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CNN's Breaking News Coverage on the Los Angeles' Violent Protests. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 09, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone, I'm Rosemary Church here in Atlanta. Let's get straight to our breaking news.

It is midnight in Los Angeles where police say an unlawful assembly has been declared throughout all of the downtown area after a third straight day of unrest sparked by immigration raids across the state.

The L.A. Police Chief says at least 10 protesters have been arrested amid clashes with police. Thousands took to the streets on Sunday causing major traffic disruptions and officers are now investigating reports of looting at stores in L.A.'s financial district. The police chief also said he would have to make a reassessment on the need for the National Guard, prompting this social media post from U.S. President Donald Trump who urged him to bring in the troops saying quote, 'Don't let these thugs get away with this."

But demonstrators are making clear why they have turned out.

(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, PROTESTER FROM LOUISIANA: I think it's very disturbing, you know, you're separating people from their kids, family and what not. Younger kids don't understand what's going on, seeing this going on. So it's very disturbing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And as the unrest continues, the U.S. Northern Command says about 500 active duty Marines are prepared to deploy if ordered to do so. This, despite the governor saying the state will sue the Trump administration to rescind the National Guard deployment.

CNN's Kyung Lah has been following developments, she filed this report earlier from Los Angeles. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KYUNG LAH, CNN SR. INVESTIGATIVE 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 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 on 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 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)

CHURCH: I'm joined now by Pablo Alvarado. He is co-executive director of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network and joins us from Pasadena. Thank you, Pablo, for talking with us.

Now, earlier in the day, you made a nonviolent call to action to all concerned citizens to stand by those under threat of deportation. What response did you get from those citizens?

PABLO ALVARADO, CO-EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL DAY LABORER ORGANIZING NETWORK: I happen to live in Pasadena, nearby the areas that were impacted by the Eaton fires. And this morning, we were notified that there were ICE agents lodging at A.C. Hotel, a local hotel. And the community began coming to protest the presence of those ICE agents who had already questioned the workers who cleaned the rooms of the hotel.

[03:05:06]

And people from all walks of life came to stand with those workers and to demand that they leave our city because our communities have witnessed the families being torn apart, mothers, sons, daughters, grandfathers, children are being detained. We've seen ICE agents going to Home Depots to pick people up.

So we're asking people who have the privilege to come out and protest and exercise their free speech rights to come and protest for those vulnerable communities peacefully.

And today, the Pasadena community showed up in large numbers. And the message was loud and clear. We don't want to see your armored vehicles, men in masks coming to our communities to pick people up, to rip families apart.

The message was loud and clear, and it was peaceful. And this is what we want. This is the moment where we need to protest peacefully.

CHURCH: Yes, that is the big message here, isn't it? Because I did want to ask you how concerned you are when you look at the images that we're seeing there from downtown L.A., when you see that violent protesters, and this is a completely different group, violent protesters hijacking your nonviolent courts, how does that make you feel?

ALVARADO: Well, the anger is understandable because you've seen armored vehicles and ICE agents armed to the teeth coming into the neighborhoods. So I don't know who the violent protesters are, but the anger is justifiable.

Now, the violence, in my view, is not, because we can send the message that we want to send without attacking anybody. So, and every time that there's violence, the most vulnerable communities pay the price. Every time that there are riots, we see the business of low-income communities that get burned down, we see the violence that impacts people.

So obviously we don't want that kind of violence, but we don't want the violence that the ICE agents are actually engaging in as well, because it's, in my view, in some instances, it's more violent to rape a child from a family, from a mom. It's more violent than what's happening in downtown L.A.. Obviously, any violence is condemned here, and we don't want that in our communities.

CHURCH: And Pablo, where do you take your fight from here, your nonviolent fight? What will happen in the morning, in the hours ahead? What is your next step here?

ALVARADO: Well, we're talking to the authorities. We're talking to them about keeping peace, because when you have a situation of violence, de-escalation is very important.

And I believe that the authorities would actually, hopefully, they take the right measures to de-escalate and allow peaceful protests to take place. This is the moment when we really have to be careful about what the next actions are.

We are asking people of good conscience, people who believe that immigrants are part of the socio-economic fabric of our communities, to come out. People who give the keys to their nannies, to their housekeeper, to come and clean their homes. We're asking them to come to Home Depot and protect those who are in vulnerable circumstances, peacefully.

That's what we expect, and that's what we want to see. And I am sure that's what we are going to see in the next days, but it doesn't mean that things are not going to get out of control, and that there are individuals that might want to engage in acts of violence.

There are also provocateurs that we don't know who they are. They might not even be protesters. So this is all happening when there's chaos and the chaos is not the community that it's initiated, it's the ICE agents that have come into communities that have engaged in that kind of violence, and the community responds. And it's unfortunate that we're going through this in this moment.

CHURCH: Pablo Alvarado, thank you so much for talking with us. We appreciate it.

ALVARADO: Thank you for inviting me.

[03:10:05]

CHURCH: Joining me now from Los Angeles is Steve Moore, a CNN law enforcement contributor and a retired supervisory special agent with the FBI. Thank you, Steve, for talking with us.

STEVE MORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR AND RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Thank you.

CHURCH: So after three days of protests in L.A., we are now moving into the overnight hours with warnings from law enforcement that this could be a pretty rough night, and we are already seeing that. What are your greatest concerns right now given vehicles have been set ablaze by protesters and law enforcement is responding with flashbangs, tear gas, rubber bullets, and in other ways?

MOORE: Well, my biggest concern is the safety of the officers as opposed to the people who are remaining there, who are really professional protesters, anarchists, things like this. The people who were in the city protesting and utilizing their First Amendment rights to speak, those people are long gone because they're smart enough not to be out when the anarchists take over the protest.

And so I think what you're going to find right now is a different crowd out there taking advantage of a situation. And my concern is that the police are, and the federal agents are safe, especially when Chief McDonald says the LAPD at this point is overwhelmed.

CHURCH: And Steve, President Trump went ahead Sunday and federalized California's National Guard without the go-ahead from the governor. What's your reaction to that very rare move to deploy the National Guard without Governor Newsom requesting it? The governor saying the move was, quote, 'purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate the tensions." MOORE: Well, as somebody who worked the 92 riots for the FBI, I can tell you that you want every bit of help you can get. I do understand that there are concerns about their deadly force policy versus our deadly force policy. That's very logical and very important.

But at the same time, you have to have enough people out there. And yes, it is absolutely unprecedented that a governor didn't first request the National Guard before a president sent it. The presidential administration will say, well, it's because we had to protect federal buildings.

And the Democratic governor, for political reasons, wouldn't ask for the National Guard. The governor will say, well, it wasn't bad enough.

And so you've got a political situation while the officers on the street, they just want to get a home safe at night. And I suspect that they're grateful for any help they can get.

CHURCH: Right, of course, Sunday afternoon around 3 p.m. L.A. time, 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, the LAPD entered the area, trying to move the crowds back and declaring the gathering an unlawful assembly, warning protesters to clear the area or face arrest and the risk of injury. What will likely happen from here in terms of law enforcement as we're watching through the night hours? What's their likely next move here?

MOORE: I think, happily, from what I heard from Chief McDonald, there's going to be some cooperation between the federal agents who are protecting federal properties and the police. I believe that they're probably going to, if they haven't already, declare the entire city an unlawful demonstration and therefore clear the streets, kind of the same thing as a curfew.

And that way, anybody who's on the streets, you can only assume that they're there for nefarious purposes. And I think they'll work together to try and clear the streets. If they do that expeditiously, I think we could have somewhat of a quiet night, but I don't think this is over.

CHURCH: Thank you for that, Steve Moore, coming to us live here from L.A.. I appreciate it.

MOORE: Thank you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa says these protests are a response to the government's aggressive immigration crackdown. He spoke with my colleague, Jim Sciutto, earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (D), FORMER LOS ANGELES MAYOR: We haven't done something like this in 60 years. And back then, it was to protect the civil rights of people, not to infringe on their civil rights.

[03:15:01] Look, on Friday, David Huerta, a union leader, was demonstrating peacefully, thrown to the ground, taken to a hospital and injured, and then jailed. People have a right to protest. Now, they don't have a right to engage in violence.

And I'm asking people to please maintain peaceful demonstrations the way most of them have. But look, when you come in with flashbang grenades, when you come in with fully masked, like Putin's soldiers in Russia, when you come in in the way that they have, this military- style mass deportations, going into shopping districts, going into courthouses, going into schools, look, people believe that we should secure our borders.

We all believe that every country does. But we should do so humanely, to do what they're doing.

They said they were going to go after criminals, serious, violent criminals. Nobody has a problem with that, but they're not doing that. They're dividing children from their parents.

They're coming in like brown shirts, and it's absolutely unacceptable, these military-style mass deportations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And we'll have more from Los Angeles just ahead as California's governor threatens to sue the Trump administration. Stay with us for that and more.

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[03:20:00]

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CHURCH: We are following breaking news in Los Angeles, where the city is closing out a third day of protests against sweeping immigration raids. Cars were left burning in the street after demonstrators clashed with law enforcement. Police say the entire downtown Los Angeles area has been declared an unlawful assembly.

And they are now investigating reports of looting in the financial district. The L.A. police chief says a total of 27 arrests were made downtown on Sunday. President Donald Trump is urging the chief to, quote, 'bring in the troops," after already deploying about 300 members of the National Guard.

California's governor says the state will sue the Trump administration over the National Guard's deployment to Los Angeles. Governor Gavin Newsom called the deployment, quote, "illegal, immoral, and unconstitutional." And he accused the president of, quote, "putting fuel on the fire."

President Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard without coordinating with the state governor is virtually unprecedented in modern times. Let's get more now from CNN's senior political analyst, Ron

Brownstein. He joins me live from Los Angeles. Thanks, Ron, for talking with us.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: Hi, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So first, I do want to get your response to what's unfolding in downtown L.A. since President Trump federalized California's National Guard, deploying them on the third day of protests. So what are your thoughts?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes, look, preserving public order and public safety is the first responsibility for any level of government. There's no question. I mean, the question is whether President Trump's actions to this point have been advancing or undermining that goal from the way that the original ICE raids were conducted that triggered all of this to the choice to federalize the National Guard over the objections of the governor.

I mean, as Kevin pointed out, we have not seen this since the civil rights era when there were a very different set of circumstances on the ground. At that point, you had Southern segregationist governors actively impeding the enforcement of federal law. And only then did JFK and LBJ federalize the National Guard.

Here, you have something very different. And just think about, as this situation is evolving on the ground in L.A., and you have a somewhat chaotic situation that is, by the indications of the L.A. police commissioner, becoming more dangerous, how extraordinary it is that the President and the Governor and the Mayor are not working together to ensure order.

And instead, the President is attacking them and the Governor, feeling that he has been bypassed, is going potentially to court tomorrow to try to -- I mean, this is not normal in the U.S. It is not really consistent with our history, but it is consistent with the way President Trump has viewed blue states less as a partner in governing than almost as a hostile territory to be subdued.

CHURCH: Yes, very important to emphasize, this is not normal. So Ron, how likely is it, do you think, that President Trump would go further and decide to invoke the Insurrection Act? And what would be the consequences of such a move?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first, he has tweeted tonight that he sent in the troops, I think, were the four words of his Truth Social post. The order he signed on Saturday, Rosemary, it's important to understand, the authority that he's claiming has usually been applied, experts tell me, in conjunction with the Insurrection Act. He is now trying to decouple them in a way that does not take the inflammatory step of formally declaring an insurrection, but basically claiming much of the same authority without it.

What's more, that order really, people really need to understand, that order does not mention L.A. specifically at any point. It basically authorizes the use of the National Guard and potentially the active duty military anywhere in the U.S. where he believes that there are either protests against ICE or the potential for protest against ICE.

So this is a very broad-reaching vision. You know, as we've talked about before, Donald Trump doesn't often admit regrets in public, but one of the things he says he's regretted is that he did not send in the National Guard to Minnesota during the George Floyd protests because of resistance from the Governor and the mayors.

[03:25:09]

Whatever the merits of sending in the Guard here, or certainly as they are evolving, this is something he has wanted to do for a while, basically send the signal that he will use every means necessary to impose his agenda on blue states and cities, and it would not be shocking, based on his own language, if the administration views this as a test case for whether they can do this again.

Again, the situation may be evolving. It may be appropriate to use the National Guard in L.A., depending what happens in the next few hours, but wouldn't it be better for everyone if the governor and the president were making that decision jointly instead of in such an adversarial posture?

CHURCH: So, Ron, how likely is it that President Trump would have deployed troops to a Republican state under similar circumstances, and what will be the real political and legal consequences of all of this, do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, first of all, he was asked today, what are the grounds on which, what is the standard by which you will decide whether to send the active-duty military, which, again, he has said tonight that he intends to do, into American cities, and he said, basically, the standard is me deciding.

And look, the president has, as I said, made clear that he views blue states and blue cities more as kind of hostile territory than as part of the same constitutional republic. They've already arrested a judge in Wisconsin, a Mayor in New Jersey, a U.S. representative in New Jersey, you had Tom Holman today, and the President talking about potentially arresting the Mayor of Los Angeles, the Governor of California.

What was in the news on Friday before all of this really took off, which was the reports that the administration is considering a widespread canceling of federal assistance to California, including all research grants to the University of California. In many ways, he has, as I said, he has governed as a wartime president with blue America rather than any foreign adversary as the enemy.

None of that changes the dynamic that the president has an obligation and a responsibility to ensure public safety, as does the Governor. They should be working together toward that end, but I think we are now in this extraordinary situation where rather than trying to figure out the best way out of this, you have a President who, in many ways, is looking to inflame the situation and a Governor that is in a confrontational posture toward him, it's just utterly dysfunctional and dangerous for the country if we allow this to proceed along the road that we're going down.

CHURCH: Many thanks for your analysis. I always appreciate it.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: And still to come, more on the California protests over federal immigration raids. Our breaking news coverage continues.

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[03:30:00]

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CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom." I'm Rosemary Church. Let's check today's top stories for you.

Police in Los Angeles have declared an unlawful assembly throughout the entire downtown area. This after a third day of protests and unrest sparked by federal immigration enforcement across the state. At least 27 people have been arrested in clashes with police, and authorities are investigating reports of looting in L.A.'s financial district.

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.

We're now back to our top story out of Los Angeles, where all of downtown Los Angeles has been declared an unlawful assembly by police. Protests over federal immigration sweeps turned violent on Sunday with clashes between some protesters and officers. Thousands of demonstrators filled L.A. streets, some even forcing the closure of the 101 freeway.

Some are still on the streets right now. In fact, ignoring the unlawful assembly declaration, LAPD officers have warned demonstrators that violence will be met with quote, "appropriate force."

Well Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass says she spoke with the Trump administration hoping to convince them not to deploy National Guard troops, but the troops were sent anyway.

Here's what she told CNN's Jessica Dean earlier.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR KAREN BASS (D), LOS ANGELES: I will tell you that 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.

[03:35:09]

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 okay that?

BASS: Yes, I didn't okay it. I don't run the police department. The chief does, but I was aware of it.

And what I was told 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And earlier, our Brian Abel spoke with Victor Gordo, the mayor of Pasadena, California, which is just northeast of Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR VICTOR GORDO (D), PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: As an immigrant, I'm appalled. I'm appalled that a community that just gone through the worst of times with a fire is now targeted and bullied.

It's an 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.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: 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've had some reports of federal agents in Pasadena. We have confirmed that there are 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 who live in fear. 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 a deliberate, educated response with real facts. It seems that this immigration enforcement expanded beyond at least the campaign promise from President Trump of going after violent criminals.

ABEL: And it seems to expand 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 reckon with the concept that they have not been granted legal status, and they are subject to removal of this nature, however cruel it may be?

GORDO: Well, you know, we in this country believe in due process. I myself am an immigrant. My parents are -- 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. You follow the rules. If you did what was right, and you worked hard, there was a path to citizenship, and that's what's missing today.

And so, you know, 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.

[03:40:04]

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 debated or goaded into actions that we can't be proud of.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Chief Law Enforcement Analyst John Miller says the president's move to mobilize 2000 National Guard members was done in an unusual way. While the president holds authority to do so, it usually happens after a request for help from the state. Miller says in all of his experience, this type of deployment is something he has never seen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: We have to begin with the question of what are they doing there? Typically, the request will come from an overwhelmed law enforcement community that will go to the governor and say, we need help from outside, and that's going to be the National Guard. That did not happen, nor did the Governor ask for assistance from the National Guard.

This is the Trump administration in Washington, federalizing the California National Guard out from under the governor and deploying them based on their assertion that they are not satisfied with the force protection that they got from the local law enforcement agencies, whether that was the LAPD deployed Friday and Saturday at the federal building, or whether it was the L.A. Sheriff's people who were deployed in Paramount, California, near the ICE facility there.

So they're basically saying, we're federalizing the whole operation, not just the enforcement piece based on civil immigration law, but also the protection of the federal building, the protection of the federal agents. And I haven't seen that before. And I've been around a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: More breaking news coverage of the protests in Los Angeles just ahead. Some Democrats are blaming President Trump for inflaming tensions in L.A. More on that after the short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) [03:45:00]

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CHURCH: Former Vice President Kamala Harris criticized the National Guard deployment to her home state. In a statement posted to social media, Harris called the move a, quote, "dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos." Harris said the move supports President Trump's, quote, "cruel calculated agenda," while expressing her support for the protests. 22 Democratic governors issued a joint statement condemning the deployment, calling it, quote, "an alarming abuse of power."

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum is publicly criticizing the federal immigration raids in Los Angeles. On Sunday, she said Los Angeles, quote, "would not be what it is without the Mexican men and women who live there." She also demanded the rights of Mexican men and women be respected while offering her approach to resolving the migrant crisis.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIA SHEINBAUM, MEXICAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We do not agree with this way of addressing the migration phenomenon. It is not through raids or violence that the migration phenomenon will be addressed. It is by sitting down and working on the comprehensive immigration reform that takes into account all Mexicans who are on the other side of the border.

That is our position. And we will always call for peace, for nonviolence, for non-exacerbating any form of violent demonstration. None.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem spoke earlier with our Brian Abel about the unrest taking place in Los Angeles and what could further inflame tensions.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SR. NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The easiest way to think about it is there are sort of two separate issues. 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 several days. They were manageable, I guess I would say, from law enforcement, local, state, maybe even state National Guard perspective.

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, in fact, against 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 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: It's no surprise the L.A. protests are generating millions of social media posts, but it's not always easy sorting truth from fiction. Coming up, a closer look at the misinformation being posted online back in just a moment.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: More now on the breaking news out of Los Angeles.

Police have declared the city's downtown an unlawful assembly. Sunday was the third day of protests over immigration raids in L.A. The city's police chief says in the wake of Sunday's violence, he will reassess the need for the National Guard.

President Trump is urging him to bring in the troops. California's governor says he will sue the White House for sending in the guard.

Well, as the protests escalated in Los Angeles Sunday, multiple self- driving vehicles were set on fire and vandalized with graffiti. The video you're seeing appears to depict Waymo cars suffering heavy damage.

CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more on how Waymo and other companies are responding to the violence and how misinformation about the protests has been spread online.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN STELTER, CNN CHIEF MEDIA ANALYST: This was like something out of a dystopian sci-fi novel on Sunday, watching these Waymo self-driving cars go up in flames.

Waymo has been rolling out these in California, first in San Francisco, now in Los Angeles. By all accounts, they've been a huge hit. People love the truly self-driving experience, being able to call a robo-taxi and have it pull up a minute or two later.

In this case, there were a number of these Waymos all lined up on the same street. Vandals were defacing the cars and then ultimately were able to set them ablaze. These fires were raging for quite some time, as seen on local television news helicopters.

Firefighters eventually arrived once the scene was a little bit safer in order to put those fires out. Now I spoke with a spokesperson for Waymo who said the company was in touch with law enforcement about the matter, and that's significant for the following reason.

Waymo was able to turn off its app -- turn off the ability to request rides around the area where protests were happening. Now turning off that functionality meant that other cars could not be ordered by riders for the intent of possibly defacing or lighting them on fire.

So a very 21st century problem for a 21st century technology on the streets in downtown L.A. And it's not the only example of digital city infrastructure being used and weaponized on Sunday.

[03:55:06]

We also saw Lime scooters, which are seen on street corners in lots of major cities, used in order to try to damage police vehicles. Vandals took some of those scooters and threw them onto police cars that were parked on Interstate 101.

Now Lime didn't immediately have any comment on the matter, but frankly there wasn't much the company could say. It wasn't as if its scooters were being used illegally by those vandals.

We've seen lots of accurate information spread on social media about this unrest. Lots of people posting their own videos and photos after going out and protesting, but there's also been a lot of misinformation that I've been seeing online about these protests, and in some cases about the unrest that has resulted.

Senator Ted Cruz, for example, posted a video seemingly criticizing the 2025 protesters, but the video was actually from 2020, showing police cars on fire during the George Floyd uprisings. A number of conservative influencers posted the same video clip on Sunday, acting as if it was happening live on television.

The intent, it seems, is to lump in violent rioters and peaceful protesters, acting as if they are all the same, when in fact, of course, they are not. That misinformation led California Governor Gavin Newsom's office to warn people to double check before they were sharing content on social media.

Back to you.

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CHURCH: I want to thank you for spending part of your day with me. I'm Rosemary Church. Our breaking news coverage continues next, with Polo Sandoval.

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