Police removes protesters blocking 101 freeway amid arrests

(NewsNation) — Protesters attempted to block the 101 freeway in downtown Los Angeles after police made arrests and ordered crowds to disperse around a federal detention center.

Officers with the California Highway Patrol moved the demonstration off the roadway, conducting mass arrests for people who did not leave.

Protesters at LA federal detention center ordered to disperse

A crowd of protesters gathered around the federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, with the Los Angeles Police Department ordering the crowd to disperse and deploying flash bang grenades and pepper balls.

Around 200 people remained in the area despite the order.

LAPD said Alameda between Aliso and Temple is closed. “The use of less lethal munitions has been authorized. Less lethal munitions may cause pain and discomfort,” the department said in a post on X. “Officers are making arrests. Please do not interfere with the lawful arrests.”

Judge rejects Newsom’s emergency motion to block Trump’s deployment of troops in L.A.

Earlier, California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed an emergency motion to block President Donald Trump from deploying Marines and National Guard to Los Angeles. A judge has declined the request for an immediate restraining order but has set a hearing for Thursday.

“The President is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate those who disagree with him. It’s illegal and dangerous. We’re fighting to stop him,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta on X.

After news of the motion, Trump referred to the protests as “an assault on sovereignty” and referred to protesters as “animals.” He also attacked California officials.

“The governor of California, the mayor of LA, they’re incompetent and they’ve paid troublemakers and insurrectionists,” Trump said. “Their position is that the rioting will not stop unless ICE withdraws and we cease the enforcement of immigration.”

Anti-ICE protests in DTLA enter day 5

Tuesday marked the fifth day of unrest as protests against Trump’s immigration crackdown continue amid more military arrivals and reports of looting.

According to the LAPD, 96 people were arrested for failure to disperse Monday night, one for assault with a deadly weapon, one for resisting arrest, one for vandalism and 14 for looting. Two LAPD officers were injured, treated and released.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Trump said LA would be “on fire” if he hadn’t intervened, a sentiment that California Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass have both pushed back against.

When asked about whether he would invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow for the legal deployment of active-duty military to the city, Trump did not answer directly.

“There were certain areas of Los Angeles where you could call it an insurrection. Many of these are paid insurrectionists,” he said.

Bass responded on social media.

“On Saturday, the President posted a message about what a great job the National Guard did in L.A. They didn’t even get here until Sunday. This entire effort is solely to cause chaos and the people of Los Angeles — and our troops — don’t deserve it,” she said on X.

Speaking to reporters, Bass said she had no idea what Marines would do when deployed to the city and reiterated that federal intervention was unnecessary.

“The real solution for all this is for the administration to stop the raids,” Bass said.

She also condemned violence by looters and said she would be speaking to the police chief about a possible curfew.

A federal court in downtown LA was also closed Tuesday, leading to confusion for those who had immigration appointments scheduled.

Looters target jewelry district

A California Highway Patrol officer told NewsNation that looters are taking advantage of the city’s preoccupied police.

Multiple arrests stemmed from jewelry store break-ins overnight, with NewsNation’s crew witnessing at least four attempted lootings in LA’s jewelry district.

Police said a man’s body was found on the sidewalk in downtown LA near the site of protests and looting. His cause of death is under investigation, and authorities have not linked his death to the demonstrations.

A T-Mobile store at the intersection where the body was found was one of several businesses looted the night before as immigration protests turned violent, NewsNation local affiliate KTLA reported.

Monty, the owner of Bargain2Perfumes, said his business was a victim of looters.

“I saw somebody’s break into my store, and call right away to police and my landlord,” he told NewsNation.

He called the situation “ridiculous.”

“They break into the Apple store. They break into the Adidas store. This is not, they’re not doing protest,” Monty said. “This is just doing, just for the looting, the stores and everything.”

Trump deploys Marines, National Guard amid LA protests

President Donald Trump has announced the deployment of 700 active-duty U.S. Marines and more than 4,000 California National Guard troops to the area.

In a social media post on Tuesday morning, Trump defended his decision to send federal forces to LA.

“If I didn’t ‘SEND IN THE TROOPS’ to Los Angeles the last three nights, that once beautiful and great City would be burning to the ground right now, much like 25,000 houses burned to the ground in L.A. do to an incompetent Governor and Mayor,” he wrote in part.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he’s sending an additional 800 state and local law enforcement officers into Los Angeles to “clean up President Trump’s mess.”

Trump is the first president to deploy a state’s National Guard without the consent of a governor since 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights protesters. 

The City of Los Angeles has declared a tactical alert, and all uniformed personnel are to remain on duty as protests continue into their fifth day.

LAPD has confirmed dozens of arrests and more than 600 nonlethal rounds fired, all while federal officials continue to carry out more immigration actions in LA.

California files lawsuit against Trump for LA protest response

Newsom and California’s attorney general have filed a lawsuit over Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles, with no state or city officials asking for them.

The suit, filed in federal court in San Francisco on Monday, called the move an “unprecedented power grab.” 

“One of the cornerstones of our Nation and our democracy is that our people are governed by civil, not military, rule,” the 22-page complaint reads. 

“The Founders enshrined these principles in our Constitution — that a government should be accountable to its people, guided by the rule of law, and one of civil authority, not military rule,” it continues.  

NewsNation partner The Hill, KTLA, and NewsNation’s Alex Caprariello, Nancy Loo and Kellie Meyer contributed to this report.