Los Angeles imposes curfew amid unrest over immigration raids

The curfew will apply to an area covering 2.5 square kilometers of the city center out of 2,200 square kilometers of the whole city. The curfew also covers the district where demonstrations have been intensifying since Friday.

“I issued a curfew starting tonight at 8 PM for Downtown Los Angeles to stop bad actors who are taking advantage of the President’s chaotic escalation,” Bass announced in a post on social media.

According to her, the curfew will remain in effect from 8:00 PM Tuesday until 6:00 AM Wednesday, local time.

“If you do not live or work in Downtown L.A., avoid the area. Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted,” the mayor warned.

She also noted that emergency services, medical personnel, residents, workers, and credentialed journalists are exempt from the restriction.

Protests in California have now entered their second week, with reports of civil unrest growing. The earlier deployment of National Guard troops by President Trump to restore order only appeared to intensify tensions on the ground.

In response, California Governor Gavin Newsom launched legal action against the president, challenging his decision to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles. The lawsuit argues that the move violated both the U.S. Constitution and the state’s authority, asking the court to reverse the deployment and return full command of the California National Guard to the governor.

Governor Newsom also delivered a national address criticizing what he described as Trump’s increasing authoritarianism, saying the nation was facing “democracy at a crossroads.”

“When Donald Trump sought blanket authority to commandeer the National Guard, he made that order apply to every state in this nation. Democracy is under assault right before our eyes — the moment we’ve feared has arrived. The rule of law has increasingly given way to the rule of Don. The founding fathers did not live and die to see this moment. It’s time for all of us to stand up,” Newsom said.

Meanwhile, new protests have erupted in cities across the country, including New York, Atlanta, and Chicago, as public anger continues to mount.