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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
World
Helen Livingstone (now); Robert Mackey, Lucy Campbell, Léonie Chao-Fong and Daniel Lavelle (earlier)

Riot police disperse protesters in downtown LA – as it happened

LAPD Donald Trump Karen Bass Los Angeles Gavin Newsom National Guard
Relatives of detained Angelenos embrace at a press conference of families of detained car wash workers in Culver City, California.
Relatives of detained Angelenos embrace at a press conference of families of detained car wash workers in Culver City, California. Photograph: Ethan Swope/AP

This blog is closing now. You can read all our coverage of the anti-Ice protests in Los Angeles and across the US here. In the meantime, here are the key developments in US politics:

  • A curfew has come into effect for the second consecutive night in downtown Los Angeles, where police used horses and munitions to disperse protesters. Police declared the gathering near city hall unlawful shortly before the curfew, and began firing and charging at protesters shortly afterwards.

  • Los Angeles county district attorney Nathan Hochman said media and social media had grossly distorted the scale of protest violence. “There are 11 million people in this county; 4 million of which live in Los Angeles city. We estimate that there’s probably thousands of people who have engaged in legitimate protest, let’s say 4,000 people,” Hochman said.

  • Los Angles mayor Karen Bass said the unrest had been “provoked by the White House” with “unnecessary” immigration raids to round up “everyday Angelenos” seeking work, instead of the violent criminals the Trump administration claims to be targeting. “And when you start deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids, it is a drastic and chaotic escalation”, she said.

  • The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, ordered the state’s national guard to deploy to the city of San Antonio ahead of immigration-related protests planned for this week, saying the soldiers are “on standby”.

  • A federal judge ruled that the Trump administration can no longer detain Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil. Judge Michael E Farbiarz said that the ruling will go into effect at 9.30am on Friday, adding: “This is to allow the respondents to seek appellate review should they wish to.”

  • David Hogg will not run again for a vice-chair position at the Democratic National Committee, after members voted to void and re-do his election. The move ends months of internal turmoil over Hogg’s outside activism, particularly his vow to primary “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats.

  • All 12 members of the prestigious Fulbright program’s board resigned in protest of what they describe as unprecedented political interference by the Trump administration, which has blocked scholarships for nearly 200 American academics.

  • Donald Trump was booed and cheered while attending the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center, his first appearance there since becoming president and appointing himself chair.

  • Donald Trump’s administration is discouraging governments around the world from attending a UN conference next week on a possible two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, according to a US cable seen by Reuters.

Spokane declares curfew

The mayor of Spokane in Washington state has declared a curfew after anti-Ice protesters began gathering in the city on Wednesday afternoon.

In a statement posted on the city’s website mayor Lisa Brown said the curfew would remain in effect from 9.30pm on Wednesday to 5am on Thursday in the area from Boone Ave to Spokane Falls Blvd and Howard St to Division St, as well as Riverfront Park.

It said everyone must abide by the curfew with limited exceptions for people including law enforcement, emergency personnel, media local residents, people attending a soccer game and people going to and from work.

Local media reported that protesters had begun gathering outside the local Ice office to prevent the deportation to Venezuela of a man who had applied for asylum. Former local councilman Ben Stuckart, who called the protest, was arrested for failing to disperse, KXLY+ reported.

Updated

California governor Gavin Newsom has posted a tongue-in-cheek tweet about the deployment of marines to Los Angeles, addressing US secretary of defence Pete Hegseth.

“Pete sent 4,700 troops here (when they weren’t needed) without adequate fuel, food, water or a place to sleep. But don’t worry, he’s at a baseball game.”

Protests also occurred across Minnesota on Wednesday, where hundreds gathered to reject president Trump’s deployment of the national guard in Los Angeles.

“No Trump” writes one protestor on a bridge.

Another look at signage displayed in Minnesota.

Curfew comes into effect in Los Angeles as police disperse protesters

The 8pm curfew has come into effect in downtown Los Angeles, where police have been charging at protesters on horseback and firing munitions in an attempt to clear them, according to footage posted online by local reporters.

Other videos showed officers pushing protesters and hitting them with batons.

“Curfew remains in effect tonight 8 PM - 6 AM for Downtown Los Angeles to stop bad actors who are taking advantage of the President’s chaotic escalation,” mayor Karen Bass warned in a post on X.

“If you do not live or work in Downtown L.A., avoid the area and follow guidance from law enforcement. Vandalism and violence will not be tolerated.”

The LAPD has made nearly 400 arrests and detentions since Saturday.

Anti-Ice demonstrations have meanwhile been popping up across the US, including in New York, San Antonio, Seattle and Indianapolis.

Hundreds of people have also gathered at Cal Anderson park in Seattle for an anti-Ice protest.

The rally is also expected to see people march through Capitol Hill and First Hill, according to local media.

Seattle police chief Shon Barnes on Tuesday told a Seattle council meeting he would “probably go to jail” due to his stance on protecting local residents from Ice.

“I will do everything in my power … to protect anyone in Seattle from anyone who comes into this city with the intention to hurt them or inhibit their First Amendment right,” Barnes said according to My Northwest website. “At some point, I will probably go to jail and be in prison, because we have an administration that has threatened to jail politicians.”

He had earlier posted a video statement on X in which he emphasized that “The Seattle Police Department does not engage in immigration enforcement activity.”

In an interview with CNN, LA police chief Jim McDonnell has said some of those taking part in the protests are “Black Bloc”-type protesters – demonstrators who dress all in black and cover their faces in an effort to conceal their identities from authorities.

He said “They come prepared, and they’re very sophisticated”, and called them “anarchists, if you will.” He added:

They do have radio communications … They do move around. They do monitor police channels, and they’ll create distractions in order to draw us away from a scene we’re about to make arrests [at].”

McDonnell also said that police had found such demonstrators with hammers and shrapnel-embedded commercial-grade fireworks.

Here’s some more reporting from the scene of the Los Angeles protest – where the 8pm curfew is approaching – courtesy of Associated Press:

A demonstration in Los Angeles’ civic center suddenly turned chaotic, as police in riot gear — many on horseback — charged at a group, striking them with wooden rods and pushing them out of a park in front of City Hall.

Officers also fired crowd control projectiles, striking at least one young woman, who writhed in pain on the ground as she bled from her hip.

It wasn’t clear what initiated the confrontation. But minutes earlier, some protesters had lit fireworks as they approached the federal building, the site of numerous showdowns in recent nights.

Simultaneously, a larger portion of the protest had been in the midst of a dance party.

“It was chill the whole time, it was cool vibes, peaceful protesting,” said Raymond Martinez, a 23-year-old from Hemet, California.

“Once we got by the federal building, the horses started coming. They started shooting in the air and pushing up, and that woman got shot. It’s crazy.”

Australia’s defence minister, Richard Marles, has downplayed the Trump administration’s review into the Aukus submarines program, as has former prime minister Scott Morrison, the architect of the pact.

Marles said it was “natural” that the United States would examine the project but that he believed there was still strong support for the trilateral agreement in Washington DC. Morrison said the review was a departmental process rather than a policy decision, and should not be “over-interpreted”, but that Australia must “make the case” for the deal to survive.

The Pentagon overnight announced it had launched a review of the Aukus agreement to make sure it is aligned with Trump’s “America first” agenda, throwing the defence pact with Britain and Australia into doubt.

The review may trigger more allied anxiety over the future of the trilateral alliance designed to counter China’s military rise.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, discussed Aukus twice in phone calls with Trump in February and May, and the two are expected to meet next week at the G7 in Canada.

Marles has met his counterpart, Pete Hegseth, twice, including a meeting last week where the US defence secretary urged Australia to significantly increase its military spending.

A few pics from the scene in Los Angeles, where police are attempting to clear protesters from the city centre ahead of the 8pm curfew in less than an hours’ time:

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, police declared an unlawful gathering outside city hall just under an hour ago and within moments fired “crowd frontal munitions”, local journalist Sergio Olmos reports.

They also rode horses into the crowd, almost trampling people, and fired an “impact round” at the press, which ricocheted and hit on person, he reports.

The Los Angeles Police Department has made nearly 400 arrests and detentions since Saturday in connection to immigration protests, the Associated Press reports.

The vast majority arrests have been for failing to leave the area in defiance of requests from law enforcement, according to police.

There have been a handful of more serious charges including for assault against police officers and for possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun.

Hundreds of people have also been gathering in San Antonio, Texas, not put off by governor Greg Abbott’s earlier announcement that he would deploy the national guard to the city.

More than 400 people were at the anti-ICE demonstration Wednesday evening, according to local authorities, the Associated Press reported.

The protest was largely peaceful, with many blasting music and some handing out water. Nearby streets were closed off as law enforcement watched from hundreds of feet away.

Dozens of the demonstrators had walked to City Hall from the Alamo after police there closed off the area where a protest was scheduled to take place.

Hundreds of protesters are reportedly gathering outside the Pacers’ stadium in Indianapolis, where an NBA finals game is taking place.

Footage posted on social media showed protesters holding signs reading “Ice out of Indy” and “Stop the deportations!”.

Trump booed in first appearance at Kennedy Center since he became president

Donald Trump has been booed and cheered while attending the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center, which has seen a dramatic fall in ticket sales since he appointed himself as its chair. The Associated Press reports:

It was his first time attending a show there since becoming president, reflecting his focus on remaking the institution in his image while asserting more control over the country’s cultural landscape.

“We want to bring it back, and we want to bring it back better than ever,” Trump said while walking down the red carpet with first lady Melania Trump.

The Republican president has a particular affection for Les Misérables, the sprawling musical set in 19th-century France, and has occasionally played its songs at his events. One of them, Do You Hear the People Sing?, is a revolutionary rallying cry inspired by the 1832 rebellion against the French king.

Opening night had a Maga-does-Broadway feel. Ric Grenell, the Trump-appointed interim leader of the Kennedy Center, stood nearby as the president spoke to reporters. Attorney General Pam Bondi chatted with other guests. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. took selfies with attendees. Vice President JD Vance and his wife, Usha, were also there.

There were more precautions than usual, given the guest list, and ticketholders had their bags searched after walking through magnetometers. Canned soda was on sale for $8, while a glass of wine cost $19.

However, when the lights went down and the show began, there were empty seats in the balconies and even in the orchestra section.

Protesters have assembled in downtown Los Angeles ahead of the curfew set to come into force at 8pm, less than two hours’ time.

Several hundred protesters were present at the anti-Ice protest in Pershing Square, according to local reporter Jeremy Lindenfeld, and the crowd is growing. Protesters have also set off towards city hall.

They carried signs reading “Immigrants make America great” and “Newsom send national guard home now!” among other things.

Lawyers for Kilmar Ábrego García, who was mistakenly deported to El Salvador in March and returned on Friday, have said their client should be released while the justice department pursues fresh charges against him.

“Mr. Ábrego García asks the Court for what he has been denied the past several months - due process,” Ábrego García’s attorneys wrote in a court filing on Wednesday according to Reuters. “Mr. Ábrego García must be released.”

Ábrego García has been indicted on counts of illegally smuggling undocumented people as well as of conspiracy to commit that crime. He is set to appear in court again on Friday.

His lawyer Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg has called the criminal charges “fantastical” and a “kitchen sink” of allegations, adding that they were “based on the statements of individuals who are currently either facing prosecution or in federal prison”.

Ábrego García was deported to El Salvador in March, despite a 2019 immigration court ruling that he should not be sent there because he could be persecuted by gangs. The 29-year-old’s wife and young child in Maryland are US citizens.

Updated

Fulbright board members resign due to Trump administration meddling

All 12 members of the Fulbright program’s board have resigned effective immediately due to unprecedented meddling by the Trump administration that they say are “unlawful” and compromise US national interests.

In a statement the members said the administration had “usurped the authority of the board” and denied scholarships to a “substantial number” of people already selected for the 2025-26 academic year, while another 1,200 foreign recipients were being subjected to an “unauthorized review process”. The statement said:

We believe these actions not only contradict the statute but are antithetical to the Fulbright mission and the values, including free speech and academic freedom, that Congress specified in the statute.

The board members, who were unnamed in the statement, emphasised that the Fulbright program had been a “bipartisan pillar of American diplomacy” for the past 80 years, and that alumni had gone on to become “leaders of government, industry, academia, arts, and culture in every part of the world”.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier posted footage of a dramatic arrest in in Los Angeles’s Boyle Heights neighbourhood, with officials ramming and driving in front of a slow-moving white car. Armed officers then approach the white car, pointing guns at a man who emerges with his hands in the air.

In the caption on X, the DHS wrote “This was no hit and run. This was a targeted arrest of a violent rioter who punched a CBP officer. When Homeland Security Investigations tried to arrest Christian Damian Cerno-Camacho for the assault, he attempted to flee. He was ultimately arrested and taken into custody.”

It was not immediately possible to verify the accusation.

But the Boyle Heights Immigrant Rapid Response Network told the BBC that the man’s wife and 16-month -child were in the car at the time of the arrest. The agents fired an eye irritant and pointed weapons at the family and “laughed” when the wife asked for their identities, the broadcaster’s Carl Nasman reported.

He quoted the rapid response network as saying the community was “afraid” of future enforcement, saying “It’s a matter of when not if.”

Updated

A Mexican-American cartoonist explains what the 'foreign flags' at protests really mean

At the White House on Wednesday, the press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, claimed that it was images of “foreign flags being waved” during protests in Los Angeles that motivated Donald Trump to dispatch the military to the city, over the objections of California’s governor.

The fact that some protesters against the immigration raids have waved Mexican, Guatemalan and Salvadoran flags, or hybrid flags that remix those banners with the American flag, has been taken as an affront by supporters of the president’s mass deportation campaign. Trump has even claimed that those flags were proof that the immigrants who carried them are part of a foreign invasion that justifies the deployment of active-duty marines to America’s second-largest city.

But observers with a more nuanced understanding of the communities being targeted in these raids have suggested that the flags carried by protesters are not about supporting any of those other governments but a way of signaling solidarity with immigrants from those places, and a way for Americans with roots in those countries to express pride in their heritage.

One of those observers is Lalo Alcaraz, a Mexican-American satirist and editorial cartoonist who was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2021.

Asked to comment, Alcaraz told the Guardian in an email that the protesters carrying those flags at protests are not immigrants themselves, but “the younger generation that are American citizens and that have pride in their immigrant parents.” Their parents, he said, “are hard-working good people who come from other countries, i.e. Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, etc.. this is why they proudly wave those flags.”

Alcaraz, who coined the term self-deportation in the 1990s, as a joke, added:

Of course they’re proud of their roots and honestly, what has the American flag done for them but persecute their families? They are promised that there is a right way to immigrate, that there will be a pathway to citizenship, but this promise has been ignored because corporations make profits off the low wages and hard work of these immigrants, and want to keep them in limbo because it’s easier to control them. They continue in limbo because our government doesn’t propose a solution other than maybe a game show or a $5 million gold card that will buy you citizenship, according to Trump’s stupid rantings.

And you know what, even if they wave the American flag, what good would it do? They still hate brown people regardless of what flag we wave. Ask all those Latinos for Trump who waved American flags and even “I love Trump” flags. Where did that get them? They’re being deported right now. Their families are being deported right now to Venezuela to Cuba to Mexico sometimes to Central America or El Salvador, where they are not even from.

What has waving the American flag gotten these people?

Alcaraz also suggested that another frequent sight at the protests, placards celebrating “La Raza” has been mistranslated to simply mean “the race”, when “it actually means the people, the folk, the community of Mexican, Latino, central American people that are the backbone of the US economy.”

“This country is lucky that La Raza works on their dairies, picks their crops, their food” the editorial cartoonist added. “La Raza are good people, they are willing to even help the police and ICE agents wash the tear gas out of their eyes, as evidenced this past week in a pupuseria restaurant in Los Angeles.”

“La Raza are good people, it’s what it used to mean to be American” he added. “You help your neighbor, you celebrate with your neighbor, you cheer on your neighbor, you look out for your neighbor, you make good community with your neighbor.”

“That’s why we say ‘Viva La Raza” Alcaraz concluded. “Hooray for these hard-working people that maintain this economy and feed the nation. We should be more like La Raza. We need more of them, not less. Viva La Raza!”

Updated

David Hogg will not run again for DNC vice-chair in new election

David Hogg will not run again for a vice-chair position at the Democratic National Committee, after members voted on Wednesday to void and re-do his election.

The move ends months of internal turmoil over Hogg’s outside activism, particularly his vow to primary “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democrats.

“Ultimately, I have decided to not run in this upcoming election so the party can focus on what really matters,” Hogg said in a statement, announcing that he was bowing out of the race to focus on his work with Leaders We Deserve.

“This crisis of competence and complacency has already cost us an election and millions of Americans their rights. Let’s not let it cost us the country,” he said.

Hogg’s decision means that Pennsylvania state lawmaker Malcolm Kenyatta is the only candidate eligible for the male vice-chair role. A second ballot will open later this week for the second vice-chair position, which can be a candidate of any gender.

Updated

“This is the news we’ve been waiting over three months for,” Mahmoud Khalil’s wife, Dr Noor Abdalla said in a statement distributed by the ACLU after a federal judge ordered the release of the US legal permanent resident the Trump administration is trying to deport over his role in protests against the Israeli assault on Gaza at Columbia University. “Mahmoud must be released immediately and safely returned home to New York to be with me and our newborn baby, Deen.”

“True justice would mean Mahmoud was never taken away from us in the first place, that no Palestinian father, from New York to Gaza, would have to endure the painful separation of prison walls like Mahmoud has,” she added. “I will not rest until Mahmoud is free, and hope that he can be with us to experience his first Father’s Day at home in New York with Deen in his arms.”

Updated

Nihad Awad, the executive director of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (Cair), a civil rights and advocacy organization for Muslims in the US, praised a federal judge’s ruling on Wednesday that the Columbia student-protest spokesperson Mahmoud Khalil must be released from detention.

Awad said in a statement:

We welcome this ruling as yet another example of our nation’s judicial system pushing back against the Trump administration’s unconstitutional effort to silence all those who speak out against Israel’s genocide in Gaza, and against our government’s unconscionable complicity with that genocide. Mahmoud Khalil’s unlawful and cruel detention deprived him of his liberty and of being with his wife when she gave birth to their first child. This government’s war on First Amendment rights must be challenged by all Americans who value free speech and the Constitution.

Updated

As federal agents rushed to arrest immigrants across Los Angeles, they confined detainees – including families with small children – in a stuffy office basement for days without sufficient food and water, according to immigration lawyers.

One family with three children were held inside a Los Angeles-area administrative building for 48 hours after being arrested on Thursday immediately after an immigration court hearing, according to lawyers from the Immigrant Defenders Law Center (ImmDef), which is providing non-profit legal services in the region.

The children, the youngest of whom is three years old, were provided a bag of chips, a box of animal crackers and a mini carton of milk as their sole rations for a day. Agents told the family they did not have any water to provide during the family’s first day in detention; on the second day, all five were given a single bottle to share. The one fan in the room was pointed directly towards a guard, rather than towards the families in confinement, they told lawyers.

Read more here:

The Democratic National Committee has voted to move forward with new elections, voiding the results of an internal party vote for two vice-chair positions held by activist David Hogg and Pennsylvania lawmaker Malcom Kenyatta.

By a vote of 294 to 99, the full body of the DNC accepted the conclusion of the party’s credentialing committee, which found that the elections had not followed proper parliamentary procedures related to gender parity.

It comes at an extraordinarily difficult moment for the party, as tensions over Hogg’s outside activism, particularly his threat to support younger challengers in primary elections against older, “asleep-at-the-wheel” Democratic officeholders, have caused a searing rift between members of the party’s leadership.

Voting will begin on Thursday for the vice-chair role to be held by a male candidate, pitting Hogg against Kenyatta for the position. The losing candidate will be eligible to compete for the second, any-gender ballot. Eligible candidates for that election include Kalyn Free, who lodged the initial credential challenge, as well as Jeanna Repass, the Kansas chair and Shasti Conrad, the Washington chair.

Updated

Man charged with felony assault for allegedly spitting on Ice officer during immigration raid

Three days after Donald Trump unveiled a new slogan, “when they spit, we hit”, in response to what he claimed to reporters was a new trend among undocumented immigrants facing arrest, the Trump-appointed US attorney for the Central District of California cited those words to justify charging a man with felony assault for allegedly spitting on an Ice officer who arrested him in Los Angeles on Tuesday.

In a press release sent to reporters on Wednesday, US Attorney Bill Essayli said: “This defendant found out the hard way: When you spit, we hit – with a felony charge”.

“Law enforcement officers risk their lives and safety to uphold the law”, Essayli added. “To treat them with the disrespect, like this defendant did, mocks our great nation and such behavior will be punished accordingly”.

On his first day in office in January, Trump pardoned more than 1,000 people who attacked police at the Capitol on January 6 2021, including 276 rioters convicted of attacking police and injuring 140 officers. Hundreds more had pending charges related to attacks on police officers dismissed by Trump’s blanket pardon of the mob that tried to keep him in power despite his loss in the 2020 election.

Los Angeles DA says media and social media grossly distort scale of protest violence

At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Nathan Hochman, the district attorney of Los Angeles county, took a moment to point out how images of unrest on television and social media have mislead many Americans about the nature and scale of the mayhem that has accompanied largely peaceful protests against immigration raids in recent days.

“If you only saw the social media and the media reports of what’s going on over the last five days, you would think that Los Angeles is on the brink of war,” Hochman said. “That we are truly being attacked, repeatedly, over and over and over again, because that has been the media’s message to both people in Los Angeles, to people in the state of California, to people in this nation, to people throughout this entire world.”

As he spoke, Hochman’s words, and his larger point, were illustrated on local TV by a video clip of a burning Waymo car that has been playing on a loop since Sunday.

“But let me put this in perspective for you. There are 11 million people in this county; 4 million of which live in Los Angeles city. We estimate that there’s probably thousands of people who have engaged in legitimate protest, let’s say 4,000 people,” Hochman said.

“That means that 99.9% of people in Los Angeles city or generally Los Angeles county have not engaged in any protest at all” he continued. “Now, amongst the people who have engaged in protest, we estimate that there are hundreds of people, let’s say maybe up to 400, to use rough percentages, who have engaged in this type of illegal activity.”

“So what does that mean?” Hochman asked. “That means that 99.99% of people who live in Los Angeles … have not committed any illegal acts in connection with this protest whatsoever.”

“So let’s put that as a context when we look at these images over and over again that the media wants to put out there to try and scare us all,” he said.

Hochman then noted that the LAPD and the LA county sheriff’s office have a combined force of nearly 18,000 officers, with thousands more from the California Highway Patrol and other local law enforcement agencies also available to police the relatively small protests.

Updated

A federal judge has ruled that the Trump administration can no longer detain Columbia University graduate and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil.

In his order on Wednesday, Judge Michael E Farbiarz said that the ruling will go into effect at 9.30am on Friday, adding: “This is to allow the respondents to seek appellate review should they wish to.”

Khalil has been held in a detention facility in Louisiana since March. Earlier this month, he described the pain of missing the birth of his first child while being detained, saying: “When I heard my son’s first cries, I buried my face in my arms so no one would see me weep.”

This developing story will be updated here:

LA county sheriff says he does not know if Marines are actually in the city

The Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, was just asked by a reporter: “Sheriff, do you know: are the Marines here? I’ve been hearing since Sunday they’ve been on their way and what are we at, Wednesday?”

The sheriff admitted that he did not know either. After a pause, he replied: “Um, I would be guessing if I tried to answer that.”

“Again, I’m just going to leave it at this”, he continued, gesturing to the chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, Jim McDonnell, beside him, “we are doing everything we can, I know chief McDonnell and I, and out staffs are doing everything we can to improve our communication with the army, so we would know those specific questions.”

LA county sheriff says federal troops 'do not have the powers to arrest or detain'

At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, the Los Angeles county sheriff, Robert Luna, was asked if he could clarify the statement by the commander of the National Guard troops in LA on Wednesday that the military task force has already detained some civilians and turned them over to law enforcement for arrest.

Luna said that local police forces are “still working out a lot of the coordination” with the federal forces. Luna said that he was not certain but guessed that the Guard commander was referring to arrests by federal officers.

“I’m almost positive, there is some guessing in this, is that when he’s talking about law enforcement, he is taking about federal law enforcement”, Luna said. The troops and Ice officers “are going out together, from our limited understanding thus far”.

“We’re still asking for clarification”, Luna said in response to a follow-up question. “My understanding, at this point, is that they do not have the powers to arrest or detain.”

“So if they are out in the field, they may be there, but they are working in conjunction with federal authorities, it could be Ice, Border Patrol, there’s a whole host of acronym federal agencies that they’re working with” the sheriff added.

Updated

National guard troops have already detained protesters in LA, commander says

National guard troops already have temporarily detained civilians in the Los Angeles protests over immigration raids, the commander in charge said on Wednesday, but they quickly turned them over to law enforcement, the Associated Press reports.

Maj Gen Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51, comprised of more than 4,000 guard troops and 700 marines deployed to Los Angeles, told the AP about 500 of the guard troops have been trained to accompany Ice agents on immigration raids.

Photos of guard soldiers providing security for the agents have already been circulated by immigration officials.

Sherman said those temporary detentions were in the past few days, and there haven’t been many recently as things have calmed down in the city. The troops do not participate in the actual arrests or law enforcement activities, he insisted, saying they immediately let go of the person once police get them under control or put them in handcuffs.

All of the troops deployed to the protests are going through several days of training on civil unrest, and those providing security on the raids go through additional instruction, legal training and rehearsals with the agents doing the enforcement.

Updated

Summary

As we continue to track protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles, here are a few of the latest developments:

  • Los Angles mayor Karen Bass said the unrest had been “provoked by the White House” with “unnecessary” immigration raids to round up “everyday Angelenos” seeking work, instead of the violent criminals the Trump administration claims to be targeting. “And when you start deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids, it is a drastic and chaotic escalation”, she said.

  • Arturo Flores, the mayor of Huntington Park and a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a marine, appealed directly to his active duty “brothers” deployed to Los Angeles to keep in mind: “These are Americans. Whether they have a document or they don’t, you’re dealing with Americans.”

  • At a briefing in Washington, the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, declined to weigh in on homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s memo asking the Pentagaon to direct members of the military to arrest or detain “lawbreakers” inside the United States.

  • Leavitt said immigration officers have arrested 330 non-citizens in Los Angeles since 6 June, and of those, 113 had prior criminal convictions; meaning that two-thirds of those arrested in raids so far do not have criminal records.

  • The Los Angeles Police Department said it arrested 203 people for failing to disperse amid protests on Tuesday, and another 17 for violating the new 8pm curfew in downtown LA.

Updated

Video of LA mayor denouncing Trump's 'drastic and chaotic escalation'

In her televised remarks on Wednesday, the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, blamed the White House for provoking the unrest in her city by first launching immigration raids targeting ordinary workers, not violent criminals, and then sending in troops.

Here is video of some of her remarks, in which she directly blamed the federal government for escalating tensions in the aftermath of protests against immigration raids.

Karen Bass, LA’s mayor, spoke at a news conference on Wednesday.

“When you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets – you’re not trying to keep anyone safe, you’re trying to cause fear and panic,” Bass said.

“And when you start deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids, it is a drastic and chaotic escalation and completely unnecessary”, she added. “These aren’t the criminals the administration is allegedly targeting; these are mothers and fathers, restaurant workers, seamstresses, home-care workers, everyday Angelenos trying to make a living.”

Updated

“If you drive a few blocks out of downtown, you don’t know that anything is happening in the city at all,” Bass says, again countering the image being painted by the Trump administration that the whole of Los Angeles is in a state of chaos.

LA curfew will go on 'as long as needed', says mayor Bass

“Curfews will go on as long as they are needed,” says Bass.

It is interdependent on what happens on the federal side, she adds. “If there are raids, if there are soldiers marching up and down our streets, I would imagine the curfew would continue.”

She adds that the number of arrests last night was “relatively minor” and she hopes for none tonight. “I would hope Angelenos got the message that we are serious,” she says.

'January 6 was an insurrection, not what is happening here': LA mayor calls out Trump's 'double standard'

Asked if there’s a double standard between the Trump administration’s response to peaceful protests in LA and his pardoning of January 6 rioters, Bass says:

Well I think you just illustrated the double standard.

She goes on:

And given that I was there on January 6 and saw an insurrection take place, the idea that this – what is happening here – is an insurrection is just false.

And I think it is deliberately false, I don’t think they’re confused.

Updated

More US troops are in LA than in Iraq and Syria

There are now more US troops deployed to Los Angeles than in Iraq and Syria combined, ABC News reports.

There are 4,800 activated national guard and marine personnel in LA, compared to the 2,500 troops in Iraq and 1,500 in Syria.

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass also just highlighted this during her press conference. She said:

There are reports that if all the military that have been designated to be deployed, if you add them all up it’s more military than are serving today in Iraq.

And the money that is being spent - $134m - all of our cities could use that money.

Updated

Bass says the unrest is “isolated to several streets” of downtown LA, taking aim at the Trump administration’s “lie” that the whole city is in chaos.

Updated

Bass highlights that, despite the Trump administration’s touting of the number of arrests made during the unrest, most of those arrests have been for “failure to disperse” and curfew violation – and not for looting or vandalism, she says.

Updated

'I want to speak to the president,' says LA mayor

Bass says that she wants to speak with Donald Trump following days of anti-Ice protests in Los Angeles and the deployment of national guard troops and marines.

I want to speak to the president, and I want him to understand the significance of what is happening here.

Yesterday, Bass said she was going to “put out a call” to the president, but had not spoken to him yet.

She says that she has a “call in the next few minutes”, not with Trump, “but to get that call set up”.

'Please remember you are dealing with Americans': mayor and former marine's plea to marines deployed to LA

Arturo Flores, the mayor of Huntington Park and a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Afghanistan as a marine, appealed directly to his active duty “brothers” deployed to Los Angeles:

These are Americans.

Whether they have a document or they don’t, you’re dealing with Americans.

So please remember that if you’re ever put in a situation or asked to do something, remember, you are dealing with Americans.

On Monday, federal immigration agents raided a Home Depot in Huntington Park, a predominantly Hispanic city south of LA. Several day laborers were detained and residents have remained on edge, fearful of attending work, school and graduation celebrations.

Flores goes on:

When we lifted our hands and we swore the oath to defend the Constitution and to defend this country, that oath was to the American people.

It was not to a dictator, it was not to a tyrant, it was not the president. It was to the American people.

Updated

Cynthia Gonzalez, vice-mayor for the city of Cudahy, addresses Americans whom the Trump administration has made “feel like their American dream hasn’t happened because of us”.

“Our community has been the scapegoat for this administration,” she says. If anything, her neighbors, documented or undocumented, helped her achieve the American Dream, she says.

If you should have anger, it should be for the gutting of Medicaid. It should be for the gutting of your Social Security. And it should be for corporate greed.

They’re using our brown bodies to avoid the conversation that this administration is a failure.

Updated

Jeannette Sanchez-Palacios, mayor of the city of Ventura, says she is “outraged and heartbroken by Ice activities targeting of immigrant families in our area”.

She calls the raids “inhumane” and “an affront to the values we uphold throughout the state of California”.

She highlights immigrant labor that sustains agriculture in the region. “Every American who relies on the labor of these individuals will be affected,” she says.

She notes that these individuals made up much of the “essential” workforce who kept the state running during the Covid pandemic.

“These people are also human, at the basic level,” she says.

“We condemn the separation of immigrant families. No-one deserves to live in fear simply for seeking a better life for themselves or for there loved ones,” she says.

“We call on our fellow leaders to centre humanity at every decision they make,” she says.

Deploying federalized troops to LA was 'drastic, chaotic and completely unnecessary', says mayor

“When you raid Home Depot and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets – you’re not trying to keep anyone safe, you’re trying to cause fear and panic,” says Bass.

Deploying federalized troops on the heels of the immigration raids, was a “drastic and chaotic escalation and completely unnecessary”, she says.

Updated

Unrest in LA was 'provoked by the White House', says LA mayor

The cause of the problems in the city of Los Angeles started on Friday with Ice immigration raids, says Bass.

“This was provoked by the White House,” she says, positing that “maybe we are part of a national experiment to determine how far the federal government can go in reaching in and taking power from a local governor, local jurisdiction and leaving our residents in fear.”

She is joined by more than 30 mayors from across the region. “All of us represent cities in this region where immigrants are key. And if in some cases, not the majority of the population,” Bass says.

She accuses the Trump administration of creating “fear and panic” by raiding workplaces and going after “mothers and fathers, restaurant workers, seamstress, home care workers, everyday Angelenos trying to make a living”.

“The individuals that are here with me today are all leaders in their area and we all stand in support and solidarity and call for the raids to end,” Bass says.

Updated

LA mayor Karen Bass to hold news conference

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass is about to hold a press conference after a 10-hour curfew was imposed for parts of downtown LA last night. I’ll bring you all the key lines here.

Leavitt says “of course” peaceful protests would be allowed to go ahead on Saturday for the military parade.

“Of course the president supports peaceful protests. What a stupid question,” she says.

Musk called Trump before posting 'regret' message on X – NYT

Donald Trump received a phone call from Elon Musk late on Monday before the billionaire expressed regret over some of the posts he made on social media last week, according to the New York Times (paywall), citing three people briefed on the call.

Updated

White House declines to weigh in on Noem's request to have military arrest LA protesters

Leavitt dodges a question asking what the president makes of homeland security secretary Kristi Noem’s memo to the Pentagon asking it to direct members of the military to arrest or detain “lawbreakers” inside the United States.

Pressed to comment on the fact that the military is not authorized to arrest people unless the president invoked the Insurrection Act, Leavitt says “the president understands the legal authority that he invoked [in federalizing California’s national guard]”.

Updated

Leavitt says California governor Gavin Newsom and LA mayor Karen Bass “need to actually do more”.

Referring to Newsom’s address last night and hinting at “his future political ambitions”, Leavitt says “he spoke a lot of words, we haven’t seen action”.

Trump reviewing China trade deal details, White House says

Donald Trump is reviewing the details of the China trade deal with his team, Leavitt says, adding that the president likes what he has learned about it so far.

Leavitt says the administration agreed to comply with the terms of the Geneva agreement it reached last month with officials from Beijing.

Leavitt says 330 illegal immigrants arrested in connection with LA protests

Since 6 June, “there have been 330 illegal aliens arrested as part of the riots in Los Angeles”, says Leavitt.

Updated

Trump appreciates Musk apology, White House says

Donald Trump appreciates Elon Musk’s apology, Leavitt says, adding that the administration has made no efforts to review government contracts with Musk’s companies.

More than 200 arrested for failure to disperse after curfew, says LAPD

More than 200 people were arrested after police said they failed to leave the downtown area in compliance with the mayor’s curfew, the Los Angeles police department said in a post on X. They face a charge of failure to disperse.

In addition, 17 people were arrested on a charge of curfew violation. Others were taken into custody on charges of possessing a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, and discharging a laser at a police airship.

Police said that two officers were injured and received medical treatment, but did not say what caused their injuries.

Updated

At the press conference earlier, US attorney for the central district of California, Bill Essayli, had also fed into Trump’s claim that the protesters are “paid insurrectionists”, saying that anti-Ice protests in Los Angeles appear to be “organized and orchestrated”.

“Well-funded agitators are coming into town and they are resisting federal law enforcement operations,” he said.

The Trump administration has yet to provide evidence for these claims, including Leavitt who dodged a request for more detail behind the claims just now.

Updated

Asked about Trump’s claims that protesters are “paid insurrectionists”, Leavitt says this is “common sense”.

She says images appear to show “boxes and boxes of very professionalised masks and rioting equipment being dropped off for these protesters”.

Leavitt says this raises questions “about who is funding these insurrectionists”.

Updated

Leavitt says Trump was in contact with Gavin Newsom on Friday evening and “told him to let law enforcement in California do their jobs”.

She says Trump warned Newsom to “get it together” and “24 hours later we had images like this”, she says holding up photos of the unrest, with “illegal criminals throwing rocks at our border patrol and Ice agents”, leading Trump to federalize California’s national guard.

Updated

White House press briefing

Karoline Leavitt is speaking to reporters now. I’ll bring you all the key lines.

Updated

'There is no sanctuary' from federal immigration laws in California, US attorney says

US attorney for the central district of California Bill Essayli says federal immigration laws will be enforced in the state.

“Some people really seem to have the notion that California is a sanctuary from federal immigration laws,” says Essayli. “Let me assure you: there is no sanctuary. Federal laws are applicable here and they will be enforced.”

He says that “nothing [protesters] have done to date” has impacted immigration enforcement efforts, “and they are continuing as we speak”.

Updated

Essayli says authorities are collecting video, photos, social media evidence and body-camera footage to identify other people who may have committed acts of violence during the unrest in Los Angeles last weekend.

Officials are looking into “hundreds of people”, he says.

He vows to identify and bring charges against those who were committing violence.

We’re coming after all these people, so let’s be clear this is the beginning, not the end.

Updated

ABC News had the story this morning that Emiliano Galvez and Wrackkie Quiogue were being charged by the US attorney in Los Angeles for possession of an unregistered destructive device for their alleged roles in the unrest in LA over the weekend.

Per ABC’s report:

When the LAPD approached Quiogue – who officials said was armed with a Molotov cocktail at Sunday’s protest in downtown LA – he allegedly “threw the Molotov cocktail into the air and attempted to flee”, the complaint said. The confrontation was caught on officer body camera.

LAPD officers subdued Quiogue and arrested him, prosecutors said.

Quiogue’s device was described as a clear bottle with a yellow rag sticking out of it; he also had a lighter, the complaint said.

Galvez is accused of throwing a Molotov cocktail over a wall toward LA sheriff’s deputies who were “engaging in crowd control activities” during a protest in Paramount, a city in south LA County, on Saturday, federal prosecutors said.

Home surveillance video showed Galvez allegedly throwing an object lit on fire over the wall, the complaint said.

Galvez was arrested after a foot chase, officials said.

A detective recovered a burnt wick or fuse from the area, the complaint said.

Updated

The defendants charged are accused of throwing molotov cocktails at police officers and sheriff deputies “after two demonstrations against federal immigration enforcement turned violent”, Essayli says.

Updated

Essayli – a Trump ally – claims the president “had no choice” but to call in the national guard to assist “overwhelmed” law enforcement officers.

Updated

Federal charges filed against two men accused of throwing molotov cocktails at police in LA

Federal criminal complaints have been filed against two individuals, who engaged in violence during the unrest in downtown LA and the south LA city of Paramount, Bill Essayli, the US attorney for the central district of California, has announced.

Updated

In a hearing before the Senate appropriations subcommittee overseeing the defense department, Pete Hegseth swatted away demands from Democratic senator Jack Reed for the cost of converting a Qatari jet accepted by Donald Trump to be used as Air Force One.

“Any specifics about future aircraft that could be Air Force One can’t be discussed here,” Hegseth said, when Reed asked if the defense department had taken possession of a Boeing 747 jet from the Qatari government.

Reed then asked Hegseth for the price of a contract signed with a firm to reconfigure the jet to be used as the US presidential plane.

“That cannot be revealed in this setting,” Hegseth replied, prompting a frustrated Reed to say:

Why can’t it be revealed in this setting? This is the appropriations committee of the United States Senate. We appropriate the money that you will spend after it’s authorized by my committee, and you cannot tell us how much the contract is for?

Hegseth promised to reveal the figure to Reed, but did not say how or when.

Chuck Schumer says he's 'proud' of Gavin Newsom for 'refusing to be intimidated by Trump'

Asked by the Daily Signal how Gavin Newsom should be dealing with Donald Trump, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer defended the California governor.

Jeffries said Newsom “has been doing a tremendous job on behalf of the people of California”. He then used the question to state that Democrats believe, along with Newsom, that anybody who commits violence or destroys property should be held accountable to the full extent of that law. At the same time, people have a right to “peacefully protest and petition their government”.

Schumer said that Trump has been trying to intimidate Newsom.

He has shown he’s not going to be intimidated, and we’re all for that. All for him and proud that he is refusing to be intimidated by Donald Trump.

In an earlier post we reported that marines will be deployed to the streets of LA “soon” but not today, according to Maj Gen Scott Sherman, and will be allowed to temporarily detain individuals until law enforcement agents arrive to arrest them. The 700 marines, Sherman said, are receiving training on how to handle civil disturbances and will not have live ammunition in their rifles during the deployment.

CNN reports that the marines are still undergoing training and it is not yet clear when they will be employed on to the streets to help with protests, citing a US Northern Command spokesperson.

The spokesperson told CNN that as of this morning, the marines “have NOT completed their [Standing Rules for the Use of Force] and nonlethal weapons training, and I do not have an estimate of when they will be employed by Task Force 51”.

Per CNN: The troops in LA, including the marines, are authorized to temporarily detain people only in a very specific circumstance, which is when de-escalation is not working and someone needs to be temporarily detained by a service member until they can be passed off to law enforcement.

“CNN’s affiliate captured aerial footage on Tuesday of marines undergoing their training, in which they appeared to be practicing detaining people. The training captured on camera involved ‘non-lethal crowd control techniques, for the purpose of de-escalating any situation they are dispatched to address in support of protecting federal personnel or property,’ according to Marine Corps spokesperson Lt Col Joshua Benson.”

Updated

The Pentagon has launched a review of the 2021 Aukus submarine deal with the UK and Australia to consider whether to scrap the project, the Financial Times is reporting, citing sources.

The review is being led by Elbridge Colby, a top defence department official who previously expressed scepticism about Aukus, the outlet writes.

One source said Canberra and London were “incredibly anxious” about the Aukus review. Ending the deal would destroy a pillar of security cooperation between the allies.

Updated

Marines on LA streets 'soon', can detain but not arrest people

Maj Gen Scott Sherman, a deputy commanding general in the national guard, said the marines were not deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Wednesday, but they would be there “soon”.

Sherman, who is leading the deployment of the 4,700 troops, said the troops would be allowed to temporarily detain individuals until law enforcement agents arrive to arrest them. He told reporters on Wednesday:

They do not do any arrest, they are strictly there to detain, to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators.

The 700 marines “will not be on the streets today”, he said, adding that they were receiving training on how to handle civil disturbances and they would not have live ammunition in their rifles during the deployment.

Updated

San Antonio mayor Ron Nirenberg said city officials did not ask for the Texas national guard to be deployed to the city, “nor did we get any advance warning”.

Nirenberg, at a news conference on Wednesday, said the extra presence of national guard troops across Texas was “unnecessary”.

I want to acknowledge the anger and frustration that’s out there with the federal government’s crude interpretations of immigration law and cruel approach to human rights.

Updated

A coalition of 18 Democratic attorneys general have condemned the Trump administration for what they said was the unlawful deployment of the California national guard in Los Angeles.

A statement released by Minnesota attorney general Keith Ellison, reported by Associated Press, reads:

The president’s decision to federalize and deploy California’s National Guard without the consent of California state leaders is unlawful, unconstitutional, and undemocratic.

The Trump administration should be working with local leaders to keep everyone safe, “not mobilizing the military against the American people”, it continues.

We oppose any action from this administration that will sow chaos, inflame tensions, and put people’s lives at risk – including those of our law-enforcement officers.

Updated

Summary of the day so far

Several cities across the US are braced for a new round of protests over Donald Trump’s sweeping immigration raids on Wednesday. Here’s a summary of the latest developments:

  • Texas governor Greg Abbott ordered the state’s national guard to deploy to the city of San Antonio ahead of immigration-related protests planned for this week. He said the Texas national guard – the largest in the US, with 22,000 soldiers and airmen - “will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order”.

  • Attorney general Pam Bondi said the Trump administration “is not scared to go further” in expanding its legal authorities to deploy troops in Los Angeles. “We’re not frightened to do something else if we need to,” Bondi told CNN.

  • Los Angeles police announced they made mass arrests in the city’s downtown area on Tuesday night, after people gathered in defiance of an overnight curfew imposed. The LAPD said it had carried out more than 300 arrests of protesters in the last two days.

  • A curfew put in place on Tuesday by Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass in a section of the city’s downtown lifted this morning. The curfew is expected to continue from 8pm to 6am local time over the next several days.

  • California governor Gavin Newsom delivered a searing rebuke of the Trump administration on Tuesday evening, accusing the government of “pulling a military dragnet” across LA and warning democracy is “under assault before our eyes”.

  • Hundreds of marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from Trump, who has also called up 4,000 national guard troops to the city. About 700 marines were in a staging area in the Seal Beach area about 30 miles (50km) south of Los Angeles on Tuesday, awaiting deployment to specific locations, according to a US official.

  • Trump acknowledged that he feels more emboldened to send national guard troops to Los Angeles in his second term. “I’m able to do things now that I wouldn’t have been able to do because the previous president and presidency was so bad that anybody looks good,” the president said in an interview.

Updated

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has been on the airwaves this morning, reissuing a message of unity for the city.

My message to Los Angeles is: We are a city of immigrants. We take pride in the diversity in our city. And it is my job as the mayor of Los Angeles to protect all Angelenos, regardless of when they got here, why they came, or where they came from.

This is from Bernie Sanders

Pam Bondi says Trump administration 'not scared to go further' in Los Angeles

Attorney general Pam Bondi has said the Trump administration “is not scared to go further” in expanding its legal authorities to deploy troops in Los Angeles, CNN reports.

In response to a question from CNN about the threshold for invoking the Insurrection Act, which would permit the president to use military forces to end an insurrection or rebellion on US soil, Bondi told reporters at the White House:

Right now in California, we’re at a good point. We’re not scared to go further. We’re not frightened to do something else if we need to.

Trump has repeatedly described protesters in Los Angeles as “insurrectionists”, but has so far has stopped short of invoking the Act.

But he also hasn’t gone as far as to rule it out. Bondi said the administration was hopeful a new curfew in place would tamp down on unrest, but the administration would “continue to do everything we can to keep California safe”.

We’re going to do everything within our legal authority to protect our law enforcement officers and all the people in California right now.

Updated

'We have this under control': NYC doesn't need national guard's help with protests, says NYPD

In contrast, New York Police Department commissioner Jessica Tisch has said the city doesn’t need the national guard or other federal agencies to help handle anti-Ice demonstrations.

“We have this under control,” Tisch told Fox 5 in New York.

NYPD officers made 86 arrests while about 2,500 protesters were on the streets last night, mainly in lower Manhattan, she said.

Tisch said the demonstrations were largely peaceful until nightfall but protests by a group of a few hundred that remained by 26 Federal Plaza – where Ice has offices – then got out of hand.

Some of them were looking for trouble. Some of them were throwing litter baskets into the street or rubbish into the street – those types of things. We will not tolerate chaos on our streets.

The NYPD has enough officers to handle the protests, she said, including its Strategic Response Group – a unit designed to handle demonstrations.

She said she spent the weekend telling her federal partners in New York that the NYPD has enough resources to maintain control during the demonstrations.

We have plans in place so that if it escalates, we can bring cops in from all over the city. We have an army of 34,000 uniformed members of the service in New York City and New Yorkers should know that the NYPD is prepared for whatever comes our way.

Texas governor orders national guard to deploy for protests in San Antonio

The governor of Texas, Greg Abbott, has ordered the state’s national guard to deploy to the city of San Antonio ahead of immigration-related protests planned for this week, saying the soldiers are “on standby”.

Abbott posted on social media late last night that the national guard “will be deployed to locations across the state to ensure peace & order. Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.”

He said the Texas national guard – the largest in the US, with 22,000 soldiers and airmen - “will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order”.

Abbott’s move to mobilize troops follows Donald Trump’s decision on Saturday to send the California national guard into Los Angeles after some limited and mostly peaceful protests against immigration raids. California leaders described the sending of the troops, and then 700 US marines, as a deliberate provocation.

Widespread demonstrations against the Trump administration’s deportation raids are expected today, according to local media reports, and on Saturday nationwide protests are planned as part of a “No Kings” event, according to organizers. Trump has planned a military parade in Washington for the same day and has threatened to treat any protesters harshly, despite the right to protest being enshrined in the US constitution.

Unlike in California, where neither the state governor not local civic leaders asked for military help – and where the state has sued to have them removed – in Texas the guard was reportedly sent after San Antonio law enforcement requested their assistance. According to the San Antonio Express News, the city police chief, William McManus, contacted state officials on Monday night seeking to confirm the presence of guardsmen in the city.

Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, later said that national guard soldiers “are on standby in areas where mass demonstrations are planned in case they are needed”.

“Peaceful protests are part of the fabric of our nation, but Texas will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles,” Mahaleris said in a statement last night. “Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be swiftly held accountable to the full extent of the law.”

A press conference is planned for today to discuss preparations for the protests in the city. On Sunday about 300 protesters had gathered in downtown San Antonio, some carrying flags and signs reading: “Abolish ICE”, “Power to the People”, and “Mexicans Ain’t Going Anywhere”.

Updated

Trump again calls on Fed to lower rates by 'one full point', calling inflation figures 'great'

Another day, another post from Donald Trump calling on the Fed to lower interest rates.

He has this morning reiterated his view that the Federal Reserve should cut interest rates by one percentage point, saying the latest inflation figures were “great”.

“CPI just out. Great numbers! Fed should lower one full point. Would pay much less interest on debt coming due. So important!!!,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in all capital letters.

Donald Trump doesn’t appear to have any public events today where he’s scheduled to speak, but we’ll hear from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt when she briefs reporters at 1pm ET. I’ll bring you any key lines from that.

Here is a map of the downtown area of Los Angeles where mayor Karen Bass announced an overnight curfew, which was imposed for 10 hours from 8pm to 6am local time, after days of protests.

Late last night local time, the LAPD wrote on X that “multiple groups” continued to congregate within the designated downtown curfew area. “Those groups are being addressed and mass arrests are being initiated,” it said.

A woman walking home alone was shot at close range by what appeared to be non lethal ammunition by officers on the street during the anti-Ice protests in Los Angeles. A witness caught the moment on camera and ran to help the woman before they were shot at again and told to move. You can watch it here:

Trump to attend Les Misérables at Kennedy Center tonight

Donald Trump and first lady Melania will attend the opening night of Les Misérables at the Kennedy Center tonight, months after the president orchestrated a conservative takeover of its leadership.

Deriding the Kennedy Center on social media for putting on “Drag Shows specifically targeting our youth”, Trump in February pushed out its former chairman, fired its longtime president and pledged to overhaul an institution he described as being in tremendous disrepair. Trump reshaped the board with his own appointees and then appointed himself as chair.

The fallout has been swift. The musical Hamilton canceled plans to appear there, staff left and sales of subscriptions and individual tickets for Kennedy Center shows have dropped.

The president frequently played songs from musicals, including Les Mis, at his rallies. And yes, the irony of his appearance at the show, which is at its heart about citizens rising up against their authoritarian government, just days after he sent marines and the national guard to quell protests against his administration’s immigration raids in Los Angeles, is not lost on us.

Enhanced security will be in place all day, and we’ll see if Trump gets a similar reception to his vice-president JD Vance when he attended a show back in March.

CNN reported last month that at least 10 cast members planned to boycott the production when Trump attends.

Updated

The weekend’s events in Los Angeles played out on rightwing TV channels and in the conservative podcasting realm were almost as miserable, as excitable media figures decried protesters as “invaders”, called for both the mass arrest of elected officials and the invocation of a two-century old laws and used the chaos to push racist conspiracy theories.

The clamor for arrests mainly focused on Gavin Newsom, California’s Democratic governor, as rightwing media followed the lead of the US president, who first made the suggestion over the weekend. Donald Trump didn’t seem to know under what law Newsom should be arrested, and the conservative commentariat wasn’t sure either. Still, it didn’t stop them crying for the California governor to be placed in handcuffs.

Sean Hannity, the Fox News host, claimed Newsom “should be arrested for obstructing US immigration law”, even as Tom Homan, the border czar, said Newsom hadn’t done anything to warrant detention. Wayne Root, a host on the rightwing channel Real America TV, suggested Newsom should be charged with “treason” and be detained at Guantanamo Bay while he awaits trial. “Be sure he showers with MS-13,” Root added, a take that, even for the rightwing media cesspool, was particularly macabre.

But the right wasn’t just calling for the caging of Newsom. Some wanted Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, to be arrested too, including Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist adviser-turned-podcast host.

“Right there, LAPD,” Bannon announced on Monday, apparently under the impression that the entire LA police force was listening to his War Room show. “The mayor is involved in this and having the stand down [sic]. She ought to be arrested today. Immediately.”

Updated

Musk says he regrets some of his posts about Trump

It comes as Elon Musk said on X at 3am this morning that he “regrets” some of the things he posted as he and Donald Trump traded insults on social media last week, saying “they went too far”.

The tech billionaire didn’t explain why he’d had the sudden change of heart, nor did he elaborate on which posts exactly he regretted (he has many to choose from), but it does follow his decision to delete a number of his most shocking posts, including the Jeffrey Epstein one.

If you need a reminder of what was said, check out this issue of our First Edition newsletter, from my colleague Archie Bland.

Updated

'I have no hard feelings': Trump doesn’t rule out reconciliation with Musk – New York Post

Donald Trump has told the New York Post that he has “no hard feelings” after Elon Musk publicly savaged his “big, beautiful bill” and the two had a spectacular falling-out last week (yes, that was only a week ago), though the president noted that he was “not a happy camper” at the time.

“I have no hard feelings,” Trump said. “I was really surprised that that happened.”

He said he believed the bill was “coming together so well” but when Musk attacked it, “I was not a happy camper.”

Trump said he was “disappointed” in Musk, but added that “things like that happen” and “I don’t blame him for anything.”

Asked if he and Musk could reconcile, the president said: “I guess I could.”

But he seemed to suggest that it wasn’t a priority for him right now: “My sole function now is getting this country back to a level higher than it’s ever been. And I think we can do that.”

Updated

Here are some more pictures from the protests…

Updated

Trump takes early-morning dig at Newsom

President Donald Trump is awake, and has already taken shots at California Governor Gavin Newsom.

“The INCOMPETENT Governor of California was unable to provide protection in a timely manner when our Ice Officers, GREAT Patriots they are, were attacked by an out of control mob of agitators, troublemakers, and/or insurrectionists. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!,” Trump wrote Wednesday morning on a post on his Truth Social social media platform.

Updated

My colleague, Judith Levine, has written a comment piece about Trump’s decision to deploy US troops to LA, arguing that his actions amount to “soft authoritarianism”.

On Monday, the Pentagon sent 700 active-duty marines to Los Angeles and doubled the number of national guard troops deployed there to 4,000, to quell protests Donald Trump said on Sunday were already “under control”, “still simmering ... but not very much”.

The same day, the US president used the word “insurrectionists” to describe demonstrators against the unprecedentedly large and fierce immigration deportation raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) that started on Friday in that city. The remark echoed his long-held desire to invoke the 1807 Insurrection Act, which would authorize him to send the military anywhere in the country to put down dissent.

Read the full piece here…

Here’s an explainer of the LA protests…

Updated

Democratic senator Bernie Sanders has excoriated President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy military personnel in LA.

In a video post on social media platform X, Sanders argued that Trump’s actions were not made due to any concerns about immigration, but represent nothing more than a lurch for more power.

“What’s going on is all about Trump’s never-ending desire for more and more power,” Sanders said. “Calling out the national guard is the responsibility of the governor of the state, not the president of the United States, and what Trump is doing is simply trying to put more and more power into his own hands in terms of the military.”

Sanders went on to call for people to come together and stand against authoritarianism and for democracy.

Updated

There are three hours left of the curfew in Los Angeles, and the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has called on businesses to report damages to property.

The LAPD earlier said mass arrests have been made. The curfew will lift at 6am local time.

Updated

Texas govenor announces deployment of National Guard

Governor Greg Abbott has pledged to deploy National Guard troops across his state of Texas, becoming the first governor to do so as protests against Trump’s immigration raids spread throughout the United States.

Abbott said on X that the Texas National Guard will “use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order”.

“Peaceful protest is legal,” he added. “Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest.”

On Monday night, protesters were arrested in Austin outside the Texas Capitol in Austin Abbott said.

Updated

My colleague Anna Betts has written a piece about the journalists condemning the behaviour of authorities during the LA protests.

Many journalists say they have been attacked by police while covering the demonstrations over the last few days, and have called for press freedom to be respected.

On Sunday, Australian journalist Lauren Tomasi from Nine News was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet while reporting live from the protests.

In a statement, Nine News said Tomasi was “struck by a rubber bullet” and said that she and her camera operator “are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events”.

“This incident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests, underscoring the importance of their role in providing vital information,” the network added.

Read more here…

Here are some of the latest images coming over the wires …

Updated

It’s approaching 1am in Los Angeles, California.

Reports of minor disturbances and pockets of protests around the city are coming in across various news outlets.

Meanwhile, hundreds of marines are standing by in the Seal Beach area, 30 miles south of Los Angeles, a US official has told Reuters.

The National Guard maintains a presence of about 2,000 troops, just over 50% of the 4,000 to be activated.

Marines and the National Guard have no powers of arrest, and are only there to protect federal buildings.

Updated

The Guardian has been reporting on the protests against ICE raids in Los Angeles, as Donald Trump ramps up his administration’s efforts to detain undocumented migrants.

My colleague Robert Mackey has fact-checked a speech President Trump made at military base Fort Bragg, which contained lies and conspiracy theories about LA.

Here’s an excerpt from Robert’s piece:

Trump falsely claims protesters are bearing foreign flags as part of a ‘foreign invasion’

In his deeply partisan speech at Fort Bragg, Trump made the baseless claim that the protests against immigration raids in LA are being led by paid “rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion”.

The comments echoed accusations by top Trump adviser and speechwriter Stephen Miller, who on Sunday wrote on social media that “foreign nationals, waving foreign flags” were “rioting”, and an unfounded allegation by Kristi Noem, Donald Trump’s homeland security secretary, who earlier this week accused Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum of “encouraging violent protests”.

Sheinbaum on Tuesday said the allegation is “absolutely false”.

Some protesters in recent days have waved the flags of Mexico, Guatemala and El Salvador – as well as flags that combine the banners of those nations with the US flag – in a show of ethnic pride and solidarity with immigrants in their community now targeted by immigration officials.

Read the rest here…

Trump 'going after families and children' says LA mayor

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has taken aim at President Donald Trump, saying his decision to deploy the military is not making the city safer.

“The Trump administration told us they were going after violent criminals, gang members, and drug dealers,” Bass posted on social media.

“But they went after a Home Depot. They’re going after families and children. That does not make Los Angeles more safe.”

Updated

Metro temporarily suspended many of its transport links through downtown Los Angeles as the curfew took effect at 8 pm Tuesday. Trains and bus routes were suspended, leaving many commuters stranded.

“I’m a young, able-bodied person, so it’s not a huge impediment for me,” Joseph Cohen May, who was taking the Metro E Line home to downtown from Santa Monica, told the LA Times. “But there are thousands of people who live downtown, there are thousands of people who are still going to need to go to work tomorrow early morning.”

May added: “This was executed horribly. It seems like the mayor and city council aren’t aware that there are people who live downtown.”

Updated

This full report provides a comprehensive overview of the civil unrest unfolding on the streets of Los Angeles…

The BBC reports that there is no sign of US Marines or National Guard troops out on the streets in LA this evening.

There’s also no sign of them patrolling demonstrations or arresting people during protests.

Updated

'Mass arrests' after curfew issued for city's downtown area

Welcome to the Guardian’s continued coverage of the protests in Los Angeles. If you are just tuning in, here is a handy summary to bring you up to speed.

  • The LAPD says it has made ‘mass arrests’ in downtown LA after the Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for the city’s downtown area following several days of intense protests against Ice raids. The protests have been marked by clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement, widespread vandalism and some looting. The curfew began at 8pm local time on Tuesday and will last until 6am local time on Wednesday. It will apply to a one-square-mile area in downtown.

  • California governor Gavin Newsom delivered a searing rebuke of the Trump administration on Tuesday evening, accusing the government of “pulling a military dragnet” across LA and warning democracy is “under assault before our eyes”. The Democratic governor’s remarks come after Trump ordered the deployment of nearly 5,000 troops, including National Guard and Marines, to the nation’s second-largest city.

  • Protests against the Trump administration’s newly intensified immigration raids, centred on Los Angeles, spread across the country on Tuesday, with demonstrations in New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Omaha and Seattle. Thousands attended a protest against the federal government’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) in New York City’s Foley Square.

  • A federal district court judge declined California’s request to issue an immediate temporary restraining order that would bar Marines and National Guard troops dispatched to Los Angeles from doing anything other than guarding federal buildings. The judge instead scheduled a hearing for Thursday on the state’s request for a restraining order.

  • Trump delivered a deeply partisan, political speech to the avowedly non-partisan US army at Fort Bragg, where he called Los Angeles “a trash heap”, repeated baseless conspiracy theories and announced he was not yet done changing the names of military bases back to honour confederates. Trump said he would “liberate Los Angeles and make it free, clean, and safe again”.

  • Trump denied accusing California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and the mayor of Los Angeles, Karen Bass, of paying agitators to turn the protests in the city violent. Video footage from his speech at Fort Bragg just hours earlier, shows him clearly making the accusation.

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