Early 2025
After President Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20, he directs the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other federal agencies to ramp up their enforcement of immigration laws.
Federal officials begin operations to apprehend illegal immigrants. In opposition, people in several cities have protested. Los Angeles, a “sanctuary city” that offers a haven to illegal immigrants, became a protest hot spot in early February.
President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the WHite House in Washington, DC, on January 20, 2025. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
Friday, June 6
Morning: Federal authorities conduct operations at several Los Angeles-area sites and arrest 44 illegal immigrants.
David Huerta, president of a large labor union in California, is arrested on accusations that he “deliberately obstructed” federal officers by blocking their vehicle, U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli says.
Within hours, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass publicly states that the ICE operation “deeply angered” her.
“These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city,” she wrote on social media. “My Office is in close coordination with immigrant rights community organizations. We will not stand for this.”
As word spreads that arrestees are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, dozens of protesters gather outside and chant: “Set them free; let them stay!” Others demand “ICE out of LA!”
Officers wearing protective gear and carrying shields form lines to guard the building or walk slowly ahead to force demonstrators back.
Tensions escalate, leading to clashes between police and protesters-turned-rioters. Officers fire pepper spray balls in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
Demonstrators rally against US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and call for the release of union leader David Huerta, President of SEIU California and SEIU-USWW, who was arrested on June 6 during federal immigration operations, at Gloria Molina Grand Park in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Saturday, June 7
Morning: Protests spread to the nearby cities of Compton and Paramount. Some throw objects at police cars, and officers fire tear gas.
8:25 p.m. ET: Trump accuses Gov. Gavin Newsom and Bass of failing to do their jobs. In his Truth Social post, Trump says federal agencies would “step in and solve the problem...the way it should be solved!!!”
9 p.m. ET: Trump signs a presidential memorandum activating “at least 2,000 National Guard personnel” for two months, along with members of the regular Armed Forces, if needed, at the discretion of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Tear gas canisters are seen on the street during a protest following federal immigration operations, in the Compton neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif., early on June 7, 2025. (Ringo Chiu/AFP via Getty Images)
Sunday, June 8
Morning: Members of California’s National Guard are staging at the federal complex that includes the Metropolitan Detention Center.
Several hundred protesters assemble. Within hours, violence again erupts, with protesters blocking traffic, hurling objects at officers, and damaging property.
Afternoon: A police helicopter circles overhead, broadcasting a warning: The gathering is declared an “unlawful assembly” and people need to disperse within 15 minutes. More than an hour later, police arrive in riot gear to confront protesters who defied the order.
Officers fire flash bangs and other non-lethal weapons to push back the crowd.
Along Alameda Street, protesters block westbound traffic, some using cars to create roadblocks.
About 300 California National Guard members are deployed to three separate locations to quell the violence.
Around 4 p.m. PT, Los Angeles police report that motorcyclists attempted to breach a skirmish line, injuring two officers.
By about 5 p.m. PT, Los Angeles police announce that an unlawful assembly has been declared, ordering everyone to leave the downtown Civic Center area. The order is later extended to all of downtown.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) cars, some damaged, are lined up along the 101 freeway after officers cleared protesters from the area in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 08, 2025. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
By evening, officers had arrested 21 protesters, a police spokesperson says. The city’s police chief, Jim McDonnell, later calls the attacks on police “disgusting,” and asserts that some rioters were firing “commercial-grade fireworks” at officers.
5:25 p.m. ET: The FBI’s Los Angeles office announces a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest, identification, and conviction of a man who threw rocks that injured an officer and damaged government property in Paramount.
The office later states that agents are searching for additional people who assaulted officers during the immigration operations.
6:40 p.m. ET: Newsom announces he has officially requested the Trump administration to rescind its “unlawful deployment of troops.” He asserts in a social media post: “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty—inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”
7:56 p.m. ET: Bass denounces the National Guard deployment as a “chaotic escalation” and asserts: “The City will remain focused on protecting all who call L.A. home.”
Evening: Self-driving taxis called Waymos are vandalized, set ablaze, and destroyed.
The U.S. attorney’s office says that federal officials arrested about 20 protesters by day’s end, but that this excludes arrests made by local police.
In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom threatens to file a court action against Trump over the National Guard deployment.
A protestor holds up a Mexican flag as burning cars line the street in Los Angeles, Calif., on June 08, 2025. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)
Monday, June 9
Just after midnight, ET: The president makes several posts on Truth Social, including, “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!”
Additional messages call for arresting people who wear face masks to avoid being identified as they commit violent acts.
Los Angeles police report receiving reports of vandalism into the early morning hours. At around 1 a.m. local time, the police again announce an unlawful assembly declaration, calling for the arrest of anyone remaining in downtown Los Angeles.
Morning: Workers clear debris—including burnt trash, vehicles, and spent tear-gas canisters—from downtown, but more protests are expected, reports say.
Supporters of Huerta, the arrested union leader, plan a rally to show support for him. The Service Employees International Union says the event is set for downtown’s Grand Park.
People look at the charred remains of a burned Waymo vehicle in the street following a night of protests in response to federal immigration operations in Los Angeles, on June 9, 2025. (Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images)
Early afternoon: At an impromptu news conference on the White House lawn, Trump tells reporters that, if he were border czar Tom Homan, he would arrest Newsom, who has dared Homan to make good on threats to arrest officials who impede immigration enforcement.
Officials say they expect all 2,000 authorized National Guard troops to be on the ground in Los Angeles by day’s end.
The Epoch Times staff, The Associated Press, and Reuters contributed reporting.
