Trump Vows To "Liberate" Los Angeles As Curfew Imposed To Curb Violence

An emergency curfew was imposed in downtown Los Angeles, as volatile protests continued in the second-largest US city for the fifth straight day on Tuesday. US President Donald Trump, meanwhile, pledged to "liberate" Los Angeles from what he claimed was an invasion by a "foreign enemy" as California's leaders moved the court seeking to prevent the Republican from sending thousands of troops onto the streets.

However, despite their efforts, hundreds of US Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under Trump's order, stirring street protesters and raising alarm among Democratic leaders who warn of authoritarianism. The President has also activated 4,000 National Guard troops to quell protests in the city despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom that the deployments were unnecessary, illegal and politically motivated.

Trump Defends His Move

Donald Trump, who has made the immigration crackdown his signature issue, used a speech honoring soldiers to defend his decision, Addressing them at the Army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the President said, "Generations of Army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness."

"What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags," Trump said, adding his administration would "liberate Los Angeles."

US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force -- absent the declaration of an insurrection, which Trump again mused about on Tuesday.

Curfew Imposed

Amid violence, a local emergency curfew will be in effect for downtown Los Angeles starting tonight, Mayor Karen Bass announced. The curfew will be in place from 8 pm to 6 am local time and will likely be in effect for a few days, she said. 

Los Angeles Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell said residents within the designated area, individuals experiencing homelessness, credentialed media and public safety and emergency personnel will be exempted from the curfew. 

Anyone not deemed exempt who is within the designated curfew area will be "subject to arrest," McDonnell said.

"The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city," he added. 

Violence Continues

The city has seen five days of public protests since the Trump administration launched a series of immigration raids on Friday. Demonstrators have waved the flags of Mexico and other countries in solidarity for the migrants rounded up in a series of intensifying raids. 

On Tuesday, several hundred people gathered at a building being used to detain those arrested in Trump's signature immigration crackdowns. Officers from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) moved in to make arrests as they pushed the crowd back from the building.

A short distance away, around 100 people briefly made it onto a freeway, halting traffic. Several businesses -- including the Apple Store -- were also looted, and the LAPD said they had arrested 96 people.

Protests against immigration raids also emerged in New York on Tuesday, as several thousand people marched through the streets of Manhattan.

California Lawmakers Move Court Against Trump

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who has clashed with the president before, said Trump's shock militarisation of the city was the behaviour of "a tyrant, not a president."

"Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy," he said.

In a filing to the US District Court in Northern California, Newsom asked for an injunction preventing the use of troops as any kind of policing force, and demanding they be confined to guarding federal buildings. District Judge Charles Breyer scheduled a hearing on the motion -- which charges Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth have violated the US Constitution -- for Thursday.

More Arrests

The New York Police Department is detaining protesters in the streets after making a loudspeaker announcement that demonstrators needed to get on the sidewalk, according to a report by CNN. 

Per the LAPD chief, protest arrests significantly increased over the course of a few days. On Saturday, 27 people were arrested. On Sunday, the number was 40, which increased to 114 on Monday and 197 on Tuesday, the chief said.

"Following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city since Saturday, we've seen a concerning escalation and unlawful and dangerous behaviour," McDonnell said.