At least 56 individuals have been arrested in downtown Los Angeles for participating in protests against immigration raids, police announced.
Police stated that demonstrators were arrested for disobeying dispersal warnings after gatherings in downtown Los Angeles were declared unlawful, NBC reported.
Among those arrested are reportedly an individual who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail at a police officer, and another person who is claimed to have driven a motorcycle into a police cordon, injuring one officer.
Clashes between protesters and police are continuing in downtown Los Angeles. Police have warned they will respond with appropriate force if demonstrators use “incendiary devices.”
The number of demonstrators on the streets of Los Angeles has decreased, but some groups are still clashing with police, while traffic has been disrupted, and smoke is rising from Highway 101.
The Los Angeles Police Department announced on platform X that the southbound lanes of Highway 101 are closed until further notice due to the protests. Police reported that demonstrators threw objects at highway entrances and damaged several police vehicles, CNN reported.
Governor Newsom to Sue Trump Administration
California Governor Gavin Newsom stated that the state will file a lawsuit today against the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump for what he called the “unlawful, immoral, and unconstitutional deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles to quell protests.”
Elon Musk Supports Trump Administration’s Response
American billionaire Elon Musk, whose relationship with Trump was strained last week, supported the Trump administration’s response to the Los Angeles protests on platform X last night. Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to suppress immigration protests in Los Angeles.
Ongoing Clashes and Use of Force
On Sunday, Los Angeles police fired pepper spray projectiles outside the city’s detention center in an attempt to disperse demonstrators, some of whom threw water bottles at officials and carried banners condemning police forces.
Protesters outside the Los Angeles detention center clashed with agents from the California National Guard, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and the Department of Homeland Security, in the latest series of protests against immigration raids that have swept across California over the weekend.
On Sunday, the National Guard used pepper balls, pepper spray, and tear gas in at least one instance to clear a path for armored vehicles to enter the detention center, after which a crowd of demonstrators took to the street and blocked traffic.
