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The Pentagon confirms Donald Trump is deploying another 2,000 National Guard troops and it is activating 700 Marines in the Los Angeles area to help the federal response to protests against immigration raids
California Governor Gavin Newsom says he will take legal action against the administration over the deployments
Demonstrations began outside in downtown LA on Friday after it emerged Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were carrying out raids across the city
Our correspondent Carl Nasman is at a protest which has been declared to be an unlawful assembly - watch his report
It is highly unusual for US military troops to be involved in domestic law enforcement
Have you witnessed any protests? Get in touch with us here or on WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803, external
A defense official says that the members of the guard are armed, reports the BBC's north American partner, CBS. The official said that the members are following the "Standing Rules for the Use of Force", which allow for the use of force primarily in self-defense.
Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles
Image source, ReutersDemonstrators have "ignited" vehicles in downtown Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Police Department.
In a statement posted on X, the LAPD said it was "attempting to enter the area to extinguish the fire".
The cars that were lit ablaze are Waymo self-driving vehicles, images broadcast on the BBC News channel show. At least four are on fire, with their windows bashed and spray paint covering them.
The cars are fairly unique in the US and Los Angeles is one of very few cities where they are in use. The company is owned by Alphabet, which is related to Google.
The LAPD added that an unlawful assembly order has been issued for the area.
We heard a short while ago from our North America Correspondent John Sudworth, who has been reporting from a bridge over the 101 freeway – one of the busiest routes in LA – which was blocked by protesters.
Speaking to the BBC News channel, with the sound of flashbang grenades in the background and helicopters whirring overhead, he described the police efforts to try to clear protesters from the road, and put the scale of these protest into context.
"It just shows how fluid this is, how fast-moving this is. As fast as police can respond to one group, there's something else somewhere else," he said. "We have seen police constantly on the move to try to kettle and contain these protesters."
Kettling is when police surround protestors and try to confine them to one area.
"But LA is a big city, these are localised protests at the moment. Much of the city carries on as normal," Sudworth said.
"The LA authorities and governor of California say this is the sort of scale of protest they can deal and they don't need the National Guard. The point that the police are making is this is not Los Angeles descending into lawlessness and chaos, this is localised protests, sometimes violent, but the sort of activity they are well-prepared to cope with."
Image source, ReutersIt is approaching 18:00 in Los Angeles (02:00 BST).
If you’re just joining us, here’s the latest:
Image source, ReutersFormer Vice President Kamala Harris has said the Trump administration's actions "are not about public safety – they're about stoking fear".
"Deploying the National Guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos... it is part of the Trump administration's cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division," she said.
In the statement posted on X, Harris, the former attorney general of California, added that "protest is a powerful tool – essential in the fight for justice".
"I continue to support the millions of Americans who are standing up to protect our most fundamental rights and freedoms," she said.
Following her US presidential election loss, Harris is considering running for governor of California, her home state, in 2026, according to reports from CBS – the BBC's American news partner.
"I don't think there's any equivocating on non-violence," said Mayor Bass.
"Our city has been through a lot since the beginning of the year," she says, referring to January's devastating wildfires.
"And now thinking that there is a large percentage of our city that is terrified," she said. "That is not going to know if they go to sleep tonight and they go to work or they go to school will that be the last day they do that? Will that be the last day they see their family?"
"We can't have this in our city. Los Angeles is a city of immigrants," she said.
But she reiterated that "it is just not appropriate for there to be violence and I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily".
While Mayor Bass blames the Trump administration for escalating the situation, she also reserves criticism for troublemakers in the crowd.
"There is a history of peaceful protests here," the Democratic city leader says, while adding that there are some elements at these demonstrations who "might get into mischief and violence".
When a reporter queries whether the protests can be characterised as peaceful, she says: "That's not peaceful what was happening.
"It's not peaceful for people to be on the highways. It's not peaceful for people to throw rocks or bottles. That's not peaceful."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is speaking at a press conference now.
She says: "We do not want to play in to the [Trump] administration's hands."
"What we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos provoked by the administration", which she said had caused fear and panic.
Deploying federalised troops is a "dangerous escalation", she says.
"I want the people of LA to know that we stand with all Angelinos, no matter where you were born."
She said protesters had the right to demonstrate peacefully and called on them to continue expressing their "rights, anger and outrage", but to do it peacefully.
Image source, Getty ImagesMaxine Waters near City Hall
US congresswoman Maxine Waters was earlier outside the federal building in Los Angeles where National Guard troops are positioned.
The Democrat said she wants to know where David Huerta, head of the state branch of the Service Employees International Union, is being held.
Huerta was arrested on Friday night during scuffles. Local media reported he was admitted to hospital for injuries sustained during his arrest and that he is now in custody.
"We don’t know where he is," she said. "I’m here to try to understand about why the president of the United States is targeting our city."
US Democratic governors have condemned President Donald Trump's troop deployment to Los Angeles as an "alarming abuse of power".
In a joint statement, they said: "Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state's governor is ineffective and dangerous.
"Further, threatening to send the US Marines into American neighbourhoods undermines the mission of our service members, erodes public trust, and shows the Trump administration does not trust local enforcement."
Earlier in the day, President Trump did not rule out sending active-duty Marines to California if the unrest worsened.
Image source, Getty ImagesAmong the Democratic governors who put their name to the statement was former vice-presidential nominee Tim Walz of Minnesota
We are now seeing aerial footage showing crowds of protesters flooding the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles and bringing traffic to a standstill.
People are also gathered on two nearby overpasses and ramps.
LA Police have said in a post on X that California Highway Patrol officers are attempting to disperse the demonstrators off the southbound section of the freeway.
Image source, Getty ImagesTraffic is blocked on the 101 freeway as demonstrators walk on to the major road in downtown Los Angeles
Image source, Getty ImagesCalifornia Governor Gavin Newsom
California Governor Gavin Newsom says he has "formally requested the Trump administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command".
In a post on X, the Democratic governor says: "We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved.
"This is a serious breach of state sovereignty - inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed."
The Republican president's administration is yet to publicly comment on Newsom's request.
Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles County
Image source, Getty ImagesProtesters in Paramount
A crowd formed on Sunday in Paramount, the LA County city where protests raged for most of a day earlier.
Across the street from Home Depot, where Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents reportedly conducted raids on Saturday, several National Guard trucks were parked in a gated business park with armed troops on duty.
Some members of the crowd were shouting at National Guardsmen. Those in passing cars on this busy street were shouting out messages for and against Trump and Ice.
Some here tell us they were here on Saturday and felt an overwhelming sense of anger and sadness seeing federal immigration authorities here - and that's only grown with Trump's deployment of the National Guard.
"We belong here - you don’t!" one man with a Los Angeles Angels ball cap shouted at troops from the gate.
Moments later, a man wearing a balaclava started spray painting an explicit message against Ice on a business sign.
Image source, EPAUS House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson has backed President Donald Trump's call to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles.
"I think the president did exactly what he needed to do," he said in an interview with US broadcaster ABC News.
"These are federal laws, we need to maintain the rule of law, and that is not what is happening."
As we reported earlier, California Governor Gavin Newsom hit out at Trump for deploying troops, arguing it was "purposefully inflammatory".
Johnson says Newsom has shown an "inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary" after the clashes erupted, forcing the president to step in.
Image source, ReutersAs demonstrators gather to face off with law enforcement, California Governor Gavin Newsom has a warning for protesters: "Don't give Donald Trump what he wants."
In a post on social media, Newsom urges those taking part: "Speak up. Stay peaceful. Stay calm. Do not use violence and respect the law enforcement officers that are trying their best to keep the peace."
Earlier, Donald Trump told reporters he had warned Newsom to "take care" of the situation in Los Angeles, or he would send in the National Guard – which he has now done. Newsom has since called the decision "purposefully inflammatory".
Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles
Image source, ReutersThere was a confrontation a short while ago outside a federal building that contains a detention centre in downtown LA.
The National Guard pushed the crowd back and law enforcement - not LA Police Department (LAPD) but federal officers with Department of Homeland Security badges - fired what appeared to be tear gas and pepper spray and some kind of non-lethal round towards the crowd.
Our car was hit by one of the canisters and we got into the vehicle to grab our gas masks as protesters ran for cover.
The crowd, a few hundred people, went back in front of the federal building chanting: “ICE out of LA!”
As demonstrators and police continue to face off in Los Angeles, remember you can follow events by tapping the Watch live button at the top of the page.
Image source, Reuters
Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from Maryland
Image source, Getty ImagesI’m in rural Maryland now, after arriving with Donald Trump a short while ago. We’re heading to Camp David, where he’ll spend the night and hold meetings tomorrow.
Before we left New Jersey, Trump spoke to us briefly under the wing of Air Force One, mainly about the unrest in California.
He said he doesn’t believe there’s an “insurrection” happening, but added that the government will “have troops everywhere”, including in cities beyond Los Angeles if protests grow.
“We’re not going to let this happen to our country,” he said. “We’re not going to let this country be torn apart.”
Trump was also asked what would trigger sending active-duty US Marines.
“The bar is what I think it is,” he said. “If we see danger to our country and our citizens, we will be very strong in terms of law and order.”
Just before we boarded the aircraft, I asked Trump if he thinks protest movements will appear in other cities like Chicago or New York.
"We're going to be watching it very closely," he said, before accusing protesters of spitting at police officers.
"When that happens, I have a little statement...they spit, we hit," he said, looking at me. "That happens, they get hit very hard."
After speaking to reporters on the tarmac, Donald Trump has now commented on the clashes in Los Angeles on his Truth Social platform.
"Violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations," he writes.
Trump says he is directing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi to "take all such necessary action... to put an end to these Migrant riots".
"Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free," he adds.
As we've been reporting, immigration raid protesters in Los Angeles are now facing off with local police and National Guard troops.
Here are some pictures taken earlier.
Image source, AFP/Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, EPA