LOS ANGELES – 2025/06/15 02:03:57 – Downtown Los Angeles has become a focal point of intense protests following a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids and the deployment of the California National Guard. Demonstrations, marked by graffiti and clashes with law enforcement, have highlighted deep divisions over immigration policy and federal intervention in local affairs.

The protests began last week, transforming urban plazas and government buildings into canvases for dissent. Slogans such as “TRUMP LOVES COCK” and “DEATH TO FASCISM” were spray-painted on City Hall, while the Federal Building was emblazoned with “WHEN TYRANNY BECOMES LAW, REBELLION BECOMES DUTY.” The phrase “FUCK ICE” appeared ubiquitously. On Monday, demonstrators continued to add to the graffiti, with one young woman painting “FUCK TRUMP” over a movie poster and another writing “VALUE HUMAN RIGHTS!!!” on a nearby wall.

As the afternoon progressed, the atmosphere grew increasingly agitated. Protesters carried signs expressing a sense of betrayal, with one reading, “BUILT the country that HATES US.”

Protesters voice Concerns Over ICE Actions

“I don’t think it’s right how ICE is targeting specifically my Hispanic people.”
– Stephanie Gonzalez, protester

“I don’t think it’s right how ICE is targeting specifically my Hispanic people,” said Stephanie Gonzalez, a thirty-year-old protester holding an American flag and a sign that read “Por Mi Familia RAZA UNIDA!” Gonzalez, a first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Mexico without documentation, emphasized the sacrifices her parents made.She criticized Homeland Security agents for arresting immigrants at courthouses. “We’re here now, and we just need to handle things humanely, becuase what they did was not humane.”

The protest embodied a distinct California vibe. A Honda Civic with racing stripes performed doughnuts, while another car with covered plates executed a tire burnout.A motorcyclist revved the engine, and a group on minibikes, including one driver in a wolf-shaped helmet, weaved through the crowd. Skateboards were also a common sight.

demonstrators near the authorities chanted “Shame on you!” Many concealed their faces and wore long sleeves, while one wore a sombrero. A black pickup truck distributed face shields and protective gear. The police ordered the crowd to disperse, using flash-bang grenades and projectiles to force them out.

Observers watched from a nearby slope as a man sermonized through a loudspeaker, declaring, “This will not go down on the right side of history.” A vendor sold aguas frescas for five dollars apiece. A protester named Brandon, who had traveled from the Inland Empire, offered masks. Wearing Vans and a Snoop Dogg shirt, brandon, who is white, said it was his first protest, motivated by concern for his Mexican co-workers and friends. He expressed sadness, showing a photo of a woman injured by a rubber bullet. “The city’s fucked up, the cops are pissed off, the people are pissed off, everybody’s just mad,” he said.

After the police cleared the area, protesters marched west and then south, past City Hall. Clashes continued into the night, with police pursuing a shrinking group downtown. Several individuals broke into and looted an Apple Store, an Adidas store, and a weed dispensary on Broadway. The L.A.P.D. arrested over a hundred people, according to the Mayor’s office. on the same day, ICE conducted five raids in the L.A. metropolitan area, including at Home Depot locations in Huntington Park and whittier.

Federal and Local Responses

Donald Trump activated the California National Guard last Saturday, stating on Truth Social that if Governor Gavin Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass “can’t do their jobs,” the Federal Government woudl intervene. Newsom filed an emergency motion to block the deployment,alleging a violation of federal law. Hearings are scheduled to begin on Thursday. Trump’s claims that Los angeles would have been “completely obliterated” without the National Guard appeared exaggerated. Local police used armored trucks, flash-bangs, rubber bullets, batons, and shields to manage protesters. Only a small number of National Guard members were seen guarding the Federal Building.physical confrontations were primarily carried out by the L.A.P.D., the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, and other state and local law-enforcement agencies.

The President announced the deployment of an additional two thousand National Guard members, resulting in a larger military presence in L.A. than in Iraq and Syria combined.Mayor Bass questioned the deployment of Marines, noting that the National Guard was only guarding two buildings. She stated that the ICE raids had disrupted a city that had been peaceful before the raids began.

The following morning, downtown L.A. was calm. Power washers cleaned graffiti, and the National Guard stood outside federal buildings on Alameda Street.News media had set up tripods, and protesters soon gathered. Bass condemned the rowdier protesters, stating, “I do not believe that individuals that commit vandalism and violence in our city really are in support of immigrants. They have another agenda.” She urged business owners to help clean up the graffiti, reminding everyone of the upcoming World Cup.

Bass emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security was not coordinating with the city government regarding the raids. She learned of the Whittier raid during a meeting with immigration-rights activists. “But the real solution of all of this is for the Administration to stop the raids,” she said, noting the potential disruption to families and the local economy. She also pointed out that Trump had congratulated the National Guard for stopping the violence before they had even arrived in the city. “Who saved the day are our local law-enforcement agencies.” Bass suggested that Los Angeles was part of a “grand experiment” by the federal government.

Reports indicated that Marines had arrived and were awaiting orders at the Naval Weapons Station in Seal Beach. Video showed soldiers training with shields. They would be unable to make arrests unless Trump invoked the Insurrection Act.

Despite the Marines’ location, Trump claimed that “L.A. would be burning if the Marines had not arrived.” Social media narratives have relied on misunderstandings of L.A. geography and exaggerated the military’s role. Even Newsom implied that the National Guard, rather than the L.A.P.D., had escalated confrontations.

By Tuesday afternoon, anti-ICE demonstrators had gathered again near the National Guard on Alameda Street. A small group temporarily shut down the southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway and was arrested. Other protesters continued moving through the streets. One man skateboarded with nitrous oxide, while another carried a flag featuring Ice Spice, responding to criticism about the flags of other nations.

That evening, Bass announced a curfew for one square mile of downtown L.A. Businesses boarded up windows,and restaurants closed early. The Whole Foods was crowded with shoppers. Some residents, however, remained unhurried, such as a woman walking her hairless kitten in a pink stroller.

Bass’s declaration coincided with a prayer vigil in Grant Park. Attendees marched to the Federal Building, holding candles and flowers in front of the National Guard until curfew. The police then moved in, and the crowd dispersed. News reports showed ICE agents chasing farmworkers in Ventura County. A protest was announced for Wednesday in Pershing Square.