Los Angeles Immigration Protests Descend Into Anarchy & Mayhem

LOS ANGELES (Sputnik) – Demonstrators in Los Angeles have unleashed chaos, engaging in acts of vandalism and damaging stores and property across the city as their protest against US immigration policies continues, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.

As the protests continue full steam, other demonstrators have taken to erecting barricades using trash cans and other blunt and heavy objects.

Late on Monday, protesters reconvened and began damaging shops, spray-painting walls, sidewalks, streets, and monuments throughout the city. They also hurled fireworks, bottles, and other objects at law enforcement officers. In response, police employed rubber bullets and tear gas to disperse the crowd. A correspondent from RIA Novosti was injured by tear gas during the clashes.

A June 7 raid by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to identify illegal immigrants in downtown Los Angeles escalated into clashes with protesters. On the same day, California Governor Gavin Newsom threatened that the state might refuse to pay federal taxes in response to potential large-scale funding cuts proposed by the Trump administration. Meanwhile, on Sunday, White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt announced that 2,000 National Guard troops would be deployed to the city amid the ongoing protests.

In response to the troop deployment, Newsom officially called for the reversal of the decision, accusing the Trump administration of provoking the riots and asserting that state and city authorities did not have any problems until the president intervened.