California governor calls Trump national guard deployment in LA unlawful

California National Guard troops were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday to help quell a third day of protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement, as the state's Democratic governor called their deployment unlawful.

National guard troops were stationed around federal government buildings as police and protesters clashed in separate demonstrations over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles.

Los Angeles police declared several rallies “unlawful assemblies”, alleging some protesters threw concrete, bottles and other objects at police. Several self-driving cars from Alphabet's Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street on Sunday evening, video footage showed.

“Arrests are being initiated,” the police department wrote in a post on social media. Los Angeles police deployed officers on horseback to attempt to control the crowds.

Demonstrators shouted “shame on you” at police and some appeared to throw objects, according to video. A group of protesters blocked the 101 Freeway, a major thoroughfare in downtown Los Angeles.

Groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing US immigration authorities, gathered in several spots around the city. The Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organised speakers outside City Hall for an afternoon rally.

California governor Gavin Newsom said he requested that the Trump administration withdraw its order to deploy 2,000 national guard troops in Los Angeles county, calling it unlawful.

Newsom accused Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California's state sovereignty. “These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,” he wrote in a post on X.

The White House disputed Newsom's characterisation, saying “everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness”.

Earlier, about a dozen national guard members, with department of homeland security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators who had amassed outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed.

US Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three areas in the Los Angeles area. Their mission was limited to protecting federal personnel and property.

Trump in a social media post on Sunday, called the demonstrators “violent, insurrectionist mobs” and said he was directing his cabinet officers “to take all such action necessary” to stop what he called “riots”.

Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he threatened violence against demonstrators who spit on police or national guard troops, saying “they spit, we hit”. He did not cite any specific incidents.

“If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, it will be very strong in terms of law and order,” Trump said.

The FBI offered a $50,000 (R886,141) reward for information on a suspect accused of throwing rocks at police vehicles in Paramount, injuring a federal officer.

Despite Trump's rhetoric about the demonstrations, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the US military to suppress events such as civil disorder. Asked on Sunday whether he was considering invoking the law, he replied “it depends on whether there's an insurrection”.

Defence secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilise active duty troops “if violence continues” in Los Angeles, saying the marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were “on high alert”. US Northern Command said about 500 marines were prepared to deploy if ordered.

Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tensions by sending in the national guard, but also condemned protesters who became violent.

“I don't want people to fall into the chaos I believe is being created by the administration unnecessarily,” Bass told reporters at a press conference.

Vanessa Cárdenas, the head of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice, accused the Trump administration of “trumping up an excuse to abuse power and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration”.

Homeland security secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' Face the Nation on Sunday the national guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement.

Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the US-Mexico border, setting a goal for immigration and customs enforcement to arrest at least 3,000 migrants per day. Census data suggests a significant part of the population in Democratic-run Los Angeles is Hispanic and foreign-born.

But the sweeping enforcement measures have also included people legally living in the country, some with permanent residence, and has led to legal challenges.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday criticised the US government over the immigration raids and deployment of the national guard.

“We do not agree with this way of addressing the immigration issue,” Sheinbaum, who has sought to cultivate a positive relationship with Trump, said at a public event. “The phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence. It will be by sitting down and working on comprehensive reform.”

Trump's justification for the national guard deployment cited a provision of Title 10 of the US Code on the Armed Forces. However, Title 10 also says the “orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the states”.

It was not immediately clear if the president had the legal authority to deploy the national guard without Newsom's order.

Title 10 allows for national guard deployment by the federal government if there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the US”. Those troops are only allowed to engage in limited activities and cannot undertake ordinary law enforcement activities.

Trump's memo says the troops will “temporarily protect ICE and other US government personnel performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law and to protect federal property at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur”.

Reuters