June 8 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Sunday asked President Donald Trump to rescind his deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, calling the order a "breach of state sovereignty."
Demonstrators flooded Los Angeles streets and freeways for the third day Sunday in response to federal immigration enforcement actions.
LAPD officers in riot gear tussled with demonstrators in an area close to where the 100 and 101 freeways converge, causing major traffic disruptions. Protestors set fire to vehicles amid the chaos.
National Guard soldiers called up by Trump to curb demonstrations arrived Sunday morning, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he might send in U.S. Marines if necessary to aid them.
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The U.S. Northern Command confirmed the arrival of troops in a post to social media, noting that the troops deployed to the Los Angeles area are from its 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.
"The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE," Hegseth said.
Newsom sent a letter to the Trump administration, formally asking it to rescind its "unlawful deployment" of troops to the state.
"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."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement to UPI late Saturday that the administration has "a zero tolerance for criminal behavior and violence," especially violence allegedly targeted at law enforcement.
Later on Sunday, the Los Angeles Police Department confirmed the arrival of the National Guard and said its officers had also been deployed to monitor protests around the Civic Center area where protesters had started gathering by Sunday afternoon.
As crowds gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, The New York Times reported that what appeared to be tear gas had been fired into the crowd. According to the Los Angeles Times, protesters were moved from the vehicle entry point for the jail so federal authorities and military vehicles could enter.
"Everyone has the right to peacefully assemble and voice their opinions. However, vandalizing property and attempting to seriously injure officers, whether Federal or LAPD, is not peaceful," the LAPD said.
Around 7:30 p.m., department said it shut down the southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway after protesters allegedly threw objects onto the roadway, damaging police vehicles. Earlier in the day, officials had fully shut down both directions of the freeway for about 90 minutes.
CNN reported that protesters and police faced off on the freeway, with officers using tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs against the demonstrators. The outlet said there were burnt remains of vehicles seen elsewhere in Los Angeles after being set on fire during the demonstrations. Police were patrolling throughout the city, some on horseback.
The Los Angeles Sheriff's Department arrested one person overnight in Paramount, a city in Los Angeles County, amid ongoing protests against raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, officials said Sunday.
The sheriff's department confirmed the arrest by email to UPI but did not provide any further details about the arrest.
Protesters clashed with police in riot gear in Los Angeles on Saturday as outrage mounted over a series of ICE raids carried out last week across southern California.
It remained unclear Sunday exactly how many people had been arrested by various agencies since the unrest began Friday. Officials who spoke to The New York Times said eight people, including two minors, had been arrested in Paramount, while ICE officers have arrested hundreds of immigrants across the region.
Trump then ordered 2,000 members of the National Guard to Los Angeles, later thanking them Saturday night for their "good job" in handling the protests.
"Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest," Trump said on his Truth Social platform. "These radical left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will not be tolerated."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said afterward on social media that no National Guardsmen had yet arrived. "Just to be clear, the National Guard has not been deployed in the City of Los Angeles," she said.
Newsom later referenced a post from Kristi Noem, the head of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who in 2024 had said that if then-President Joe Biden had federalized the National Guard, it would have been a "direct attack on states' rights."
Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters told reporters outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center that the presence of the National Guard an "escalation" by Trump whom she accused of "working to impose martial law."
"Trump hates us, he hates sanctuary cities," Waters said. "He's trying to make an example out of us."
In his post the day prior, Trump, who pardoned mask-wearing demonstrators who rioted at the U.S. Capitol in 2021, also said protesters would not be allowed to wear masks.
Demonstrators have criticized ICE officers for also wearing masks while conducting raids. Federal law does not explicitly forbid them from wearing masks but they are required by law to clearly identify themselves with badges or patches and to state their identity in an arrest.
"Masks will not be allowed to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why?" Trump said of the protesters. "Again, thank you to the National Guard for a job well done!" The streets were quiet in Los Angeles around 7 a.m. local time, The New York Times reported.
Meanwhile, the Northern California Coalition for Just Immigration Reform said Saturday that it would be organizing a protest rally outside the California State Capitol on Monday.
"The Trump administration's baseless deployment of the National Guard is plainly retaliation against California, a stronghold for immigrant communities, and is akin to a declaration of war on all Californians," the ACLU's division in southern California said in a statement.
"The only threat to safety today is the masked goon squads that the Trump administration has deployed to terrorize the communities of Los Angeles County," the organization said.
