LA Warzone: Rioters Attack Cops, Set Fires, Block 101 Freeway

Protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reached a third day Sunday as protesters in downtown Los Angeles clashed with police, blocked off a major freeway and set vehicles on fire.

Anti-ICE protests erupted coast to coast over the weekend as Immigration and Customs Enforcement ramped up its immigration raids in Los Angeles, New York City and Chicago.

Twenty-seven arrests were reported Saturday in Los Angeles as about 300 National Guard members were deployed in the city, the first of which arrived in Los Angeles Sunday morning. Late in the evening, LAPD officials reported 10 arrests, including the apprehension of one individual who allegedly threw a Molotov cocktail, and said three officers had been injured but not hospitalized.

National Guard troops faced off with protesters only hours after the soldiers arrived in the city, firing tear gas at a growing crowd outside a federal complex.

Some police patrolled the streets on horseback while others with riot gear lined up behind Guard troops deployed to protect federal facilities, including a detention center where some immigrants were taken in recent days.

By midday, hundreds of protestors had gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Protesters directed chants of “shame” and “go home” at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields.

The Los Angeles Police Department fired non-lethal rounds to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully.

101 Freeway takeover

The protest against ICE spilled onto the 101 Freeway, with protesters taking over the southbound lanes and police holding the line on the opposite side of the median. Independent journalist Anthony Cabassa told NewsNation that some crowd members on the overpass above were throwing water bottles and other items at police.

“There’s a lot of anarchists, a lot of bad-faith actors, that come to these protests and take advantage of the situation. They vandalize, they break up bricks and throw them at police, and they kind of get the crowd going,” he told “NewsNation Prime.”

Police officers, firing tear gas canisters and other projectiles into the crowds, managed to clear the highway by 5 p.m. Individuals atop the overpass dropped electric scooters onto police vehicles.

A confrontation broke out in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, as a group of demonstrators shouted insults at members of the guard lined shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.

On Sunday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the National Guard would “keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order.”

KTLA also reported that ICE raids could last up to 30 days. Democratic Rep. Nanette Barragán said she has been told to prepare for a large presence of ICE officers in her district in California.

As of Sunday night, the Los Angeles Police Department said two officers were injured as two motorcyclists attempted to breach a skirmish line.

Taxpayer-Funded Nonprofit Behind the Anti-ICE Riots

CHIRLA, the group behind the current rioting in LA, "received nearly $34 million in revenue from government contracts during the fiscal year ending June 30, 2023, with 96% of that funding from the State of CA."

Newsom formally requests National Guard withdrawal

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday formally requested that the Trump administration rescind its deployment of the National Guard.

“I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,” Newsom said in a statement.

“We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”

Later Sunday, Newsom said he plans to sue the Trump administration. Trump bringing in the National Guard was an “illegal immoral and unconstitutional act and we’re going test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow.”

Trump, Homan on law and order

President Trump spoke to reporters from the tarmac at Morristown Municipal Airport on Sunday, suggesting that California officials may face legal consequences if they aid illegal activity.

“Nobody’s gonna spit on our police officers. Nobody’s gonna spit or our military, which they do is the common thing they get up to them, this far away and then they started spitting in their face,” he added.

Border czar Tom Homan on Sunday also warned California officials could face arrest and prosecution if they “cross the line” following President Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles to quell ongoing immigration protests.

“It’s a felony to knowingly conceal and harbor an illegal alien,” Homan said. “It’s a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job,” Homan told NBC News’s Jacob Soboroff.

“What we’re saying is we’re not going to tolerate people attacking our officers,” he added.

President Trump told Democratic California Gov. Newsom during a phone call Friday to “get police in gear because things were getting out of control,” according to two White House officials.

Gov. Newsom said on X Sunday afternoon: “Don’t give Trump what he wants. Stay calm. Stay Peaceful.”

Hegseth: US Marines on high alert

A protest unfolded Sunday afternoon outside the Main Gate of Camp Pendleton, where demonstrators gathered to denounce the use of the military against protesters in Los Angeles, according to NewsNation affiliate KSWB.

Demonstrators held signs reading “Protest is Patriotic,” “Support Our Troops,” and “Save Democracy.

On Saturday, U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth wrote on the social media platform X that active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton were on high alert and would be mobilized “if violence continues.”

President Trump told reporters on Sunday that he’s heading to Camp David to meet with military leaders, among others.

During a gaggle before boarding Air Force One, Trump would not rule out invoking the Insurrection Act, which could allow the military to be deployed domestically, but suggested the protests against immigration raids were not yet an insurrection.