Twenty-seven arrests were made at immigration protests in downtown L.A. on Sunday for alleged crimes including throwing a Molotov cocktail at an officer and driving a motorcycle into a line of police, authorities said.
Seventeen of the arrests were made by the California Highway Patrol as officers worked to clear protesters from the 101 Freeway, while L.A. police made 10 arrests amid clashes downtown.
Sunday’s tally is on top of 29 arrests made at Saturday’s protests, police said.
L.A. Police Capt. Raul Jovel said he expected police would be making several more arrests Sunday evening as they worked to disperse the remaining protesters.
“We’re trying to get into that posture where we’re able to make arrests right now,” he said at an 8 p.m. news conference. “Our officers are really under attack.”
Three Los Angeles Police Department officers were injured Sunday but none seriously enough to require hospitalization, Jovel said.
L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell said further arrests would be made in the days to come as the department investigated who was responsible for various acts of vandalism and violence.
“The numbers of arrests we’ve made pale in comparison to what will be made,” he said.
McDonnell warned perpetrators that the department would “very aggressively” analyze all available videos of incidents and hold whoever they could accountable.
This include those responsible for setting multiple Waymo taxis on fire, he said.
McDonnell said violence in the city had only escalated since protesters clashed with officers Friday outside a federal detention center in downtown LA.
“These past few nights, we’ve seen a level that disgusts every good person in this city,” he said.
McDonnell said he spoke with L.A. County Sheriff Robert Luna on Sunday about potentially implementing a curfew, but they decided it wasn’t necessary.
The chief said he also spoke with Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, who has promised to prosecute people who have attacked officers and damaged property.
McDonnell demurred when asked if the city needed National Guard troops, whom President Trump deployed over the wishes of the governor and mayor.
“Do we need them? Well, looking at tonight, this thing has gotten out of control,” he said.
Still, McDonnell said he needed to know more about how the troops could help maintain order before he decided if their presence was necessary.
President Trump quickly responded to McDonnell’s comments, posting on Truth Social: “BRING IN THE TROOPS.”
“Jim McDonnell, the highly respected LAPD Chief just stated that the protesters are getting very much more aggressive, and that he would ‘have to reassess the situation,’ as it pertains to bringing in the troops,” Trump wrote. “He should, RIGHT NOW!!!”
McDonnell noted Guard troops helped the LAPD after the Palisades fire.
“The people who are here,” he said, “they’re tremendous Americans trying to do their service.”
McDonnell responded to a
claim made Saturday by ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons that L.A. police took more than two hours to respond to multiple calls for help from federal agents facing off with a crowd of angry demonstrators.
He denied that the LAPD delayed its response.
The LAPD responded in 38 minutes, he said, with a specially trained group of officers drawn from throughout the city.
“If we were to send one unit, a couple units, into a riotous scene, they’d be surrounded and the outcome would not be good,” he said.
