Friday night in downtown Los Angeles was marked by a heavy police presence and clashes between law enforcement and protesters after large-scale federal actions against immigrants were carried out during the day. Dozens of people were arrested in the operation, local media reported, quoted by "Reuters".
According to Reuters, uniformed Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) officers, equipped with helmets, batons and tear gas guns, blocked central streets after protesters refused to disperse. Law enforcement used tear gas, pepper spray and stun grenades against demonstrators who had previously thrown pieces of concrete at them.
An LAPD spokesman said it was an unlawful assembly, which allows for arrest of those present if they do not leave the area. It was unclear whether any arrests were made during the clashes.
Earlier television footage showed columns of military and civilian vans filled with federal agents conducting raids at various locations - including a store in the Westlake neighborhood, a shopping center in the Fashion District and a clothing warehouse on the city's south side.
According to the Los Angeles City News Service (CNS), dozens of people were taken away by immigration agents in this latest series of raids, part of President Donald Trump's broader campaign against illegal immigration.
While the Los Angeles Police Department did not participate in the raids themselves, they were deployed after tensions escalated when protesters painted anti-ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) slogans on the federal courthouse and gathered outside a local jail where they said some of the arrested.
Earlier in the day, spontaneous demonstrations broke out at the sites of the raids. According to a statement from the SEIU union, its leader, David Huerta, was detained by immigration authorities while observing their actions. According to the union, he was exercising his constitutional right to document police activity. Details of the nature of his injuries are not known, nor whether he has been charged.
ICE has not commented on the case or its actions.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has strongly criticized the immigration raids. "These tactics instill fear in our communities and undermine the fundamental principles of security in our city," she said in an official statement.