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Clashes Erupt in L.A. in Third Day of Immigration Protests as Trump Deploys National Guard. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 09, 2025 - 00:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[00:00:25]

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Brian Abel.

It's 9 p.m. In Los Angeles, where we've been watching a third straight day of unrest on the streets following immigration raids. California officials say the federal government is only inflaming the tensions.

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ABEL: That's tear gas and the sound of flash bangs, as police could be seen detaining at least one person there.

Demonstrators had been clashing with National Guard and ICE agents outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.

Police say arrests have also been made after thousands of protesters flooded the streets -- you see it here -- also blocking lanes on the 101 Freeway, causing significant traffic disruptions. Police say the Southbound lanes of the freeway have been closed until further notice.

Demonstrators are making it clear why they've turned out to protest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON GOCHEZ, LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: It is a beautiful day of resistance, and for every single minute that we were here resisting against the Border Patrol, that was time that they were not out deporting people in our community. They could not kidnap people in our community today because the people came out to resist.

ALEX WALLS, PROTESTOR FROM LOUISIANA: I think it's very disturbing. You know, you're separating people from their kids, family, and whatnot. Younger kids don't understand what's going on, seeing this going on. So, it's just -- it's very disturbing.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ABEL: And as the unrest continues, the U.S. Northern Command says

about 500 active-duty Marines are on a prepared-to-deploy status.

This despite calls from the governor and other top officials for the Trump administration to rescind the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles.

CNN's Kyung Lah has been following the developments. She's been on the ground in Los Angeles, and she files -- filed this report earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been a long day of protests and skirmishes between the people who are opposed to federal law enforcement and the National Guard showing up in strong numbers here in Los Angeles, federalized by President Donald Trump as they've continued to have conflict with some of the -- the law enforcement who's here.

What you're looking at is a long line of federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security. There are also some National Guard, the Customs and Border Patrol, and also LAPD.

And this is where it all began. The area that we're standing in right here is right near where the initial protests began, where we saw the California National Guard lining up. And then there was a skirmish with some of the protesters who were standing in the sidewalk and on the street.

And throughout the day, there have been problems. The LAPD was brought in to try to clear the crowds. And then there was a conflict with the federal agents, as well at that site.

And now we've come to the part of the night where cars are being set on fire. You can see that this Waymo has been vandalized. There are people still sitting on the streets in various corners. The LAPD has called these assemblies unlawful assemblies.

On this particular corner, I have not been here throughout the duration. So, the unlawful assembly was a block away from here. The assumption is, is that that may be the case here, as well.

But this is all very fluid. At this point, this is still a city where there are many people on the streets and law enforcement still standing in force.

Kyung Lah, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: And joining me now is CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem. She's also a Harvard professor and former assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, and a frequent guest in these last 48 hours or so.

Juliette, thank you again for -- for joining me. I do want -- wanted you to get us caught up on everything that's happened in the last 24 hours since we last talked, because we've now heard from the president of the United States. We've now heard from Mayor Bass a little bit more.

Can you just walk us through --

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Yes.

ABEL: -- what you've seen and what you're flagging?

KAYYEM: Yes. So -- so I think the easiest way to think about it is there's sort of two separate issues.

The one, of course, is the immigration issue and the concerns about ICE. And you're seeing the protesters, some lawful, some unlawful, and protesting federal immigration law enforcement actions.

Those have been going on, those protests have been going on for several days. They were -- they were manageable, I guess I would say, from a law enforcement -- local, state, maybe even state National Guard perspective.

[00:05:09]

And then you saw the ratchet up yesterday coming out of the White House. So, that gets to the second issue, is that even given that there is some rioting, cars on fire, it was the federalization of the National Guard at the sort of -- you know, without the governor's approval and, in fact, against his -- his wishes, a deployment of a federal military asset, essentially, into Los Angeles, and tweets and talk by the White House of things like insurrection. No rules of engagement, no mission statement.

And now the threat of active military raises a certain question about whether the White House is in the -- is in the job of de-escalation or escalation. And I think that's a fair question to ask, given what we've seen over the last 24 hours.

ABEL: And we are now seeing on our screen right now what appears to be a Dumpster fire.

KAYYEM: Yes, yes. Yes.

ABEL: You know, we've seen some of these images. You mentioned the car on fire. We saw those police officers with the concrete being thrown at them from the ground. We know at least two officers have been injured by motorcyclists --

KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: -- who pushed through a line. When you see these flashpoint moments. But then also tonight, seeing what appears to be, for the most part, the crowds thinning out --

KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: -- where do you see this going next? Especially when you have looming Governor Newsom saying that there is a lawsuit on the way.

KAYYEM: Yes. So, and that's going to be played out in the courts.

I think -- I think what you're seeing is unrest. And that's why we have police departments, is what I've been saying for the last 24 hours. And one of the reasons why you have police departments is, of course, protests get out of hand. Peaceful protests become un -- unpeaceful or unlawful. That is what police departments, local police departments, state police departments are for.

We don't -- we don't generally send in a federalized military deployment for something that -- that honestly looks like this. And that's why I think the White House needs to explain what's its standards for the federalization of the National Guard.

Two thousand, our understanding, at least in numbers. We don't know how many are actually out in the street.

And I think that's why it's a fair criticism. And one I'm certainly concerned about, from an operational perspective, is whether that is an appropriate response, given unrest. That's -- I mean, that's what it is. I'm not -- no one's defending it. The people should be arrested. You cannot disrupt federal law enforcement actions or burn things on the street.

But between -- between allowing everything to happen and pulling out the federal military, there's a -- there is a middle ground. And the White House didn't seem to want to support that.

I'll just say operation, just very quickly. You know, this is very unique. This is not normally done by a White House, to overrule a governor. The L.A. riots that -- that the White House has been mentioning a lot. The governor then, Governor Wilson, asked for them.

But it's important to remember that even that deployment, which was wanted by the governor, was quite -- So, you're seeing some -- this is live. Yes. You're seeing not great conduct. And I wonder where the police are there.

But you're -- you're seeing the -- the deployment of a military asset that's not aligned with state and locals. And we -- we certainly know from the L.A. riots that that -- that was not very organized.

So, you are seeing -- you're seeing now this car is leaving, but it's on -- it's on everyone's videos.

So, I think what's happening is you're getting people against the protesters now coming, using vehicles to try to harm them or create more tension.

So, this is why this thing needs to be deescalated. Because you don't want people coming and starting what's already a bad -- amplifying what's already a bad situation. But that's what it looked like to me. It was someone was trying to antagonize the antagonizer, so to speak.

ABEL: And that would certainly be another element of this. KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: You know, you mentioned the operational standpoint. I do want to ask you a question about that, because I believe it was Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem saying that the purpose of the National Guard troops is to protect federal buildings.

KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: We have seen National Guard troops, I believe, outside of federal buildings. But then right near them are LAPD, other department agencies.

KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: So, have we seen some -- some sort of interaction and coordination --

KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: -- between agencies here? And is there anything have -- anything about a curfew that's happened that would be preventing something like this?

[00:10:08]

KAYYEM: They could deploy a curfew. I think part of it is just the -- the sort of geographic span of this. I think, you know, we're in the middle of it. So, we're seeing it. You wouldn't want to do a curfew for all of the city.

In fact, if you're -- I'm looking at the same images -- image as you. If you look just about 200 feet further, you see traffic going smoothly.

So -- So it may be that what you really want to do is close off this street, get -- get the unlawful behavior. Get those people in jail or --

ABEL: Contain it to this intersection.

KAYYEM: And then -- yes, this intersection, and then tell everyone else to disband. There's, you know, there's people who are curious. There's others.

but you're seeing traffic move smoothly. So, I'm not -- I don't -- I don't think without any fatalities that a curfew would -- would normally be called.

And again, this is disruptive violent behavior. The question before us as a nation is, is this the standard that you want to use to federalize the National Guard?

What I think is interesting is the gap between how the White House talks. People like Secretary Noem, people like the immigration czar, Homan, people like Stephen Miller, how they talk and how they treat things like insurrection. And -- and, you know, we might arrest local officials, as Homan was saying, as -- as if Mayor Bass is doing anything illegal.

And what you're seeing, the deployment, which is essentially, you know, by federal buildings, which -- which I think is -- is more benign than people had originally thought.

And I wonder why that is. I wonder if there was some concern within the National Guard about their own training and their own mission that will keep them from not being utilized in ways that might have them interact with a population like this.

So, again, that is what we're looking at. I think that's also, I should say, why Secretary Hegseth keeps threatening the use of active military. That's a very different beast, even, than federalized National Guard. We've never seen that before. And -- and his threats are -- are not helpful from a de-escalation purpose.

ABEL: Yes. And as we continue following that -- that vehicle, you know, if police are not --

KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: -- at intersections like this, then it does open it up, that possibility --

KAYYEM: Yes.

ABEL: -- for something, a vehicle to come and injure the protesters and -- or even the agitators, which is something that we know in previous protests that --

KAYYEM: Right.

ABEL: -- that law enforcement has -- has been tasked to do to protect the protesters. So --

KAYYEM: Right. Or law enforcement -- or law enforcement. I would just say from an operational perspective, the -- the -- the mingling of cars and people is not great. And one would hope that one or the other gets moved around. I'm not sure what the decision factor is here.

But you know, that's the thing that always worries people like me --

ABEL: Sure.

KAYYEM: -- which is you get one guy in a car, and it's not just the protesters or the agitators. It is also law enforcement that is in harm's way. So, we'll see how this unfolds.

But again, two separate questions. Is there unrest? Yes. Do we federalize the National Guard at every moment in this country when there is unrest? Not historically.

And so, the White House needs to explain why this is different than -- than in the past, and what's their standard, and what are the rules of engagement?

ABEL: Juliette Kayyem, appreciate your analysis and expertise, as always. Thank you.

KAYYEM: Thank you.

ABEL: Still to come for us, police, they are trying to clear protesters still before -- they did try to clear before nightfall. That was not fully accomplished, as fear of more clashes and destruction arise.

Our breaking news coverage of the protests in Los Angeles continues right after a short break.

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ABEL: Back to our breaking news now. Major protests in Los Angeles after a series of immigration raids across California. Protesters swarming the streets, blocking a major highway at points, clashing with police and National Guard troops.

California officials are accusing the Trump administration of escalating the situation. President Trump has taken the unprecedented step of deploying the National Guard, and Governor Gavin Newsom of California says California will sue the Trump administration over what he describes as an illegal, immoral, and unconstitutional deployment.

For more, we are joined now by the mayor of Pasadena, Victor Gordo.

Mayor, thank you very much for -- for your time. I know it's an unnerving moment right now for everybody in California. I do want to first ask you about what we just heard there about California Governor Gavin Newsom's response about lawsuits to this.

What do you make of this and -- and the clash between federal and state as a whole?

MAYOR VICTOR GORDO (D), PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: You know, first, thank -- thank you for having me, Brian.

As an immigrant, I'm appalled. I'm appalled that a community that has just gone through the worst of times with the fire is now targeted and bullied. Its un-American. It's immoral. It's wrong.

And so, I stand with the governor to say, let's correct the record. Let's make clear that, in this country, in this state, and certainly, in the city of Pasadena, we don't attack people. We don't separate families. We welcome people.

ABEL: Can you give us a sense, Mayor, of what's been happening in your city in Pasadena? You're not too far away from where we have been showing most of these images throughout the evening, just a little ways Northeast. GORDO: Well, we -- we've had some reports of federal agents in

Pasadena. We have confirmed that they're federal agents that were present in Pasadena. And we don't believe they were here for enforcement purposes.

But that's part of the fear that's being instilled by the administration and others. And it's wrong. It's wrong for people to live in fear.

There's no place in this world for people to live in fear, in their own homes, in their own communities. There's no place in this country. There's no place in this state, and certainly not in Pasadena, for people to live in fear.

[00:20:09]

And we are going to make our opinion known, but we're going to do it peacefully, respectfully, and in the Pasadena way, which is in deliberate, educated response with real facts.

ABEL: It seems that this immigration enforcement expanded beyond, at least, the campaign promise from President Trump of going after violent criminals. And it seems to have expanded to many people that just are still in the immigration process at this point with where they are visiting and detaining individuals during immigration hearings and things of that nature.

At some point, how does the community, like -- how does the community reckon with the concept that they have not been granted legal status, and they are subject to a removal of this nature, however cruel it may be?

GORDO: Well, you know, we -- we in this country believe in due process.

I myself am an immigrant. My parents are; I am. I was born in Zacatecas, Mexico. I was brought to Pasadena at age five. I lived in a garage. And I know what it's like to live in fear. And it's wrong.

And, you know, at the time, thanks to Jimmy Carter, we had a process to full citizenship. If you followed the rules, if you did what was right and you worked hard, there was a -- there was a path to citizenship.

And that's what's missing today. And so, you know, no one is out there -- (AUDIO GAP) We're talking about working people. We're talking about families. We're talking about immigrants who, every day, work hard to be a part of this community, to be a part of this country, as my family did, as I did. And it's wrong to threaten them and have them live in fear.

ABEL: Mayor, quickly, have you had any conversations with the governor or anybody else in your state about what happens if ICE agents come into your jurisdiction?

GORDO: We do. We are having ongoing discussions at all levels of government. Unfortunately, we're not getting much information from the federal government, as you can imagine. But state, county, other municipalities.

We are urging people to remain calm. Let's make -- let's exercise our First Amendment right. Let's make our views known. Let's do it peacefully, respectfully.

Because that is the strongest and most effective way to make our opinions known. And, you know, history will show that we are on the right side. I don't want history to show that our actions were on the wrong side.

And so, let's make our opinion known peacefully in the greatest of the American spirit, the First Amendment. And not be baited or goaded into actions that we can't be proud of.

ABEL: Victor Gorder [SIC] -- Gordo, mayor of Pasadena, really appreciate your time this evening. Thank you so much for joining us.

GORDO: Thank you, everyone. And I appreciate all of the comments in support of people and in support of people who work for us every day, including my family, and so many others. Thank you, America.

ABEL: Thank you, Mr. Gordo.

Our breaking news coverage of the protests in Los Angeles is just ahead. Protesters swarming the streets of Los Angeles for a third day, clashing with police and National Guard forces. We have more after a short break.

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ABEL: Welcome back. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

U.S. President Donald Trump's new travel ban is now in effect. He signed a proclamation on Wednesday, banning nationals from 12 countries. Another seven countries are facing partial restrictions.

The White House says President Trump issued the order to, quote, "protect Americans from dangerous foreign actors."

Israel has intercepted a Gaza-bound aid ship which was carrying Greta Thunberg and other prominent activists. The Israeli military detained those on board, with the vessel being taken to Israel.

Police are now working to clear protesters from the streets of Los Angeles amid a third day of unrest. Clashes breaking out earlier in the day, leading to a number of arrests as thousands of demonstrators flooded the streets.

Police have shut down the Southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway, saying protesters have been throwing objects and damaging police vehicles. We are also learning that all of downtown Los Angeles has been

declared an unlawful assembly by the Los Angeles Police Department, an escalation of a small area of the Civic Center area downtown just 30 minutes ago.

And there's -- the president is also ordering the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles. This we know: at least 300 troops so far in Los Angeles of the 2,000 that was announced. Governor Gavin Newsom says California will file a lawsuit against Mr. Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: Donald Trump has created the conditions you see on your TV tonight. He's exacerbated the conditions. He's, you know, lit the proverbial match. He's putting fuel on this fire.

Ever since he announced he was taking over the National Guard. An illegal act, an immoral act, an unconstitutional act. And we're going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was going to ask you that. Sorry to interrupt you, but -- but Governor, so that's news. If you're going to sue the administration, tell me a little bit about it. Give us a preview of this lawsuit.

NEWSOM: Under his executive order, and specifically notes and under what the DOD did, is they had to coordinate with the governor of the state. They never coordinated with the governor of the state.

I've worked with the National Guard. We've deployed the National Guard. We did -- three-plus-thousand folks have been doing logistics work and fire recovery work, and they were fighting the fires. The rattlesnake teams.

Now, we did the same back in George Floyd. We have no problem working collaboratively on a mutual aid system with local law enforcement. But there's a protocol; there's a process.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Meanwhile, the president just posted on Truth Social, Looking really bad in L.A. Bring in the troops."

[00:30:02]

We also know that Donald Trump has yet to invoke the Insurrection Act in response to the protests, telling reporters it depends on what happens in Los Angeles.

The president already deployed 2,000 members of the National Guard, a move California's governor has called purposefully inflammatory.

On Sunday, the president also posted online that he authorized officials and federal agencies to take any necessary action to, quote, "liberate Los Angeles from the migrant invasion and put an end to these migrant riots."

Invoking the Insurrection Act would allow the president to deploy the active-duty military on U.S. soil. Here's what he had to say about that possibility.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are the rules of engagement for federal troops?

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We're going to see what happens. If we think there's a serious insurrection, or less than that, we're going to have law and order.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How would you define an insurrection?

TRUMP: You have to -- really just have to look at the site. You have to see what's happening. Last night in Los Angeles, we watched it very closely. There was a lot of violence there. There was a lot of violence that it could have gotten much worse. And you have an incompetent governor.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ABEL: Let's get more now from CNN senior political analyst, Ron Brownstein. He's joining me live from Los Angeles right now.

Ron, thank you for -- for joining us. I first want -- want you to kind of give us your analysis of -- of the "why." Why is the president viewing what's happening in Los Angeles to -- as such a thing that's to the level of needing National Guard troops?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. Well, you know, look, the first responsibility of government at any level is to preserve public safety and public order. I mean, there's no question about that.

The question is whether the president's actions in this have advanced or undermined that goal.

I mean, from the way that the initial ICE raids that triggered all of this were carried out, to the decision to federalize the National Guard over the objections of the governor.

And just so that people understand, that is an extremely unusual decision. I mean, it hasn't happened since the civil rights era. The last time was in the march from Selma to Montgomery in Alabama, when Southern governors were actively impeding the enforcement of federal law. So, this is a drastic step that he took.

And, of course, what he just tweeted, the idea of -- it's not just rhetorical -- using the active-duty military here, you know, is even a greater escalation.

This is something he has talked about for a long time. He doesn't often admit to public regrets, but he has said one of his biggest regrets of his first term is that he didn't send in the National Guard over the objections of local officials in Minneapolis during the George Floyd protests.

During the campaign, he talked about a lot of different reasons why he'd want to send the National Guard into blue states and cities.

I mean, he's threatened to arrest the governor of California, the mayor of Los Angeles, after the administration already has arrested a judge in Wisconsin, a mayor in Newark, a U.S. representative in in New Jersey. I mean, basically sending a signal that they will impose their agenda on blue states and blue cities, whatever means necessary.

Now, having said all that, you know, the situation is kind of dynamic and interactive. And it may be that, whatever Trump's role in inflaming the situation, as the governor is saying, that the National Guard may turn out to be appropriate at a later point, maybe even at this point, as the LAPD commissioner, you know, suggested tonight.

So, I mean, everyone has to kind of, you know, adjust their kind of priors to facts on the ground. But I think the debate is whether the president has really been acting in a way that reduces the risk to public safety or intensifies it to this point.

ABEL: Well, Ron, kind of given what you highlighted there about the president saying, one of his regrets from his first term was not sending in National Guard troops in Minneapolis, do you get any sense that he was waiting for a moment like this?

Like, is this the first, you know, significant protest that we've seen of his second administration that -- that would give him that opportunity to correct what he views as a mistake?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, certainly, civil libertarians and many Democrats have been expecting them to find a reason to do this. I mean, the -- you know, the idea that there would be intense immigration enforcement that would trigger a broad, wide -- wide-scale protest that would then become the justification for sending the National Guard into a city.

I think a lot of people thought it was going to happen in Chicago, almost right out of the bat from, you know, things that Tom Homan said.

So, I think we were going to get here sooner or later. And in that sense, you know, this -- this may have been -- this may be, in some ways the test case.

But again, you know, preserving public safety and public order is a legitimate thing for a president or a governor to worry about.

[00:35:00]

It's kind of striking that they are at odds rather than on the same page here. I mean, that is just so extraordinary. I mean, if you go through American history, as I said, the last time a president federalized the National Guard over the objection of a governor was when those Southern governors, segregationist Southern governors, were actively impeding the enforcement of federal law on -- on desegregation.

So, you know, the -- the idea that -- that the state of California is going to have to go to court tomorrow in all likelihood, what the governor is saying? I mean, it's just extraordinary. It's just kind of a measure of the way Trump views blue states and blue cities and the difficulty of kind of, you know, more as kind of territory to be conquered, I think, than as a partner in governance.

And, you know, and that -- that is a real problem, because there are problems on the streets tonight that demand -- and really, we would all be better off if the state and the federal government were not at loggerheads at this point and were actually cooperating.

ABEL: And we will see what political consequences, if any, happen moving down the road, if this escalates any further. Ron Brownstein, really appreciate your time. Thank you.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

ABEL: And the Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, is lashing out against the Trump administration for sending in the National Guard to deal with these protesters. Her interview with CNN is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:40:02]

ABEL: An update in Los Angeles now. All of downtown has been declared an unlawful assembly by the Los Angeles Police Department, expanding the declaration from a small downtown area just 30 minutes prior.

Meanwhile, Elon Musk appears to be backing President Trump's actions against protesters in Los Angeles. On Sunday, the tech billionaire posted a screenshot of Trump's Truth Social post bashing the governor of California and the mayor of Los Angeles. The shared post from the president said in part, quote, "These are not protesters. They are troublemakers and insurrectionists."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass tells CNN the federal government has created what she calls intentional chaos with the deployment of National Guard forces. She says the city was OK to handle protesters and keep the peace by themselves.

Here's part of her conversation earlier with my colleague Jessica Dean.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: A sense of fear has been created in the city, beginning on Friday, when numerous workplaces were raided. Initially, we were told only violent criminals. I don't know how that relates to a workplace.

We have people that are detained right now, and they've not been in contact with their families. They've not been allowed to have legal counsel. And to me, it just seems like this is intentional chaos.

You know, I had talked to representatives of the Trump administration earlier on to tell them that the Los Angeles Police Department could control things that were happening here and that there was no need to federalize troops.

And so, to have this here is really just a provocation and something that was not needed in our city.

We're still recovering after five months from the city's worst natural disaster in decades. And now to go through a trauma like this, that is really traumatizing the whole city, because everybody knows somebody in a city where more than 50 percent are Latino. This just sows chaos that is not warranted nor needed in the city of Los Angeles at this point in time.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I know LAPD, as you just noted, declared some of these gatherings unlawful assembly. Is that something you were made aware of before they did that? Did you OK that?

BASS: Yes. Well, I didn't OK it. I don't run the police department. The chief does. But I was aware of it. And what I was told is, is that the protesters had begun throwing things.

So, to me, it is most important that everybody be allowed to exercise their First Amendment right. But it absolutely has to be done peacefully.

Now, with federal troops on the ground, we do not need to have our city under siege. I remember the last time federal troops were on the ground here, and it was in 1992 when there was massive civil unrest.

Nothing like that is happening here. So, there is no need for there to be federal troops on our ground right now.

DEAN: And, Mayor, we've seen since the federal troops arrived, there were those clashes earlier today. And then we saw LAPD essentially trying to build some space between where the protesters were located, where the National Guard troops were located, try to spread them out a bit. Now, obviously, they're trying to disperse them.

I'm curious if, now that the National Guard troops are there on the ground, if there is any urgency on the police department's part to really put out an even stronger force and a stronger posture to get this under control, so you can -- and I know your governor has said that they don't want that. That he's formally requested that the National Guard troops go back, that they're not needed.

Were those things correlated?

BASS: Well, I absolutely agree with the governor in asking that the troops be withdrawn. I don't think that is a way to bring peace in Los Angeles. I think that our law enforcement officers can handle this situation.

But I just have to repeat again, it's a feeling here of intentional chaos. In a situation that had not broken out to violence, short of a few people, and there's nothing unusual about that. And our police departments can manage that.

But it is as though troops were rolled out in a provocative manner, and I do not see how that is helpful to Los Angeles right now. It's not the type of resources that we need in the city.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ABEL: Still to come, more on the California protests over federal immigration raids. Our breaking news coverage continues. You're watching CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:48:24]

ABEL: Now on the breaking news in California this hour, it is the third day of protests in Los Angeles as crowds gathered to denounce immigration raids across the country.

All of downtown Los Angeles has now been declared an unlawful assembly.

Demonstrators have clashed with local police, members of the National Guard, as well as ICE and Homeland Security agents. Police have used flashbangs and tear gas to control the crowds, and at least two self- driving vehicles have been torched, along with a police SUV damaged.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is demanding that the White House rescind what he's called the unlawful deployment of National Guard troops. He's urging California residents to stay peaceful and focused and not, to, quote, "take Trump's bait."

Joining me now from Washington is Elizabeth Goitein. She's the senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program at the Brennan Center for Justice.

Thank you for the time. We really appreciate it, Elizabeth.

Ordinarily, using federal troops to suppress civil unrest would be illegal. Can you just walk us through, first, the pertinent laws for that versus what's being used right now?

ELIZABETH GOITEIN, SENIOR DIRECTOR, LIBERTY AND NATIONAL SECURITY PROGRAM, BRENNAN CENTER FOR JUSTICE: Sure. The Posse Comitatus Act is the law that generally prohibits federal armed forces -- and that includes the federalized National Guard -- from directly participating in core law enforcement functions. And those are things like arrests or searches or seizures.

And this is an absolutely vital protection for our democracy and for our individual liberties.

But there are exceptions. Congress has legislated exceptions. And the one that is probably most common, that people have heard of the most, is the Insurrection Act. And that's what allows the president to deploy federal troops to quell civil unrest or to enforce the law in a crisis.

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But as you said, that is not what President Trump used here. He used a very obscure provision, 10 USC 12-406, that has not previously been used in this way. In fact, it's pretty much always been coupled with the Insurrection Act. It's been treated and used as sort of a technical call of authority that the president can use when he wants to deploy troops under the Insurrection Act.

So, this is unprecedented, to sort of uncouple those things and rely on that authority to deploy the National Guard to, you know, conduct these federal protective activities.

ABEL: OK. So now that you've given us what this mechanism is that he's currently using, could there be any legal challenges to it?

GOITEIN: Absolutely there could be legal challenges. I mean, again, this is really an unprecedented use of these laws. And so, we are wading into uncharted legal waters.

Obviously, there -- there has been a lot of consternation around the deployment of these troops. Governor Newsom said that this was going to be inflammatory, that this was going to escalate tensions rather than de-escalate them. And we have seen that.

And so, some of the resulting, really, chaos we've seen, with reports of National Guard forces now throwing tear gas canisters and using flash bang grenades, these are the kinds of situations that have a tendency to prompt lawsuits.

Because, needless to say, they're negatively impacting things in Los Angeles. And there are legal challenges that can be brought.

ABEL: And, Elizabeth, we are seeing live images right now with, like, fireworks, it looks like, that are exploding right in front of officers there at a line right next to a police car.

I know you know this. In 1992, National Guard was federalized in L.A. following the acquittal of white officers beating Rodney King. But that was at the request of the governor.

And during those riots, there were dozens of people killed, thousands injured, and thousands arrested. Property damage estimated to be North of $1 billion then. So that's not where we are right now.

If you can, can you give us the historical context that we need to be aware of in this moment? When was the last time a president deployed National Guard troops without a governor? When was the last time they were used in this fashion? And the differences between those moments and now?

GOITEIN: Yes. So, it was last used in 1992, in Los Angeles, as you say. And yes, that is not a model that we would necessarily want to replicate.

And it's only been used 30 times in U.S. history, and it has not been used without a state's request since the 1960s, during the civil rights era.

So, this is an authority that's been used quite sparingly. And it's been used even more sparingly over time. The reason we haven't seen it used for the last 30-plus years -- there are actually several reasons, but one is that the capacity of local law enforcement, especially when we're talking about these large municipal police departments, has really grown exponentially.

And frankly, there aren't that many civil unrest scenarios that these large police departments cannot handle today with the capacity they have, with the equipment they have. They have a lot of military equipment.

And this is what we saw in Los Angeles. We saw the Los Angeles Police, the Sheriff's Department saying, We've got this. Yes, there have -- there have been incidents of violence and property damage sort of at the edge of these protests. But we have them under control.

And that really appeared to be the case as of this morning before the National Guard was deployed. And since then, things have just gone South very quickly.

ABEL: And we are waiting to see if they go South further.

Hearing from the president today, Elizabeth, it sounds that this, the presence of troops, of National Guard troops, may not be just relegated to Los Angeles. What are the implications of that?

GOITEIN: Right. So, the memorandum that the president issued actually doesn't mention Los Angeles.

It authorizes the deployment of federalized National Guard forces and active-duty forces anywhere in the country where protests over ICE activity might be occurring, regardless of whether there's any violence associated with protests. There was nothing about that in the memorandum. And even in places where no protests are occurring yet. But the government determines that protests might occur.

So, what we have is this sort of massive preemptive, potentially nationwide deployment, authorization of the military to effectively police protests. And that is absolutely unprecedented. It's extremely dangerous, and it's an abuse of any law that the president might invoke to try to do that.

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ABEL: And, Elizabeth, lastly, based on your experience and maybe what -- what history tells us, do you believe we've seen the worst of this yet?

GOITEIN: I would hope that the answer is yes, but unfortunately, I think as long as the -- President Trump continues to try to up the ante here, it's going to -- some of these negative effects that we've already seen, I fear, are going to continue.

And this is really one reason why the military does not actually perform police functions in this country. It is not their job. They're not trained for this, frankly.

The military is the best fighting force in the world. They're trained to fight and destroy an enemy, but they are not trained to de-escalate civil unrest situations while respecting the constitutional rights of the Americans involved.

And -- and so, you know, these kinds of deployments really do pose risks, safety risks, not only to civilians, but to the soldiers themselves.

ABEL: All right, Elizabeth Goitein, appreciate your expertise. Thank you.

GOITEIN: Thanks for having me.

ABEL: That completes this hour of CNN. Thank you for watching. I'm Brian Abel. My colleague Rosemary Church picks up our breaking news coverage right after a quick break.

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