LOS ANGELES ‒ A day after downtown protests on the federal immigration crackdown turned fiery, a walk down the typically bustling thoroughfare of Los Angeles Street showed the chaotic remnants.
A heavy police presence could be seen stretching for blocks as matching black and white police squad cars from neighboring cities, including Montebello, Campbell, and Alhambra, lined up. Profanity-laced graffiti was sprawled on several downtown buildings targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, spray-painted in many different colors.
They were mixed in with several "Return the Homies" messages, and a famous Thomas Jefferson quote: "When tyranny becomes law, rebellion becomes duty." Shards of glass were also scattered where windows had been shattered, including at the Los Angeles Police Department Metropolitan Detention Center and a nearby Federal Building.
And, not far from where the police fired tear gas and rubber bullets and where protesters hurled rocks and concrete, the remains of five self-driving WAYMO vehicles were charred as onlookers passed by and took photos with their smartphones.
The visual reminders were evident after tensions escalated in Los Angeles between law enforcement and protesters on June 8 as National Guard troops arrived to quell demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Residents who surveyed the damage and vandalism were disillusioned by what unfolded in their city and feared what might come next.
