Marines and additional National Guard troops headed to Los Angeles on Tuesday, sent by President Donald Trump in response to four days of protests over immigration raids despite the strenuous objections of state and local leaders.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, filed an emergency motion in federal court to block the Trump administration from using the Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids in Los Angeles, saying the motion was in response to an apparent change in orders that had been issued for the Guard.

Trump’s deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines to the country’s second-largest city came despite a relative calm to the Monday’s and Tuesday’s protests.

State officials sued Trump on Monday in an attempt to roll back the Guard deployment, saying the president had trampled on California’s sovereignty.

This appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor. Trump said in a social media post that the city would have been “completely obliterated” if he hadn’t sent Guard members to the city over the weekend.

Here are some things to know about the lawsuit, the protests and the troop deployments:

LA mayor blasts Trump

Mayor Karen Bass pinned the unrest at some protests squarely on the Trump administration, saying Tuesday that there was “nothing going on here that warranted the federal intervention.”

She also said she was mystified about why the Marines were sent.

“People have asked me what are the Marines going to do when they get here? That’s a good question. I have no idea,” she said at a news conference, emphasizing that violence and looting by protesters won’t be tolerated and that the city was considering imposing a curfew.

She also called out Trump for suggesting the National Guard, not local police, quelled the violence that did happen. She noted Trump made the claim in a Saturday night tweet, but that the National Guard troops didn’t arrive until Sunday.

“If you want to know what the National Guard is doing, drive by the federal building. They are stationary at the federal building protecting the building,” she said. “They are not out doing crowd control or anything like that. So I don’t know how he could say that the National Guard is who saved the day. Who saved the day was our local law enforcement agencies.”

Bass also suggested that the $134 million that the Pentagon said it was costing to deploy troops to LA would have better used to help the city prepare for next summer’s World Cup.

Newsom vs. Trump

The governor on Tuesday filed an emergency request seeking to block the Trump administration from using the Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids.

The filing included a declaration from Paul Eck, deputy general counsel in the California Military Department. Eck said the department has been told that the Pentagon plans to direct the California National Guard to start providing support for immigration operations. That support would include holding secure perimeters around areas where raids are taking place and securing streets for immigration agents.

The Guard members were originally deployed to protect federal buildings.

Trump and Newsom have been feuding over the immigration raids and protests, with the president and his border czar, Tom Holman, trading taunts with the governor about the possibility of arresting Newsom if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

“I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Trump said.

Newsom responded in a post on X: “The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.”

The governor called the presence of troops on the streets of Los Angeles both “illegal and immoral,” writing: “This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego.”

In a post Monday, Newsom called the deployment of Marines “a blatant abuse of power” and said officials would sue to stop it.

“U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns,” Newsom wrote. “The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling.”

What’s the mood in the city?

Downtown Los Angeles was fairly quiet Tuesday morning, with Guard members outnumbering protesters. Several Guard members were stationed in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center, a federal lockup where some immigrants are being held, with long guns and wooden bats slung over their shoulders. Passing drivers occasionally honked at or heckled them, drawing no response. News crews were stationed across the street, awaiting the possible arrival of the Marines, who had arrived in the area by late morning.

Otherwise, there were few signs of the tumult that gripped the city in recent nights, aside from the graffiti scrawled across several buildings — “Abolish ICE,” “Amerikkka,” and obscene slogans directed at Trump and federal law enforcement.

Monday’s demonstrations were less raucous than Sunday’s, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall to protest Friday’s arrest of union leader David Huerta, who was protesting the immigration raids, and hundreds rallying outside of the Metropolitan Detention Center. The protests have been driven by anger over Trump’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are tearing apart migrant families.

What’s behind the demonstrations?

The protests were sparked by Trump’s immigration crackdown in the area. They started Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount and neighboring Compton.

Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA’s fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot.

Demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles by hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.

The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many have also been arrested while protesting.

What’s happening elsewhere?

Protest over immigration raids have happening in major cities throughout the country, including on Tuesday, though none have reached the scale of those in Los Angeles.

Hundreds of protesters organized by the Austin, Texas, chapter of the Party for Socialism and Liberation gathered Monday near the state Capitol before moving toward the federal building that houses an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office.

Authorities appeared to use chemical irritants to disperse a crowd, and the city’s police chief said Tuesday that four officers were injured during the protests, including three who were struck by thrown rocks.

In Dallas, hundreds of people demonstrated on a city bridge for hours before police determined the rally to be “unlawful.” Police said one person was arrested and that charges were pending.

The demonstrations from Boston to Seattle have ranged from gatherings outside of federal office buildings or statehouses, and marches through downtown neighborhoods. “No Kings” rallies critical of Trump are planned nationwide Saturday to coincide with the president’s scheduled military parade in Washington, D.C.

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Associated Press reporters Michael Casey in Boston, Jesse Bedayn in Denver, Jason Dearen in Los Angeles, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas, Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia, Amy Taxin in Santa Ana, California, Martha Bellisle in Seattle, Kate Payne in Tallahassee, Florida, and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington contributed to this report.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© AP Photo Damian Dovarganes

Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.

Many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and making arrests of people who don’t leave. Some of those remaining threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier that spanned the width of a street and others hurled chunks of concrete, rocks, electric scooters and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the closed southbound 101 Freeway. Officers ran under an overpass to take cover.

Sunday’s protests in Los Angeles, a sprawling city of 4 million people, were centered in several blocks of downtown. It was the third and most intense day of demonstrations against Trump’s immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of around 300 Guard troops spurred anger and fear among many residents.

The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters concentrated.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were “overwhelmed” by the remaining protesters. He said they included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble.

Several dozen people were arrested throughout the weekend of protest. One was detained Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police, and another for ramming a motorcycle into a line of officers.

Trump responded to McDonnell on Truth Social, telling him to arrest protesters in face masks.

“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he wrote.

Clashes escalate as National Guard troops arrive

Starting in the morning, the troops stood shoulder to shoulder, carrying long guns and riot shields as protesters shouted “shame” and “go home.” After some closely approached the guard members, another set of uniformed officers advanced on the group, shooting smoke-filled canisters into the street.

Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired rounds of crowd-control munitions to disperse the protesters, who they said were assembled unlawfully. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until state patrol officers cleared them from the roadway by late afternoon.

Nearby, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were set on fire, sending large plumes of black smoke into the sky and exploding intermittently as the electric vehicles burned. By evening, police had issued an unlawful assembly order shutting down several blocks of downtown Los Angeles.

Flash bangs echoed out every few seconds into the evening.

Governor says Guard not needed

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom requested Trump remove the guard members in a letter Sunday afternoon, calling their deployment a “serious breach of state sovereignty.” He was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and officials.

The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the increasingly aggressive protests on Trump’s decision to deploy the Guard, calling it a move designed to enflame tensions. They’ve both urged protesters to remain peaceful.

“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” she said in an afternoon press conference. “This is about another agenda, this isn’t about public safety.”

But McDonnell, the LAPD chief, said the protests were following a similar pattern for episodes of civil unrest, with things ramping up in the second and third days.

He pushed back against claims by the Trump administration that the LAPD had failed to help federal authorities when protests broke out Friday after a series of immigration raids. His department responded as quickly as it could, and had not been notified in advance of the raids and therefore was not pre-positioned for protests, he said.

Newsom, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that California authorities had the situation under control. He mocked Trump for posting a congratulatory message to the Guard on social media before troops had even arrived in Los Angeles, and said on MSNBC that Trump never floated deploying the Guard during a Friday phone call. He called Trump a “stone cold liar.”

The admonishments did not deter the administration.

“It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement.

Deployment follows days of protest

The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.

Federal agents arrested immigrants in LA’s fashion district, in a Home Depot parking lot and at several other locations on Friday. The next day, they were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, which drew out protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later said there was no enforcement activity at that Home Depot.

The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the LA area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting, including a prominent union leader who was accused of impeding law enforcement.

The protests did not reach the size of past demonstrations that brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.

The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Trump says there will be ‘very strong law and order’

In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.

Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not gonna get away with it.”

Asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country.” He didn’t elaborate.

About 500 Marines stationed at Twentynine Palms, about 125 miles (200 kilometers) east of Los Angeles were in a “prepared to deploy status” Sunday afternoon, according to the U.S. Northern Command.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Eric Thayer—AP

Tear gas was fired at protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday when some demonstrators moved close to National Guard troops and shouted insults at them, hours after President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the military over the objections of the governor and mayor.

The confrontation broke out as hundreds of people protested in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where several of the newly-arrived National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.

Video showed uniformed officers shooting off the smoke-filled canisters as they advanced into the street, forcing protesters to retreat. It was not immediately clear what prompted the use of chemical irritants or which law enforcement agency fired them.

Minutes later, loud popping sounds erupted again, as some protesters chanted “go home” and “shame.” One person was taken to the ground by uniformed officers. Another appeared to be bleeding from their head.

Around 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday on orders from Trump, who accused Gov. Gavin Newsom and other Democrats of failing to stanch recent protests targeting immigration agents.

The move appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

Deployment follows days of protest

The deployment followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.

As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.

Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.

The deployment of the National Guard came over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who accused Trump of a “complete overreaction” designed to create a spectacle of force.

The recent protests remain far smaller than past events that have brought the National Guard to Los Angeles, including the Watts and Rodney King riots, and the 2020 protests against police violence, in which Newsom requested the assistance of federal troops.

The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Trump says there will be ‘very strong law and order’

In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.

Trump told reporters as he prepared to board Air Force One in Morristown, New Jersey, Sunday that there were “violent people” in Los Angeles “and they’re not gonna get away with it.”

Asked if he planned to send U.S. troops to Los Angeles, Trump replied: “We’re gonna have troops everywhere. We’re not going to let this happen to our country. We’re not going to let our country be torn apart like it was under Biden.” He didn’t elaborate.

Trump also said that California officials who stand in the way of the deportations could face charges. A Wisconsin judge was arrested last month on accusations she helped a man evade immigration authorities.

“If officials stay in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges,” Trump said.

Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor’s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday.

There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard’s arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a “job well done.” But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.

Defense secretary threatens to deploy active-duty Marines ‘if violence continues’

In a statement Sunday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California’s politicians and protesters of “defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans’ safety.”

“Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer,” McLaughlin added.

The troops included members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense.

In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected “a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism” and “usurping the powers of the United States Congress.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president’s move, doubling down on Republicans’ criticisms of California Democrats.

“Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in,” Johnson said.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

© Jae Hong—AP Photo