Tensions flared in Los Angeles on Sunday as thousands of protesters blocked a major freeway and torched self-driving cars in defiance of President Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard, prompting law enforcement to respond with tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash bangs.
Many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and making arrests of people who don’t leave.
Some of those remaining threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier that spanned the width of a street and others hurled chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the closed southbound 101 Freeway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover.
Sunday’s protests in Los Angeles, a sprawling city of 4 million people, were centered in several blocks of downtown. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents.
The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated.
