Los Angeles protests: Riot police enforce curfew as demonstrations spread across US

11 June 2025, 01:02 | Updated: 11 June 2025, 20:28

A curfew has been enforced in Los Angeles as demonstrations against Donald Trump's immigration crackdown spread to other cities across America.

Mayor Karen Bass said restrictions were in force in downtown areas of LA from 8pm to 6am local time (4am to 2pm UK time) until further notice as officials attempt to "stop the vandalism and stop the looting".

She confirmed that a local emergency had been declared as "we reached a tipping point", with 23 businesses looted on Monday night.

The protests are in response to raids carried out by the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) and demonstrations have spread to several cities, including New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Oregon, Seattle and Las Vegas.

Police in Los Angeles swiftly enforced a downtown curfew on Tuesday night, deploying officers on horseback and arresting 197 people.

Jim McDonnell, the chief of the LA Police Department, described the curfew as a "necessary measure to protect lives" as "unlawful and dangerous behaviour" had been escalating in the last few days.

Residents, people who are homeless, those travelling to and from work, credited media as well as public safety and emergency personnel, were exempted from the curfew.

The curfew covered a one-square mile section of downtown LA that included the area where protests have happened since Friday. The city of Los Angeles encompasses about 500 square miles.

US President Donald Trump has activated 4,000 National Guard troops - the federal reserve force - to protect ICE officers carrying out raids as well as federal buildings in LA, despite objections by California Governor Gavin Newsom, who called the deployments unnecessary, illegal and politically motivated.

Mr Trump also sent 700 marines, who were expected to start operating in the LA area on Wednesday, according to the US Northern Command.

Read more from Sky News:
Eyewitness: Furious immigrants vow to 'defend' LA
What we know about the LA immigration raids and protests
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State officials said Mr Trump's response was an extreme overreaction to mostly peaceful demonstrations, with California senators Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla saying the domestic mobilisation of active-duty military personnel should only happen "during the most extreme circumstances, and these are not them".

Mr Trump defended his decision in a speech to soldiers at the army base in Fort Bragg, North Carolina, saying his administration would "liberate Los Angeles".

"Generations of army heroes did not shed their blood on distant shores only to watch our country be destroyed by invasion and third-world lawlessness," Mr Trump said.

"What you're witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order and on national sovereignty, carried out by rioters bearing foreign flags."