Live updates: Los Angeles protests escalate after National Guard deployed

Protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles turned destructive and violent as they continued for a third day Sunday: Officers were injured, vehicles were set on fire, and protesters spilled onto major freeways to block traffic.  

Roughly 300 troops were sent to Los Angeles Sunday by President Donald Trump after confrontations between federal immigration officers and protesters who tried to stop them from carrying out deportations. 

Here's the latest: 

Police cars vandalized

7:45 p.m. PT: Helicopter video shows multiple California Highway Patrol vehicles damaged along the freeway that's blocked by protesters and law enforcement. 

Trump threatens to deploy 500 Marines

7:20 p.m. PT: Gov. Gavin Newsom said President Trump is "escalating the situation" with his threats to deploy 500 Marines to Los Angeles. 

"Los Angeles: Remain peaceful," Newsom said on X. "Don't fall into the trap that extremists are hoping for."

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there are 500 Marines on standby at Twentynine Palms, California, "should they be necessary to augment and support the DoD's protection of federal property and personnel efforts."

Waymo driverless vehicles set on fire

6:05 p.m. PT: Multiple driverless Waymo vehicles were set on fire by agitators near downtown. 

LA Mayor Karen Bass responds

5:03 p.m.: LA Mayor Karen Bass addressed the public for the first time since the protests began on Friday. She condemned the ICE raids and the activation of the National Guard. She also encouraged Angelenos to express themselves without violence. 

"My disappointment is I have been talking to the federal government for days. I was hoping to prevent this situation from happening. I was trying to encourage the administration that if they deployed the National Guard in Los Angeles it would create a sense of chaos, it's the last thing our city needs. Our city is still trying to recover from the wildfires," Bass said during a press briefing. 

"This is about another agenda, it’s not about public safety, there’s clearly no plan and there’s clearly no policy," she said. 

LAPD officers injured

4:15 p.m. PT: Police said two LAPD officers were injured after being hit by motorcyclists who attempted to breach a skirmish line at Alameda and Temple. Both riders have been detained. The officers were treated at the scene. 

Protesters block traffic on freeway

4:05 p.m. PT: The protests have spread to the freeways in and around downtown Los Angeles. Protesters are blocking traffic. 

Newsom asks Trump to rescind National Guard deployment

3:40 p.m. PT: Gov. Gavin Newsom has sent a formal request to the Trump administration to rescind "their unlawful deployment" of troops in Los Angeles County and "return them to my command."

"We didn't have a problem until Trump got involved," Newsom said in a post on X. "This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they're actually needed."

Protesters arrested

3:30 p.m. PT: LAPD says arrests are being made after officers reported protesters throwing concrete, bottles and other objects. A dispersal order has been issued in the area. 

LAPD declares unlawful assembly

2:55 p.m. PT: The Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly around 2:45 p.m. PT Sunday and ordered protesters to leave the area. People who don't leave could be arrested, LAPD said. 

LAPD also authorized the use of "less lethal munitions" to control the crowds. 

"Persons throwing items at officers will be detained and arrested," LAPD said. 

Trump won't rule out Insurrection Act

2 p.m. PT: Speaking to reporters Sunday, Trump did not rule out invoking the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows presidents to call on reserve or active-duty military units to respond to unrest in the states. 

"We’re not going to let them get away with it," Trump said Sunday. "We’re going to have troops everywhere, we’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart."

Trump deployed the National Guard despite objections from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who accused Trump of a "complete overreaction." It marked the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

National Guard in Los Angeles

What we know:

Trump invoked a legal provision Saturday allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is "a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States." He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.

Military officials said roughly 300 troops were deployed Sunday, with some of them stationed outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. It’s one of several locations where demonstrators have clashed with law enforcement over the past two days.

READ MORE: Missouri ‘soccer mom’ facing deportation is released from custody

The guards are dressed in tactical gear and carrying long guns.

What we don't know:

There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard's arrival. 

Agents in riot gear arrived in downtown Los Angeles around 8:30 p.m. Saturday, firing smoke bombs and rubber bullets into the crowds. It’s still unclear whether they were National Guard troops, federal law enforcement or local police. 

Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a "job well done." But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.

The other side:

Newsom, a Democrat, described Trump’s decision to call in the National Guard as a "provocative show of force" that would only escalate tensions, also calling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s threat to deploy Marines on American soil "deranged behavior."

Newsom and Trump spoke on the phone for about 40 minutes Friday night, the governor’s office said. 

The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

What's next:

According to Fox News Digital, the National Guard is expected to be deployed in Los Angeles for up to 60 days in response to the protests. 

Why are protests happening in L.A.?

The backstory:

The National Guard’s arrival comes after two days of relatively small but heated protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.

READ MORE: Court rules migrants sent to El Salvador prison must get due process

Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.

When federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators tried to block Border Patrol vehicles, some of them by hurling rocks and chunks of cement. A car was also set on fire. 

In response, federal agents in riot gear used tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls. Dozens of protesters were arrested. 

Immigration sweeps and protests also happened on the East Coast in New York City, where several protesters were arrested. 

Crime and Public SafetyDonald J. TrumpImmigrationPolitics