illegal immigrants are taken after being detained.

National guard
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The troops also guarded a gated business park across the street from the hardware store in Paramount, as well as other federal buildings in LA. They parked Humvees blocking the area and squared off with protesters hurling insults and waving Mexican flags and banners.

By about 10:30, at least 300 members of the California National Guard were deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area, while 500 Marines are in a "prepared to deploy" status at a base around 230km east of Los Angeles.

Bridge on 101 freeway
Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg

Around 16:00, crowds of protesters flooded the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles, not far from City Hall, and brought traffic to a standstill.

Map of Los Angeles
freeway
BENJAMIN HANSON/ Middle East Images

BBC reporter Christal Hayes was driving through downtown Los Angeles on Sunday when she saw a van slam into a junction, appearing to hit several protesters.

The van drove in circles as protesters and other drivers tried to flee. Local media reported that the driver was arrested, and nobody was injured.

LA police said it arrested 27 people on Sunday. Pockets of the city experienced unrest on Sunday night, and police declared downtown LA an "unlawful assembly" at 23:15 local time on Sunday (07:15 BST on Monday). Some protesters threw concrete, bottles and other objects at officers, police alleged.

A protester is detained during an anti-ICE demonstration in downtown Los Angeles
BENJAMIN HANSON/ Middle East Images
A protester is detained during an anti-ICE demonstration in downtown Los Angeles
Apu Gomes/Getty Images

Credits

Produced by Dominic Bailey, Paul Sargeant, Camilla Costa and Kady Wardell. Design by Kate Gaynor. Development by Dan Smith