The New York Times reports:
A third day of protests against immigration raids was expected to take place in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, hours after President Trump took the extraordinary action of ordering at least 2,000 National Guard members to assist immigration agents clashing with demonstrators.
The announcement by Mr. Trump — who said that any protest or act of violence that impeded officials would be considered a “form of rebellion” — was an escalation that put Los Angeles squarely at the center of tensions over his administration’s immigration crackdown and made rare use of federal powers to bypass the authority of California’s governor, Gavin Newsom.
Mr. Trump issued the order on Saturday as law enforcement officers faced off with hundreds of protesters for a second consecutive day in the Los Angeles area, in some cases using rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades. Mr. Newsom described Mr. Trump’s order as “purposefully inflammatory,” saying that the federal government was mobilizing the National Guard “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle.”
The Associated Press reports:
Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby.
Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA’s fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.
The Washington Post reports:
The National Guard has not yet been deployed to the sites of any protests in Los Angeles County, according to its sheriff’s department. “We were told that the National Guard had been deployed, however they are not on the scene or the ground yet,” Deputy Sheriff Tracy Koerner said around 1:45 a.m. local time. Earlier Sunday, Mayor Karen Bass said the National Guard had not been deployed in the city limits.
The Los Angeles Police Department said at midnight that it detained “multiple” people who breached an area near the city’s Metropolitan Detention Center where the agency had declared an “unlawful assembly.” “Those detained will be arrested and booked for failing to disperse,” the force said on social media. Earlier, police said a section of Alameda Street was closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic.
The cult is celebrating on X, with some calling for the use of “live rounds” on protesters. Trump’s post below came at 2:41am, presumably upon his return from a UFC match where he was seated with Mike Tyson.
SEIU CA President David Huerta was assaulted and arrested for peaceful protest. The injuries the assault caused required hospital care. https://t.co/1xdxosZyIw
— emptywheel (check) (@emptywheel) June 8, 2025
https://t.co/0tDuiPedxt pic.twitter.com/z9Or2HJ7o3
— Michael A. Cohen (NOT TRUMP’S FORMER FIXER) (@speechboy71) June 8, 2025
Deploying troops to communities already under pressure is not leadership—it’s provocation. The Trump Administration is weaponizing fear to divide and destabilize. We will not be silent. We stand with those targeted and terrorized.
We fight for justice. Always. https://t.co/tQF4Gp8iWm
— NAACP (@NAACP) June 8, 2025
In case you were wondering what sparked the LA standoff between protesters and federal agents, this is it.
Immigrants showed up for routine ICE check-ins and were detained on the spot.
Hauled into the basement. Held overnight like fugitives.
No warning. No due process. Just…
— Brian Allen (@allenanalysis) June 7, 2025
During his first term, Trump asked Defense Secretary Mark Esper to shoot protesters. Esper refused.
Now he has Pete Hegseth. God help us all pic.twitter.com/V207z6Vg1B
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) June 8, 2025
JD Vance now wants to use the chaos ICE is causing in Los Angeles as pretext to pressure politicians to pass the Republican budget bill that will saddle Americans with trillions of dollars of debt, skyrocket the deficit, take away people’s healthcare, and give massive tax breaks… pic.twitter.com/dnYvepHjII
— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) June 8, 2025
Weird how he didn’t call up the National Guard on January 6th. pic.twitter.com/y5Z3FbZ9oY
— Jo (@JoJoFromJerz) June 8, 2025
Trump sends in his brown shirts to cause disruption so he can use the insurrection act or whatever fucked rational he comes up with to send in the the National G. Mussolini gives a thumbs up in his grave. https://t.co/KDPVrNcUy9
— Crooks and Liars (@crooksandliars) June 8, 2025
I have $20 that says she shows up in LA, wearing a special commando outfit, hair extensions and a camera crew in tow. pic.twitter.com/8xYNXf9Z4o
— Turnbull (@cturnbull1968) June 8, 2025
Insurrection! pic.twitter.com/C2RtI8Yl9a
— Voice of Reason (@raggapegs) June 7, 2025
A powder keg is about to explode: With masks to hide their identity, this is what a Nazi takeover of the streets of Los Angeles looks like. Trump’s cosplaying ICE Gestapo is carrying out a lawless assault against one of the most diverse cities in America. pic.twitter.com/zDJyAplqhx
— Bill Madden (@maddenifico) June 7, 2025
— Teamsters California (@TeamstersCA) June 7, 2025
I was told ICE was going to arrest gangsters and mobsters. But all I see is fat white guys in cosplay doin jobsite raids, school raids, and arresting mothers with kids who are applying for citizenship.
— JerryRigEverything (@ZacksJerryRig) June 7, 2025
You have no say in this at all. Federal law is supreme and federal law will be enforced. https://t.co/N53UBl3UM4
— Stephen Miller (@StephenM) June 6, 2025
Ask yourself why ICE is conducting raids in cities like LA and Chicago, where they face strong opposition, while massive agribusinesses in places like Kristi Noem’s South Dakota remain untouched.
— Molly Ploofkins (@Mollyploofkins) June 7, 2025
Your boss pardoned cop beaters at the January 6th riot https://t.co/nN5oWZLWH5
— Mike Nellis (@MikeNellis) June 7, 2025
This guy is living out his camo fantasy right now like it’s a game. Disgusting. https://t.co/XsMzKytVUW
— Amee Vanderpool (@girlsreallyrule) June 8, 2025
“Those aren’t protestors. Those are Feds.”
Did I do this right, MAGA?
— Maine (@TheMaineWonk) June 7, 2025
President Obama deported 3 million people and managed to do so without using stormtroopers and the National Guard.
Like everything else, Obama was better at that too.
— Turnbull (@cturnbull1968) June 8, 2025
Just so we are clear – this is what an insurrection actually looks like: https://t.co/iDgBgVmUh7 pic.twitter.com/1SwUViCauf
— Brett Bruen (@BrettBruen) June 7, 2025
This bloodthirsty fascist pig is longing to shoot people ever since his first term. pic.twitter.com/mCKaiG0ZQG
— Marlene Robertson🇨🇦 (@marlene4719) June 8, 2025
Trump is sending in highly visible and armored ICE agents to LA and other big cities. He’s deliberately creating conflict so he can federalize the National Guard to go in and start hurting American citizens.
That’s the end game.
pic.twitter.com/SVuWKvXxmT— Turnbull (@cturnbull1968) June 7, 2025
The person most responsible for the chaos and violence in southern California right now is @StephenM – who screamed at and fired ICE officials for not making 3,000 arrests per day
Now he’s put ICE agents, police officers, protesters, immigrants, and innocent bystanders at risk…
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) June 7, 2025