Tension escalates between protesters and authorities in Los Angeles

Resign from your jobs! You are a disgrace! "Go home! Don't follow orders to hurt your own people!" hundreds of protesters shouted as California National Guard troops guarded the Edward R. Roybal Building, dispatched by President Donald Trump in his attempt to silence those opposed to his deportation policies and the harassment of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in Southern California.

The third day of protests in Los Angeles turned violent: LAPD officers deployed on "tactical alert" knocked to the ground several women who confronted them with protest signs. Protesters then set fire to up to five vehicles before and after declaring an unlawful assembly in the area of ??Alameda Street between Second and Aliso streets.

Police clashed with more than 1,000 protesters at the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Metropolitan Arrest on Alameda Street.

The enraged civilians first confronted members of the National Guard deployed in Los Angeles and then also demanded the resignation of dozens of Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers.

The tension in the atmosphere foreshadowed that the third consecutive day of street protests would not end well.

"The Latino police officers themselves are our worst enemies," said Angélica, a protester who did not want to provide her last name.

In front of the federal building, covered in graffiti and messages rejecting ICE raids, members of the National Guard and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers remained static, armed with metal batons and machine guns.

The downtown area of ??the city was practically militarized.

In fact, several police officers fired repeated rounds of riot control ammunition. to disperse the protesters, but this didn't intimidate anyone.

“That's the reaction they deserve,” said Jackie, a dental assistant.“We are defending our people, and they should be very clear about that. We are not going anywhere. This is our country.”

Micaela Magaña, wearing a white T-shirt with the slogan: “No one is illegal on stolen land,” agreed with her.

“If they remember history, here we live on lands that were taken from indigenous people with the evil Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo,” said the high school teacher in Fresno, California.

“They are a disgrace!”

“Ready, aim, fire!” was the response of the Los Angeles police against the right to free expression and protest of the hundreds of civilians who were running from north to south and vice versa along Alameda Avenue, between Arcadia and Temple streets.

It seemed as if the crowd was lining up for a firing squad. The police officers wore helmets and protective glasses.

People barely covered their faces with bandanas or masks. Breathing was labored, and their eyes burned from the tear gas being fired into the crowd.

“Hey, Gonzales. Hey, Hernandez. Hey, Camacho. You are an embarrassment as Latinos. Your parents should be ashamed of you, too,” the protesters shouted. “You are all trash.”

They had identified the badges on the LAPD officers’ uniforms. Flags of the United States, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Mexico fluttered in front of them.

Over and over, they repeated that the United States is already experiencing a period of “fascism.”

After 4:00 p.m., the protesters invaded the 101 Freeway in the city center. After being dispersed, the northbound lanes were reopened by 5:24 p.m., while the southbound lanes remained closed by the California Highway Patrol (CHP).

Protests over the president's order sending 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles have escalated into dangerous territory, authorities said.

On Main Street, protesters stopped vehicles north of Arcadia Street and set several vehicles on fire.

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to the scene to extinguish the blaze. Videos posted on social media and television showed destroyed Waymo self-driving vehicles, one of which was on fire.

Dozens of people were also beaten with apparent excessive force. Many of those detained were left motionless, while others lay on the pavement, writhing in pain.

Due to the large influx of protesters near the Little Tokyo Station on the A/E subway line in downtown Los Angeles,The LAPD requested the closure of the station until the safety of passengers and employees of the public transit agency was restored.

In fact, commuter trains bypassed the station, and authorities recommended that users consult the Trip Planner on Metro.net to find alternative transportation routes.

“Get out with the immigration officers! No to the National Guard in Los Angeles! No to Trump! Stop fascism!” shouted Amina González, in Olvera Plaza, while acknowledging that the United States is living in unprecedented times, “while Trump deports thousands of immigrants without due process and calls up the National Guard to crush just protests.”

She added: “We say no to terror against immigrants in the streets… The fascist Trump regime must go now. There is nothing just or legitimate about the deployment of armored Bear Cat trucks against immigrant dishwashers and textile workers.” There is nothing legitimate about using chemical agents against members of Congress who are trying to check on the conditions of detainees, including the president of a major union who remains detained [David Huerta of the SEIU].”

Jaime Gutiérrez, who has practiced civil rights law in Los Angeles for more than two decades, said the National Guard and ICE are committing blatant constitutional violations on the city streets.

“The First Amendment is under attack. Peaceful protest is being labeled as insurrection. “Legal observers are harassed while documenting abuses,” Gutierrez stated. “The chilling effect on the community is unacceptable.”

He added that the Fourth Amendment “is dead in our neighborhoods, from warrantless home invasions by ICE agents, military checkpoints in immigrant communities, and mass surveillance shared between the LAPD and federal forces.”

He argued that ICE is implementing hit-and-run tactics that terrorize communities and families and indicated that the Fourth Amendment “is betrayed” by denying equal protection to Latino residents, violating and expediting due process.

Before nightfall, the Los Angeles Police Department declared an unlawful assembly in the entire downtown Civic Center area and has closed traffic on Spring Street between Temple and First streets.

Protesters used Grand Park chairs and other objects to block the street, for which authorities were authorized to use less-lethal munitions that can cause pain and discomfort. The blockade area includes Broadway Street to the west, Alameda Street to the east, Second Street to the south, and Cesar E. Chavez Boulevard to the north.

'What we're seeing in LA is chaos caused by the federal administration'

While thousands of people protested in the streets against immigration raids, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass explained that people should have the right to protest as expressed in the First Amendment, but they should also exercise that right peacefully.

From Los Angeles City Hall, the mayor stressed that they are working with public officials and organizing resources to provide a peaceful solution to the protests, but without a doubt, what we're seeing now has been caused by the Trump administration and its decision to send the National Guard to control the demonstrations.

"When you raid Home Depot and workplaces, you separate parents from their children and arrive in armored trucks on the street, what it causes is fear and panic," said the mayor. "And when you send federal troops, all you're doing is increasing tension. Let's be clear, this has another agenda and has nothing to do with the safety of Los Angeles."

Bass emphasized that all Angelenos should know that she supports them, regardless of their place of birth; she also reminded them that the First Amendment gives them the right to protest, but not to demonstrate violently. She asked them to please continue protesting and express their anger, rage, or helplessness, but to do so peacefully.

The mayor recalled Friday's raid on Home Depot and workplaces, to emphasize that the Trump administration had said that people with criminal records would be deported, but she finds it hard to believe that those types of individuals would be found in those workplaces.

He added that workplace raids terrorize everyone and prevent people from going to work and children from going to school, creating a panic that eventually affects the entire city.

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