For hours, thousands of people in Los Angeles peacefully celebrated their defiance of US President Donald Trump Saturday with music, marching, bubbles and balloons -- then police unexpectedly moved in, and chaos and confusion broke out.
The demonstration -- part of the nationwide "No Kings" day of protests across the country -- was by far the largest in more than a week of protests ignited by anger against immigration raids the Trump administration has been carrying out across the country's second-largest city.
Like those before it, Saturday's had been largely peaceful. A march that began in the morning had finished, with demonstrators milling about on a sunny afternoon as the scene took on the air of a street festival.
Then police unexpectedly began moving people away from the area, igniting confusion and anger among demonstrators caught off guard and unsure of where to go.
Police on horseback pushed crowds back as law enforcement fired tear gas and flash-bang grenades hours ahead of an 8:00 pm (0300 GMT) curfew.
A police spokeswoman later told local TV channel KTLA that a "small group of agitators" had begun throwing rocks, bottles and fireworks at officers, prompting the decision to order the crowd to disperse.
If people refused to leave, "we will make arrests," she said, adding: "We have been patient all day."
The clashes came after more than a week of demonstrations in Los Angeles against the immigration raids, which have rocked the city.
The protests have mostly been calm and contained to a small segment of downtown.
But at times they have spiraled into violence, which Trump pounced on to send in 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines -- an exceedingly rare deployment of soldiers on US soil against the will of local officials, who have repeatedly said the situation was under control.
The troops did not immediately appear to be involved in the clashes Saturday afternoon, with Los Angeles police and the sheriff's department taking the lead.
'No Faux-king Trump'
The day had begun with Indigenous dancing at City Hall, as musicians played a light-hearted drumbeat on metal security barriers and street vendors filled the air with the smell of frying onions.
Then, beneath a giant balloon depicting Trump as a baby wearing a diaper, the demonstrators marched through downtown Los Angeles.
Parents brought their children, pet owners their dogs, and the lunchtime crowd at one popular market along the route enjoyed tacos and donuts as demonstrators passed by chanting while passing cars honked their support.
"No faux-king Trump," read one sign as marchers chanted "Impeach Trump!"
Passing several armed National Guard in front of one federal building along the route, the protesters cried "Shame!"
Many of the signs had a light touch -- "America, you in danger girl" read one, while another riffed on the acronym for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and a favorite drink in Los Angeles: "ICE belongs in my matcha, not the streets."
Others Were More Pointed
Many involved the words "Trump" and various expletives. Some showed images of the president as North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
"Santa Monica Fascist," read one sign with a photo of Trump's top immigration adviser Stephen Miller, who is from the coastal city west of downtown Los Angeles.
People waved flags -- predominantly US flags, some upside down as a signal of distress; but also the flags of Mexico, El Salvador, South Korea, the Palestinians, California's state flag, and the Pride flag celebrating LGBTQ rights.
"This isn't a war zone," protester Jennifer Franks, who was carrying her infant son, told AFP in front of City Hall earlier in the day.
"There is no reason to have the military called in here... I want my child to grow up in a nation where common sense pervades."
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
