Donald Trump on Saturday authorised the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. The order came after an immigration crackdown triggered mass protests for a second day. Police in riot gear used tear gas on bystanders.

California Governor Gavin Newsom said on X that the federal government was "moving to take over" the California National Guard. Newsom called the move "purposefully inflammatory" and warned it would "only escalate tensions."

He later added, "The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle. Don’t give them one."

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth wrote on X that National Guard troops were being mobilised "IMMEDIATELY." He threatened to send "active duty Marines" if unrest continued.

Tensions began on Friday. Protesters clashed with law enforcement officers conducting immigration raids at several locations in downtown Los Angeles. On Saturday, U.S. immigration authorities extended enforcement to Paramount, a majority Latino area southeast of Los Angeles. More protesters met them outside an industrial park.

Border Patrol agents in riot gear and gas masks stood outside the park for hours. They used tear gas as protesters and bystanders gathered on medians and across the street. Some jeered at authorities and filmed on smartphones.

A woman used a megaphone to say, "ICE out of Paramount. We see you for what you are. You are not welcome here."

One sign read, "No Human Being is Illegal."

Law enforcement and protesters mostly kept a distance. They kicked teargas canisters back and forth. Streams of white gas filled the air. Among several hundred protesters, a few were bloodied by projectiles.

Authorities arrested more than a dozen people. The U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California charged them with impeding immigration agents.

A Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department spokesperson said deputies arrested two individuals for assaulting an officer. One demonstrator threw a Molotov cocktail. Three deputies were struck and received minor injuries. The Sheriff’s Office said it focused solely on traffic management and crowd control and was not involved in federal enforcement.

By Saturday evening, protests in Paramount had dwindled from their afternoon peak. Some protesters and authorities remained in a tense standoff. In nearby Compton, protesters also gathered. Some reportedly threw glass bottles at police, who responded with tear gas.

The Trump administration responded forcefully.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt accused California’s Democratic leaders of having "completely abdicated their responsibility to protect their citizens."

She said, "The Trump Administration has a zero tolerance policy for criminal behaviour and violence, especially when that violence is aimed at law enforcement officers trying to do their jobs." She announced that Trump signed a memo late Saturday night ordering the National Guard deployment.

The memo stated that the demonstrations impeded "execution of laws" and "constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States." Trump federalised the state’s National Guard troops under Title 10 authority, placing them under federal control.

Newsom said there was no such need. On Saturday afternoon, he said the Los Angeles Police Department was available to assist authorities. He also said his administration was in close contact with city and county officials. "There is currently no unmet need," he said.

Newsom directed the California Highway Patrol (CHP) to deploy additional officers to maintain public safety on state highways and roads and to keep the peace.

He added, "The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilised country behaves."

Newsom called Hegseth’s threats to deploy active-duty Marines against American citizens "deranged" in a tweet.

Trump posted on Truth Social, insulting Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’s handling of the protests. He said the federal government would "step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!"

Earlier on Saturday, Tom Homan, the White House "border czar," said the administration would mobilise the National Guard.

"We’re gonna bring the National Guard in tonight, and we’re gonna continue doing our job. This is about enforcing the law," Homan said on Fox News.

This was not the first time National Guard troops had been deployed in Los Angeles. They were also sent during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, but that deployment came at the request of the California governor and amid widespread unrest.

Bass called reports of civil unrest across Los Angeles "deeply concerning." She said the city was "in direct contact" with law enforcement and Washington officials.

She wrote on X, "Everyone has the right to peacefully protest, but let me be clear: violence and destruction are unacceptable, and those responsible will be held accountable."

Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons told news outlets that no immigration raids had taken place in her city. She said demonstrators appeared to have responded to possible preparations of federal agents outside Homeland Security Department facilities.

"They’re just frightened," Lemons said. "And when you handle things the way that this appears to be handled, it’s not a surprise that chaos would follow."

On Friday, (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) ICE officers arrested dozens of people. They executed search warrants at several locations, including outside a clothing warehouse. A crowd tried to block agents from driving away.

Advocates said people were also detained outside Home Depot stores and a doughnut shop.

During protests outside a federal detention facility in downtown LA on Friday, David Huerta, president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union, was arrested. Police used tear gas and flash bangs. Huerta was injured and detained.

Huerta released a statement to the Los Angeles Times from the hospital. He said, "What happened to me is not about me. This is about something much bigger."

"This is about how we as a community stand together and resist the injustice that’s happening. Hard-working people, and members of our family and our community, are being treated like criminals. We all collectively have to object to this madness because this is not justice," he said.

DHS said in a statement that recent ICE operations in Los Angeles had resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants.

California leaders condemned the raids. Bass said the activity was meant to "sow terror" in the nation’s second-largest city.

She said, "I am deeply angered by what has taken place. These tactics sow terror in our communities and disrupt basic principles of safety in our city. We will not stand for this."

Newsom said, "Continued chaotic federal sweeps, across California, to meet an arbitrary arrest quota are as reckless as they are cruel. Donald Trump’s chaos is eroding trust, tearing families apart, and undermining the workers and industries that power America’s economy."

Newsom also condemned Huerta’s arrest. He said, "David Huerta is a respected leader, a patriot, and an advocate for working people. No one should ever be harmed for witnessing government action."

ICE did not respond immediately to email requests about weekend enforcement actions.

The arrests in Los Angeles came as Trump and his administration pursued mass deportations nationwide.

The Department of Homeland Security criticised Bass and other Democrats who spoke out against the raids. DHS accused them of using anti-ICE rhetoric to fuel violence against immigration agents.

DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said, "From comparisons to the modern-day Nazi Gestapo to glorifying rioters, the violent rhetoric of these sanctuary politicians is beyond the pale. This violence against ICE must end."

White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller called Friday’s protests "an insurrection against the laws and sovereignty of the United States." On Saturday, he called that day’s protests a "violent insurrection."