Downtown Los Angeles descended into mayhem for the third day in a row as immigration protests exploded into full-blown street warfare — with police officers caught directly in the line of fire.
What began as a show of dissent over ICE raids and President Trump’s National Guard deployment has now turned into something far more dangerous. On Sunday, protesters swarmed city streets and even took over the 101 Freeway, targeting California Highway Patrol (CHP) vehicles and reportedly trying to set them ablaze.
In one of the most chilling developments, demonstrators armed with commercial-grade fireworks launched them directly at LAPD officers — fireworks that “can kill you,” according to LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell.
“Tonight we had individuals out there shooting commercial-grade fireworks at our officers that can kill you,” McDonnell said.
The violence escalated
A small fire even broke out behind an LAPD skirmish line, underscoring how volatile the situation had become.
As the violence escalated, officers scrambled to maintain control. Protesters were seen hurling objects, shielding themselves with anything they could find, and in one alarming instance, a Molotov cocktail was allegedly thrown. Another person is accused of ramming a police line with a motorcycle.
By nightfall, 27 people had been arrested — 10 by LAPD and 17 by CHP — and even more chaos was expected.
“It’s escalated now since the beginning of this incident,” McDonnell warned. “It’s increasingly worse and more violent.”
Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images
“Disgusting”
During a press conference, the LAPD chief didn’t hold back his disgust at what he called the hijacking of peaceful protests by outsiders.
“It was even more disgusting that many of the people who are doing this come in from other places just to hurt people and to cause havoc,” he sai
“Disgusting,” he repeated according to ABC, describing the attacks on police involving Molotov cocktails, fireworks, and rocks.
City officials are now weighing whether to impose a curfew. According to McDonnell, the possibility was being discussed with the L.A. County Sheriff, and the decision would be reassessed as conditions evolve.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom kept up his verbal attacks on President Trump, accusing the White House of stoking the flames in Southern California. Governor Gavin Newsom has been especially vocal in his criticism of President Donald Trump’s decision to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to California — a move that’s highly unusual, as presidents typically don’t take such action without the support or request of the state’s governor.
“That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions,” Newsom said on X Saturday. “This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
The protests broke out across Los Angeles on Friday following the arrest of at least 44 individuals by federal immigration agents. The detentions are part of President Trump’s ongoing immigration crackdown, which has sparked a series of nationwide raids and deportations.
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