By Sandra Stojanovic and Omar Younis Updated June 8, 2025 — 4.40pm
Los Angeles: US President Donald Trump is deploying 2000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of state Governor Gavin Newsom after a second day of clashes between hundreds of protesters and federal immigration authorities in riot gear.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth said the Pentagon was prepared to mobilise active duty troops “if violence continues” in the Californian city, saying the marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were on high alert.
Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot store in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.
Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in the Los Angeles fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A union leader arrested while protesting was accused of impeding law enforcement.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Saturday night said Trump had signed a presidential memorandum deploying 2000 National Guard troops because “California’s
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