On another night in downtown Los Angeles, hundreds of Marines are expected to remain vigilant in Los Angeles on Tuesday, resulting in arrests and theft of a few businesses.
Although California officials insist that there is no need to help, tensions between authorities and protesters are actually being escalated, and 700 active-duty U.S. Marines are still deploying, despite California officials insisting that it is not necessary. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said the deployment posed a “significant” challenge to law enforcement efforts to protect the city.
McDonnell said Monday afternoon that his department has not received any official notice yet
“There is no clearly coordinated federal army that may arrive in Los Angeles, which presents significant logistical and operational challenges for those responsible for maintaining the city,” he said. “Along with our co-assistance partners, the LAPD has decades of experience in public demonstrations, and we still have confidence in our ability to be effective and professional.”
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass also condemned the deployment: “We don’t need the National Guard, why on Earth? [Marines] Do it? ”
As immigration arrests continue in Southern California, fierce but isolated clashes have occurred between protesters and law enforcement.
The protests on Monday were calmer than on Sunday’s Melees, which left a bunch of foam bullets around the city center, buildings were destroyed, Waymos burned and many protesters were injured by ammunition.
Local officials urged protesters to maintain peace.
Mark González, a convention raiser representing the downtown area, said violence and destruction in Little Tokyo and parts of the downtown area were “totally unacceptable.”
“Tagging historical landmarks, firing fireworks at officers and intimidating residents is not protesting, but sabotage,” he said. “If you are here to hunt for influence, and our neighbors are scared and the store is on – you are not helping, you are hurting.”
The Marine Corps is expected to join approximately 1,700 California National Guard soldiers in Los Angeles to help protect federal agents and buildings. On Monday night, an army was seen traveling from Twenty-Nine Palms to Los Angeles.
As midnight approaches downtown, officers use deadly ammunition and tear gas when clashes with dozens of people who remain in downtown Los Angeles. Earlier that day, hundreds of people gathered in front of the federal building.
Police moved late afternoon, pushing the crowd away from buildings at the focus of Sunday's protests and steadily pushing them toward Little Tokyo, sparse with each push.
Dozens of protesters are still scattered in Little Tokyo around 10 p.m. Officials shooting flash explosions and deadly ammunition while protesters try to build barriers with recycling bins.
At least one car window was broken and shot glass fragments into the crowd.
In Orange County, protesters gathered in front of federal buildings in downtown Santa Ana, police used tear gas, pepper balls and rubber bullets to clear the crowds after reports of protesters throwing items at police.
“Originally in the legal council around the Civic Center Square, it has been upgraded to items thrown at officials and other public, posing risks to public safety, property and the well-being of our community,” the Santa Ana Police Department said in a statement on X.
Immigration law enforcement officers were found Monday in a court and library in Whittier, a family warehouse in Huntington Park and a home warehouse in Santa Ana, and businesses in Spring Valley, officials and media reported.
In an interview with Jesse Watters, Tom Homan, Trump’s top border policy adviser, said immigration and customs enforcement attacks will continue in Los Angeles, partly because of restrictions on so-called “sanitary city” policies that restrict how local law enforcement officers can work with federal immigration agents.
“The ice won't leave,” Homan said. “We're going to flood the area.
“Based on what Los Angeles is doing now, we will continue to flood the area. We will be there tonight, we will be here tomorrow, and we will be there every day for the next four years, arresting public safety threats and illegal foreigners. We will not apologize for this.”
Employees Seema Mehta and Laura J. Nelson contributed to the report.
