Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has imposed a nighttime curfew on parts of downtown Los Angeles following a wave of looting and violence during ongoing protests against federal immigration raids. The curfew, which began at 8:00 p.m. local time (0400 BST), aims to restore order after chaotic scenes gripped the city for the second consecutive night.
Despite the curfew, dozens of demonstrators and bystanders remained in the downtown area — some apparently unaware of the restrictions, while others chose to openly defy them. Law enforcement officials made several arrests late into the evening as the Los Angeles Police Department moved to enforce the order.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has deployed the National Guard in anticipation of protests scheduled in major cities including Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Authorities said the preemptive move was necessary given the scale and intensity of unrest in California.
The protests, initially sparked by controversial immigration enforcement operations earlier this week, have now spread to several cities across the United States. In New York, police confirmed “multiple arrests” as demonstrations escalated outside federal buildings in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
In a televised address, California Governor Gavin Newsom directly criticized former President Donald Trump, accusing him of inciting further tensions with inflammatory rhetoric.
“Instead of calming the situation, Donald Trump is pouring gasoline on a fire,” Newsom said. “This is not leadership. This is provocation.”
Earlier in the day, Trump condemned the protests on social media, calling them an “assault on peace and public order.”He also reaffirmed his support for deploying federal troops to Los Angeles if local authorities are, in his words, “unwilling or unable to act decisively.”
What began as protests against a series of high-profile immigration raids has quickly morphed into a broader national outcry over the federal government’s handling of immigration enforcement, civil liberties, and militarized policing.
In Los Angeles, business owners scrambled to board up storefronts as tensions rose. Some protestors waved signs reading “Immigrants Built America” and “Raids Are Terror,” while others clashed with officers near city hall and government buildings.
Mayor Bass urged calm and unity, stating, “We recognize the pain and fear in our communities, but violence will not solve the problem. We are committed to working toward justice without chaos.”
With tensions still simmering, authorities in several states are bracing for another night of protests, even as curfews and military deployments attempt to restore a sense of control.
Chioma Kalu
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