A curfew has been issued for part of downtown Los Angeles following days of civil unrest triggered by ICE raids.
Mayor Karen Bass announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the curfew will be in effect from 8 p.m. Tuesday to 6 a.m. Wednesday “to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting.”
“We reached a tipping point,” she said, noting that 23 businesses were looted.
“I will consult with elected leaders and law enforcement officials tomorrow on the continuation of the curfew but we certainly expect for it to last for several days,” Bass added.
The curfew covers one square mile in downtown Los Angeles, and there are exceptions for residents, people traveling to and from work and credentialed media.
LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell emphasized that anyone who is within the designated curfew area in Los Angeles between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. – and is not deemed exempt – will be “subject to arrest.”
“The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city,” McDonnell said Tuesday.
Protests entered a fifth day on Tuesday. A few dozen protesters gathered peacefully downtown in front of the federal detention center Tuesday, which was quickly declared an unlawful assembly, the Associated Press reported.
Earlier today, California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked a federal court to block the Trump administration from using the National Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids in Los Angeles, saying it would only heighten tensions and promote civil unrest.
He filed the emergency request after Trump ordered the deployment to LA of roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines following protests of the president’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws. Another 2,000 National Guard troops were sent to LA on Monday.
The federal government said Newsom was seeking an unprecedented and dangerous order that would interfere with its ability to carry out enforcement operations. A judge set a hearing for Thursday.
