A protest against the crackdown and deportation of illegal immigrants has continued for the fourth day in Los Angeles (LA) on the 9th (local time). The LA police expressed concerns that the violence is escalating as the downtown protests grow more intense.
LA Police Chief Jim McDonnell noted during a press conference on the night of the 8th, "The violence I have seen is outrageous," and stated, "The level of violence has been increasing since this situation began," according to the Associated Press.
McDonnell pointed out, "Although the situation on the first night was already serious, it has worsened since then, and the level of violence is growing. Last night, some people fired commercial-grade fireworks at police officers. This is an act that could kill someone."
He also said that the LA Police Department (LAPD) has been "overwhelmed numerically by too many people involved in such activities."
According to the LAPD, as the size of the protesters grows, people who regularly commit violent acts are rarely mixed in among the mostly civilian protestors.
McDonnell said, "When we see people committing violence on the scene, they are not the ones expressing their opinions on immigration enforcement matters legally during the day."
The LAPD arrested 27 people at the protest site on the 8th alone. In total, 56 people have been arrested by the police since the protest began on the 6th. Among them, there are those who threw Molotov cocktails at police or charged at police officers on motorcycles, NBC reported.
Numerous instances of protesters setting vehicles on fire were witnessed on downtown roads.
NBC reported that at least five unmanned autonomous vehicles from Google Waymo caught fire. Waymo has currently suspended its ride-hailing service in the LA area.
The police warned that the smoke from burning electric vehicles, including Waymo vehicles, is toxic to humans and advised citizens passing through the area to take caution.
The police also stated on X (Twitter) that "there has been looting in some downtown shops, and an investigation is underway." They did not disclose specifics, such as whether the protesters were involved.
Protesters occupied major highways in the city the previous day, blocking traffic. The police fired tear gas, flashbangs, rubber bullets, and bean bag rounds at the protesters. A reporter from an Australian broadcaster was shown falling after being hit by a rubber bullet while covering the scene.
The protests that began in LA are spreading to other major U.S. cities such as San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington D.C., as well as to Mexico City.
According to California law enforcement, around 60 people were arrested at a protest site outside the San Francisco Immigration Office the previous day on charges including violence.
According to CNN, a rally advocating for immigrant rights was held in Chicago on the morning of the 8th.
U.S. Representative Jesús García, a Democrat who attended the rally, described the arrests of illegal immigrants by ICE as "deliberate cruelty" and "a war against immigrants," stating, "We will not leave America."
According to Reuters, the U.S. military is prepared to temporarily deploy 700 Marines to LA if the protests escalate further.
An anonymous U.S. military official told Reuters, "In the event of an emergency, one battalion of Marines will be deployed to LA," adding that there is no expectation of invoking the Insurrection Act for the deployment.
On the same day, President Trump responded to a reporter's question during a roundtable discussion on promoting investment in the U.S., asking if he planned to send Marines following the National Guard to quell the protests, saying, "We will monitor the situation."
President Trump further added, "We think we are managing (the protests) well," and stated that if he had not decided to deploy the National Guard, "the situation would have been very bad."
Earlier, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum to deploy 2,000 National Guard members in response to the LA protests on the 7th.