Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday night as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s 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.
Trump has 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.” Roughly 300 National Guard members arrived in the city over the weekend, and Trump said he had authorized 2,000 members to deploy if needed.
