Protestors Encountering Police Officers in LA "No Kings" Protest
On June 14th, millions of upset U.S. citizens participated in “No Kings” rallies across the U.S. to speak up against President Trump’s immigrant raids. One of the cities with the highest number of protestors was Los Angeles, where tensions rose between the protestors and the police.
The “No Kings” rallies were planned on Saturday, June 14th, the same day as President Trump’s 79th birthday and the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary. The protest was a direct response to President Trump’s military parade in Washington D.C. that celebrated the army’s anniversary.
In Los Angeles, protestors faced chemical gases, such as tear gas, and other crowd-controlling measures after ignoring the 8 p.m. curfew imposed by the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD). In addition, according to the LAPD’s (Los Angeles Police Department) X account, they accused the protestors of throwing rocks, fireworks, and bottles while also chanting, “Shame on you!” at police officers when they tried to break up the protests apart.
According to The New York Times, “With the city’s downtown area facing an 8 p.m. curfew, the Los Angeles police began using tear gas and crowd-control munitions to break up protests after issuing a 4 p.m. dispersal order. Officers on horseback forced hundreds of people away from a federal building downtown, where a crowd had gathered, chanting at a line of National Guard troops guarding the structure as helicopters circled overhead.”
Just last week, after a series of immigration raids triggered protests, President Trump had sent members of the National Guard to Los Angeles even when California’s Governor Newsom persisted and local officers claimed they had the situation handled. He then additionally sent another 2,000 National Guard troops as well as U.S. Marines after California officials pushed back. He claimed that California was out of control, and the military was key to protecting federal agents and property.
Not to mention, Governor Newsom suspected that President Trump purposely deported immigrants to incite action among Californians and cause chaos. For example, according to the New York Times, “Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles have 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.”
These recent protests last week in Los Angeles had slowly diminished in preparation for the “No Kings” protest on Saturday. Before Saturday’s protest, police officers said that if there was any violence, it would result in persecution and arrests of protestors. Just a few hours later, an LA city attorney, Hydee Feldstein Soto, repeated the warning made by officers earlier that day. She claimed that anyone who disobeyed officials or promoted violence by throwing rocks, vandalizing, or looting would face consequences.
By Saturday night, thousands of protestors would have fled throughout Southern California, yet many stayed in downtown Los Angeles, and hundreds of police officers were issued. As the curfew took effect, the police did end up controlling many streets around government buildings before completely handling the protest.
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