(Adnkronos) – Law enforcement clashed with demonstrators during protests in Los Angeles, where police used tear gas and “non-lethal ammunition” to disperse large crowds of people. The entire downtown area of the California city was declared an “unlawful assembly zone.” Demonstrators gathered to reject Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and his deployment of the National Guard against the will of the state’s elected representatives.
Yesterday, thousands of Los Angeles residents flooded the streets around City Hall, the federal courthouse, and a detention center where protesters arrested days earlier are being held. They also blocked a major highway. For much of the day, the crowd was mostly peaceful. But tension erupted several times, with police using tear gas to disperse protesters and stun grenades in an attempt to push them back along the highway exit ramps. Several self-driving vehicles were set on fire.
Trump’s decision to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles has shocked America. California Governor Gavin Newsom and other Democratic governors across the United States have harshly criticized the decision, describing it as an “alarming abuse of power.” Newsom said the president has “manufactured a crisis” and described his reaction as that of a “dictator, not a president.” He urged Trump to resign and revoke the “illegal” deployment.
