This past weekend, tensions in Los Angeles came to a boiling point over recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. Demonstrators starting Friday, June 6th, protested the deportations outside of the Federal Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, and were met with violence from the Los Angeles Police Department.
By Sunday, President Donald Trump bypassed Governor Gavin Newsom’s consent and authorized the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to the city, and on Monday, authorized another 2,000 troops and about 700 Marines. Scenes from the protests quickly circulated online and in the media, showcasing the violent response to peaceful protestors by the LAPD and National Guard. Not only were the protestors the targets of their “less lethal” munitions, so were journalists.
While the initial response from Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass was to condemn Trump’s immigration policies, Bass announced on Tuesday night she was implementing an 8 pm curfew over a wide section surrounding the Federal Building in downtown LA. During a press conference on Tuesday, June 10th, Bass stated, “I wanted to let the city know that I have declared a local emergency and issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting.” Many locals critiqued this move as providing LAPD a license to become even more violent against peaceful protestors.
On Tuesday, June 10th, as the first curfew neared, protesters congregated for an interfaith vigil at the steps of the federal building, where church leaders from different denominations held prayers. The multi-cultural and multi-racial coalition of leaders and protestors chanted “peaceful protest” to the National Guard troops waiting at the front of the steps.
“Today we’re here to be the voice of our parents who are undocumented,” said a young Latina resident (all the people I talked to requested anonymity), standing next to her 8-year-old sister, who was wearing a graduation outfit. “Today was my sister’s graduation. In light of everything that has been happening, we couldn’t really celebrate it to the fullest because we’re afraid our parents might be taken away, so we decided to come to the protest.”
When the 8 p.m. curfew arrived, about half the crowd dispersed, but thousands remained as LAPD began to encircle the area in a kettle formation. What started as a peaceful demonstration ended as LAPD surrounded people on foot and horseback, shooting less lethal munitions into the crowd and threatening arrest. Many protestors were arrested and placed into vans. “What you do matters,” some began to chant at the officers who held their batons in front of them. Another protester on a megaphone yelled, “We need a government that cares about us.”
By Wednesday, June 11th, videos circulating online showed the LAPD making arrests well before the curfew took place. The National Guard is expected to remain in the city for the rest of the month; it’s unclear how the Marines will respond to the crowds. Protestors are expected to continue their demonstrations through the coming weeks.