LOS ANGELES—Standoffs between protesters and law-enforcement officers in downtown Los Angeles escalated Sunday night, capping a tense day in which demonstrators, police, rubber bullets and helicopters overran a neighborhood that is home to City Hall and federal buildings.
During a third day of demonstrations opposing federal immigration operations in a city with a large immigrant population, mounted police galloped by on horses and law enforcement used tear gas to move crowds. Protesters covered the neighborhood in graffiti that said “F— ICE,” set at least five Waymo driverless taxis on fire, and threw rocks and water bottles at officers.
Demonstrators feed a plant into a fire burning in a dumpster during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci
Jim McDonnell, chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, said Sunday evening that the department had arrested more than 10 people, and that the California Highway Patrol had arrested 17 people. He said some protesters brought hammers, breaking curbs and bollards around federal buildings to chip off rocks to hurl at police.
Earlier in the day, CHP officers pushed protesters off Highway 101 using flash bang stun grenades and tactical positioning after hundreds of people spilled onto one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Sunday evening, demonstrators threw tree branches, scooters, fireworks and debris from a freeway overpass onto police vehicles below.
After the sun went down, police presence in the area increased and protesters made impromptu barriers.
Police clear demonstrators after they blocked a street with a barricade during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The protests started Friday in response to federal agents engaging in what appeared to be immigration enforcement, and continued through the weekend. President Trump called in the National Guard late Saturday after two days of skirmishes between protesters and law enforcement, even though the state hadn’t requested it.
Trump said the force was necessary to protect federal agents and property, and about 300 troops took up positions around the area Sunday.
The deployment of National Guard troops under federal authority in response to civil unrest is a rare step, one that usually requires the president to find under the Insurrection Act that the forces are needed to enforce the law or restore order. The National Guard troops were deployed in L.A. under the orders of the federal government, known as Title 10 authority, a U.S. Northern Command spokesman said.
L.A. Mayor Karen Bass called the move “a dangerous escalation.” While she denounced raids by immigration officials at workplaces and other settings, saying they send “a sense of fear and chaos in our city,” she encouraged citizens to protest peacefully.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday requested that the Trump administration rescind the National Guard deployment, saying the move was a breach of state sovereignty.
Police officers stand guard during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci
As clashes escalated Sunday, Trump talked of bringing in the military . “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!,” Trump posted on Truth Social late Sunday. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on X that active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton in Southern California were on high alert and would be sent if violence continued.
Newsom contended that Trump’s moves were contributing to the unrest. Trump sent the troops “to manufacture chaos and violence,” the governor said in a post on X. “Now things are destabilized and we need to send in more law enforcement just to clean up Trump’s mess.”
The clashes late Sunday contrasted with protests earlier in the day. At City Hall Sunday afternoon, protesters chanted, “No justice, no peace. We don’t want ICE or police!”
Police vehicles line up during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/Aude Guerrucci
Jocelyn Pimentel, 28, an Orange County resident, went to a demonstration with her 72-year-old grandmother, who was visiting from Puebla, Mexico. They said they were protesting on behalf of immediate family members who aren’t in the U.S. legally and are at risk from the crackdown. Immigrants need better rights and pathways to citizenship, Pimentel said.
Hannah Navarro, 29, a receptionist from Boyle Heights in L.A., held up a “Melt ICE” sign and said she was protesting on behalf of family members without legal status in the U.S. who were afraid to leave their homes. “We’re fighting so our families can come out of hiding,” said Navarro.
Write to Marc Vartabedian at marc.vartabedian@wsj.com , Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com and Ginger Adams Otis at Ginger.AdamsOtis@wsj.com
