National Guard scuffle with protesters hours after arriving in L.A. on Trump's orders

Members of the subject ward faced away with protesters in Los Angeles on lord's day, and shoot down gas was fired at a growing crowd that gathered outside a federal complex hours after the federal troops arrived in the city on U.S. President Donald Trump's orders.

The confrontation broke out in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, as a group of demonstrators shouted insults at members of the National Guard lined shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.

There did not appear to be any arrests.

About 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday following clashes in recent days between protesters and federal immigration agents.

The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began on Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighbouring Compton.

Trump-deployed National Guard arrives in L.A. Over immigration raids

As federal agents set up a staging area on Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators sought to block U.S. Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.

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.

The deployment of the National Guard came over the objections of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who accused Trump of a "complete overreaction" designed to create a spectacle of force.

Trump has framed the move as a necessary response to the failure of Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to swiftly contain the unrest.

In a directive on Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision 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."

The president said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.

Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor's office. It was not clear if they spoke on Saturday or Sunday.

There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the troops' arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a "job well done." But less than an hour later, Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.

In a statement on Sunday, Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary in the Department of Homeland Security, accused California's politicians and protesters of "defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans' safety."

"Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer," McLaughlin said, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defence. In a signal of the administration's aggressive approach, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines "if violence continues" in the region.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected "a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism" and "usurping the powers of the United States Congress."

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president's move, doubling down on Republicans' criticisms of California Democrats.

"Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in," Johnson said.

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