Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday announced a curfew for downtown Los Angeles from 8 pm (0300 GMT Wednesday) until 6 am Wednesday in response to ongoing protests against US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
“I have declared a local emergency and issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting,” Bass told reporters at an evening news conference, noting significant damage to businesses and properties.
“Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted,” she added.
People have been protesting in Los Angeles for days against attempts by security forces to carry out immigration raids. Trump has sent thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city, claiming the situation is out of control.
Trump says LA is being invaded by a ‘foreign enemy’
Trump on Tuesday described the unrest in Los Angeles as an invasion by a “foreign enemy” during a speech at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.
Addressing the ongoing protests in the city, he said demonstrators were “rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of our country.”
“What you’re witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order, and on national sovereignty,” Trump said.
He went on to describe the protesters as “animals” who “proudly carry the flags of other countries,” but do not carry the US flag.
California governor: Trump’s move a ‘brazen abuse of power’
Critics including California Governor Gavin Newsom have accused Trump of inflaming the situation by sending troops.
In a televised address on Tuesday, Newsom criticized Trump’s decision to deploy National Guard members “illegally and for no reason” without consulting California law enforcement.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk,” he added.
“Democracy is under assault before our eyes. This moment we have feared has arrived,” Newsom said.
“What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence, to be complicit in this moment. Do not give into him.”
Trump had argued that the city “would be burning right now” if not for the troops he sent, comparing the situation to the fires that caused unprecedented damage earlier this year.
Trump says he’s open to using Insurrection Act
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump said he is considering whether to invoke a 200-year-old law to deploy additional military forces in Los Angeles.
Responding to journalists at the White House, Trump said he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that allows presidents to send troops to restore public order in certain emergency situations.
A demonstrator is arrested for disorderly conduct as hundreds gather outside 26 Federal Plaza in New York City to protest ICE arrests targeting individuals arriving for immigration hearings. Carlos Chiossone/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
U.S President Donald Trump, delivers remarks from the Truman balcony during the Summer Soiree event held on the South Lawn of the White House. Gabriel Kotico/White House/Planet Pix via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa