Los Angeles Police Officers Engage with Protesters in Downtown L.A. Following “No Kings” Protest

Downtown Los Angeles. Thousands of protestors marched in the streets of the city on Saturday, June 14, in a massive demonstration against the Trump administration. This was just one of many of the “No Kings” protests happening in many major cities across the US. Hundreds of thousands of people marched against President Trump and his strict policies and actions.

The largely peaceful protest in LA took a darker turn, however, when local police officers began using tear gas and crowd-control munitions in an attempt to break up protests after a 4 pm dispersal order was issued. A large group of protestors had previously gathered at a federal building downtown that was being guarded by National Guard troops. Officers on horseback were dispatched to force hundreds of people away from the building as the crowd yelled at the soldiers.

The Los Angeles Police Department stated in many posts on X that the protestors had been throwing rocks, bottles, and fireworks at the officers. It was also said that “outside agitators” had blocked some of the streets with fencing and other materials.

Previously, President Trump had ordered 2,000 members of the National Guard to quell the protests in Los Angeles, despite the California Governor’s objections and local authorities stating that they did not need outside help. The state of California had then promptly sued the president, who had directed another 2,000 National Guard troops and another 700 Marines to the area.

The president had said that the city was “out of control” and that the military was needed to “safeguard federal property and agents.” Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Mayor Karen Bass say differently, however. They have both accused Mr. Trump of staging the immigration raids in an intentional attempt to inflame Californians and manufacture a crisis in a state that he regards as a hotbed of opposition and a place that allows illegal immigration.

A federal judge in California had ruled on Thursday that the President had acted illegally in seizing control of the National Guard and had returned jurisdiction to Governor Newsom, as well as preventing the dispatchment of the troops. This ruling, however, was stayed until Tuesday by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Hydee Feldstein Soto, the Los Angeles city attorney, had said that the city would arrest and prosecute anyone who “tagged, vandalized, looted, threw rocks, disobeyed police or otherwise disrupted public safety.”

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