LOS Angeles braced for more violent clashes as Donald Trump defended his decision to deploy the National Guard despite criticism from California officials.
The US president said yesterday that sending the National Guard to curb protests was a ‘great idea’ and said the Pentagon would deploy around 700 Marines also.
California officials blamed Trump for inflaming an already tense situation by sending in National Guard troops, while the White House argued the violent demonstrations justified ramping up deportation efforts even further.
Trump even suggested California Governor Gavin Newsom be arrested.
As the city faced a fourth day of protests, Democrats and Republicans clashed over what has become the biggest flashpoint in the Republican administration’s aggressive efforts to deport migrants who are in the country illegally.
The US president said Los Angeles would have been ‘completely obliterated’ otherwise and hit out at Newsom, who said he’s suing the Trump administration
Demonstrations began on Friday after it emerged Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were carrying out raids across the city.
The downtown district of one of America’s biggest cities was a scene of pandemonium and lawlessness as protests, which had previously been mainly peaceful, turned ugly.
The 101 Freeway, the main highway cutting through the downtown area, was also closed down for much of the day as police and protesters faced off, with flash bang devices sending some people scattering.
Bottles and other projectiles were hurled towards police, who responded by using tear gas and rubber bullets. Police said they had arrested 10 people on Sunday and 29 the previous night.
It was this chaos, his critics say, that Trump wanted to provoke.
The episode has provided Newsom, serving his second term as governor, with a national platform that has allowed him to portray himself as Trump’s chief antagonist.
But it has also underscored the risks of appearing too sympathetic to protesters, some of whom have set cars on fire and thrown bottles at police.
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