Extract from ABC News
Authorities have arrested people near to federal buildings in downtown Los Angeles amid ongoing protests. (AP: Eric Thayer)
In short:
US Marines will be deployed to Los Angeles "soon" and are currently undergoing riot and crowd control refresher training, their commander says.
It comes as protests against the Trump administration's immigration policies spread to other major US cities.
Dozens of people have been arrested on the first night of a curfew in downtown Los Angeles imposed by local city officials to curb ongoing vandalism.
Anti-immigration raid protests that first took hold in Los Angeles have spread across the United States, with dozens of people arrested in New York City overnight.
It comes as protests in LA look set to enter their sixth day, after an overnight curfew came into effect in the city's downtown on Tuesday.
Protesters marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago on Tuesday night, chanting anti-US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) slogans and at times clashing with law enforcement.
Police detained more than 80 people in Lower Manhattan on Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning local time.
There was also a spontaneous rally held in Omaha, Nebraska, after immigration raids by ICE agents at a meat-packing plant in the town.
Nationwide protests are likely to expand on Saturday, when several activist groups have planned hundreds of anti-Trump demonstrations across the country.
That day, tanks and other armoured vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington DC, in a military parade marking the US Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with US President Donald Trump's 79th birthday.
Hundreds also took to the streets in Nebraska to protest immigration raids at a local meat-packing plant. (AP: Niko Frazier/Omaha World-Herald)
Amid growing protests in his state, Texas governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced he would deploy the National Guard on Wednesday ahead of planned protests in San Antonio and other parts of the state, making him the first governor to take that step.
Police in Austin, Texas, fired tear gas and pepper balls in a stand-off with demonstrators on Monday.
Marines to enter LA 'soon'
Mr Trump has mobilised 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in recent days, arguing they were necessary to protect government personnel and buildings.
At present, they do not have the authority to make arrests.
The Pentagon has said the Marines, along with National Guard troops, will also be used to safeguard ICE officers during immigration raids.
Donald Trump says US Marines will be deployed to Los Angeles amid protesting in the city. (Reuters: Evelyn Hockstein)
US Army Major General Scott Sherman, who is commanding the US Marines, said his troops would be in Los Angeles "soon" but not Wednesday.
He said the marines were undergoing refresher training in riot and crowd control just outside of Los Angeles.
'Mass arrests' in LA
In Los Angeles, police say they have carried out "mass arrests" on the first night of a curfew in downtown Los Angeles.
Members of the California National Guard, who were called in by President Donald Trump against the state and local government's wishes, did not participate in the arrests.
Los Angeles leaders imposed a curfew between 8pm Tuesday night and 6am the next morning in an attempt to quell ongoing vandalism and theft on the fifth day of protests in the city.
Protesters shouted anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement slogans in opposition to mass raids in Los Angeles. (AP: Damian Dovarganes)
At least 25 arrests were made moments after it came into affect, and more than 500 people have been arrested in recent days.
"Multiple groups continue to congregate" within the designated downtown curfew area, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) wrote on X late Tuesday.
"Those groups are being addressed and mass arrests are being initiated."
California National Guard stood guard at federal buildings but did not participate in arrests on Tuesday evening. (AP: Eric Thayer)
The curfew appeared to have worked, with only a handful of demonstrators remaining in downtown LA an hour after the curfew came into effect.
Looting and vandalism in the second-biggest US city have marred the largely peaceful protests over ramped-up arrests by immigration authorities.
AFP/AP/Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment