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Tense Standoff Between Law Enforcement And L.A. Crowds; California Sues Donald Trump Administration Over National Guard Deployment; Governor Newsom Says Deployment of National Guard is Reckless, Pointless and Disrespectful; Fourth Night of L.A. Protests, Law Enforcement in Riot Gear; Pentagon Sending 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles Protests; Trump to Deploy Another 2,000 National Guard Members to L.A.; Dallas Protesters Rally With L.A. Amid Immigration Raids; 24 Arrested in NYC After Protests Inside Trump Tower Lobby. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 10, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:25]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church.

We are following breaking news out of Los Angeles, where night has fallen and protests that had become more heated have now grown smaller and calmer. It's now about 11:00 p.m. in downtown L.A. where tensions flared earlier. Law enforcement had been pushing protesters back from a federal building where National Guard troops were lined up with riot shields.

We've seen objects thrown and flash bangs and rubber bullets fired, some fireworks have been going off. This is the fourth night of protests against the U.S. president's increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement raids.

Donald Trump claims federal forces were sent into L.A. to restore order. In recent hours, he deployed another 2,000 National Guard members, as well as 700 U.S. Marines, while Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers carry out raids throughout the city.

Protesters include union members, immigration rights activists and supporters. These struggles on the street coincide with a larger power struggle as city officials and the state of California condemn the actions of the Trump administration.

The L.A. mayor pinning the blame for the chaos squarely on the federal government, saying her city was peaceful before they intervened, and the protests have been spreading to other U.S. cities as well.

Let's go to CNN's Michael Yoshida now, who is live in Los Angeles. Good to see you there, Michael, so what is the scene right now on the streets of downtown L.A.?

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN REPORTER: Good morning, Rosemary, you mentioned this fourth night of protests in downtown. L.A. starting to wind down. We've been with protesters throughout the afternoon, the evening, and it was a short time ago we saw those numbers start to diminish, but still a very heavy police presence.

We're right by that federal building you were talking about, you can see all the law enforcement in the streets. We have helicopters flying overhead, and as we just pan around, you can see throughout this part of downtown L.A. just flashing lights, pretty much a 360 view around me right now.

And as this law enforcement presence remains, it's important to point out this is the spot where, on Sunday, over the weekend, we saw those flare ups between protesters, between law enforcement, where we saw some of those vehicles set on fire. And it's really been various moods here throughout the day, in the mornings, the early afternoons, as another police helicopter flies overhead, we saw protesters just behind me doing more of prayer for the families they say that were detained in those ICE raids, those arrests that were made last week.

And then as the afternoon built on, we saw those protesters move near where the National Guard were staged outside, and then as the evening went on, we saw those officers start to push them through the streets try and disperse them. That's when we saw those flash bangs. Saw those rubber bullets off, fireworks even being just pointed towards and set off near the officers.

We ended up probably about a half mile down the road, and that's where I'd say, about an hour ago, we saw busses brought in and the protesters that remained in that area where we had been most of the night, they were either told to leave, or if they stayed, they were detained, arrested, and loaded on to those busses.

But again, at this point, you can see a lot calmer here, but still no question that the events of the weekend, the events of today on the minds of law enforcement as again, wherever I look, I basically can see flashing lights at this point, at this time in the evening here in L.A.

CHURCH: And Michael, what do you think was the key to calming down the situation on the streets? And what might this mean for a fifth day of protests in the coming hours?

YOSHIDA: Yes, definitely, as we see things coming down, there's still small skirmishes. Again, you can hear the helicopters maybe overhead. There have been pockets, even as we were walking back, where we saw some activity going on in different side streets here in this part of L.A. even we could smell and taste the tear gas that had recently been put off in the area.

So definitely, as we're winding down for this evening, based on everything we saw today, on everything we heard from those, especially who were here early in the morning, doing more of that peaceful, that prayer protesting, the expectation is that as this fight between the Trump administration, between the city of L.A., California, continues, we'll likely see people remaining here and continuing to voice their own frustrations, as you were talking about.

[02:05:17]

CHURCH: Michael Yoshida, many thanks for your report. Stay safe out there. Appreciate it.

Well, Steve Moore is a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and CNN law enforcement contributor, and he's been watching the events in Los Angeles.

So, Steve, good to have you with us. What's your assessment of what's happening on the streets of L.A. right now compared to 24 hours ago when you and I spoke? And where do you see all this going given it does appear to have calmed down somewhat?

STEVE MOORE, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CONTRIBUTOR: Right. And Rosemary, the reason it is calmed down is because there are enough policemen, enough officers, enough agents, out on the streets to where the protest -- or the not protest, the people who are throwing the rocks, who are using the fireworks, gasoline, those people are being pushed back, and they realize that They cannot continue on this.

I don't think anybody would doubt the fact that if the police all left at this point, the mobs would be back destroying buildings.

So, I think it's a combination of the hour, the fact that real protesters are probably not there now it's the professional paid protesters and others who are just in it for the fun. And so, that and the police presence has calmed it down.

CHURCH: Yes, Steve, the federalization of the National Guard, though, on the streets of L.A., certainly changed the dynamic, didn't it, of these protests? They went from being these small protests once the National Guard got out there, then there were more protesters who joined the fray. And now we hear that President Trump is deploying an additional 2,000 National Guards and activating 700 U.S. Marines. What's your response to those decisions?

MOORE: Well, a lot of -- you know, I've heard this come out a lot, that they're here to make the streets safe and all this kind of stuff. They're really not out there interacting with the crowds. The crowds may want to interact with them, but they are actually on federal property. They're not out in the L.A. streets. They are protecting federal buildings.

However, as innocuous as that is, there is certainly an amount of inflammation that that's going to cause. There is no secret here that what this is is kind of a proxy battleground between the administration and the governor.

And so, people who would side against the administration are looking to this as a way to make their point.

CHURCH: And Steve, as you've been talking to us, we are looking at these live pictures where there has been a blaze set there in the middle of downtown L.A. We're keeping a very close idea -- eye on that. Of course, that's an aerial shot there.

And as you and I have discussed before, the nonviolent protesters that we see in the daylight hours, they're very different to those who come out at night. You did touch on this. Who are these nighttime protesters and what is their goal, compared to those who choose the nonviolent method?

MOORE: Well, and as we've discussed, Rosemary, we value, you and I, and I believe the FBI values the right to peacefully protest, and you want to protect that right.

But what is happening is the protests are being hijacked, and it's by kind of a ragtag group. I mean, there are people -- I've been told that there are people who are live streaming the violence as they burn cars, things like that, gang members from L.A. who are looking for opportunities.

You're having Antifa and groups like that, anarchists who just look at this as an opportunity to create chaos, because that's their stock in trade.

And then there are others who are actually being paid to be there by organizations that are hard to trace, but they're out there. You can see the ads around and so it is a -- it is a mixed group of people you wouldn't want to spend time with.

CHURCH: Right, of course, as you've been talking we continue to watch these live pictures of that blaze in the middle of the street there. It appears that some of those protesters, perhaps, are throwing fireworks into that blaze. I'm not sure that I can see any law enforcement surrounding that area, but I mean, there would be instances like this where they would just leave them to themselves, presumably. I mean, it's not -- it's not causing any big problems there.

[02:10:13]

But I mean, how does law enforcement make that determination when you look at that? I'm not sure if you can see that live picture. But if they look at a scene like that, and there's a group of people, and you know, when do they decide, OK, it's time to intervene, because no one's getting hurt there.

MOORE: Right. There are discussions constantly between the on scene commanders, the people running the incident command centers. And there are -- there are decisions made, tactical decisions made to say, well, is this a -- pardon the analogy, is this a hill we want to die on? Is this thing worth sending in a whole bunch of troops and possibly inciting more people?

See, the problem is, the more you react, sometimes the more they react. So, you'd like to have this stuff die down and there sometimes there is wisdom in letting something like that go until the crowd thins out a little bit. The other thing is, we're finding that the FBI is quickly identifying

these people, regardless of the masks. The FBI has technology that the protests -- or not protesters, that the anarchists out there really don't understand.

And so, what the police will frequently do is just video these people and watch where they go, and what other cameras in the area will capture them as they walk, eventually they're going to take off that mask.

CHURCH: Right. And Steve, as we continue to watch these pictures, as we continue to report that things are calming down for the most part, certainly compared to 24 hours ago, what are you watching for in these overnight hours, and what do you think it will take to completely deescalate these increasing tensions?

MOORE: The problem here is there with deescalating this. First of all, I should say I'm surprised that it is calming down this early in the evening, and I'm very gratified to see that. And I think it has to do a lot with the aggressive enforcement by all law enforcement out there, including L.A., especially LAPD.

But I think the problem we have is that there is an overriding political goal. This is -- this is kind of a proxy battleground between the administration and the governor.

And, you know, the L.A. declared itself to be a sanctuary city, and that was like putting a target on their back. And I don't think anybody's ready to back down on this.

And I suspect, in fact, that the reason that the National Guard are coming is not really for this incident, but to protect ICE as they continue their sweeps.

So, this is certainly not over. This is -- this is just the first inning of a long game.

CHURCH: All right. Steve Moore joining us live from Los Angeles, many thanks for your analysis. Always appreciate it.

MOORE: Thank you.

CHURCH: A union leader whose arrest gained the attention of Washington lawmakers has been released from federal custody. David Huerta was arrested last week when officers were executing a federal search warrant at a Los Angeles business. He has been charged with conspiring to impede an officer during the protests in Los Angeles.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and California's Democratic senators wrote letters to federal officials about Huerta's arrest. He told supporters on Monday, he's prepared to deal with continued fallout from the incident.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID HUERTA, PRESIDENT, SEIU CALIFORNIA: I don't know what they have in store for me. I imagine at this point in time, I am their project, and they're going to put me as their example of what happens. But I'm prepared to take on that journey, and I'm prepared to face that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Los Angeles isn't the only American city where protests are taking place. Crowds gathered in Dallas, Texas to support those targeted by immigration raids and arrests. And marches in the Texas capital Austin carried anti-racism signs and shouted slogans in solidarity, such as whose streets, our streets.

In Manhattan, police made arrests when protesters blocked New York City streets. Demonstrators carried signs calling for the rejection of fascism, they were arrested for violating traffic laws.

As tensions rise on the streets, the political battle heats up between the president and California officials, we will tell you what the mayor of L.A. is saying about President Trump's comments, our breaking news coverage continues after a short break.

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[02:19:38]

CHURCH: Welcome back. You are watching CNN's breaking news coverage of a fourth night of protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles.

In the last few hours, CNN saw police boxing in protesters at one site and arresting people. It follows a day of tension on the streets. Objects thrown at law enforcement and flash bangs set off in front of protesters.

[02:20:02]

And away from the streets, an escalation in the battle between President Trump and local officials in California. The president is deploying 2,000 more National Guard troops and 700 U.S. Marines to Los Angeles. That is despite the state of California filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a judge to declare the deployments unconstitutional.

Both California's governor and the mayor of Los Angeles are placing the blame on President Trump for inflaming the situation in Los Angeles.

On Monday, Mayor Karen Bass took aim at comments the president made in a social media post about Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN BASS, MAYOR OF LOS ANGELES: And then, I read a description of our city that was so troubling to me, a description of our city that says that we have been invaded and occupied by illegal aliens and criminals and that now violent insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our federal agents. I don't know if anybody has seen that happen, but I've not seen that

happen, and obviously there has been violence, and the violence is unacceptable, and we can talk about that in a minute.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: On Monday, President Trump ordered the Defense Department to deploy 2,000 additional National Guard members. This comes on the same day California filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, asking a judge to declare the deployments unconstitutional.

The spat over federal troops is just the latest fault line in the long time feud between the president and California Governor Gavin Newsom.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I like Gavin Newsom. He's a nice guy, but he's grossly incompetent. Everybody knows that.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That old showdown between Donald Trump and Gavin Newsom is back and explosive as ever.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: It's my job to clean up Donald Trump's mess because he's making it by the hour.

ZELENY (voice-over): The president and the California governor have long been tangling over immigration.

TRUMP: I said, look, you got to take care of this. Otherwise, I'm sending in the troops. That's what we did.

ZELENY (voice-over): But their fight is escalating after Trump federalized the National Guard and mobilized marines after violent protests in Los Angeles.

NEWSOM: He's taken the illegal and unconstitutional act of federalizing the National Guard, and he's putting lives at risk.

ZELENY (voice-over): It's the latest chapter in the turbulent relationship between Trump and Newsom, who have sparred over tariffs.

NEWSOM: No state is poised to lose more than the state of California. This is recklessness at another level.

ZELENY (voice-over): And deadly wildfires.

TRUMP: We're going to take care of your water situation, and we'll force it down his throat, and we'll say, Gavin, if you don't do it, we're not giving you any of that fire money that we send you all the time.

ZELENY (voice-over): For Trump, the grievance often goes back to California itself. TRUMP: If Jesus came down and was the vote counter, I would win California.

ZELENY (voice-over): And the fact he lost the Democratic enclave by more than 20 points and millions of votes, all three times, he ran.

NEWSOM: Objectively, California is the most Trump state in America, and I think that's demonstrable.

ZELENY (voice-over): Yet beyond the resentment and anger, the two men have also shaken hands and found common cause.

TRUMP: We're obviously from different sides of the spectrum, but we have a very good relationship.

NEWSOM: We've played no politics during COVID with California.

TRUMP: Nothing but cowards.

ZELENY (voice-over): Tonight, those pleasantries are a distant memory with California in Trump's crosshairs again.

TRUMP: We did the right thing. Everybody agrees to that. But you have a governor who let the city burn down. I think Gavin, in his own way, is probably happy I got involved.

ZELENY (voice-over): No sign of that, as Newsom sued Trump and called his actions an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ZELENY (on camera): And late Monday, Governor Newsom said he believes that 2,000 more National Guards, men and women will be sent to California. He said, this is not about public safety, but in his words, stroking a dangerous president's ego.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

CHURCH: Let's get more now from CNN Senior Political Analyst, Ron Brownstein. He joins me live from Los Angeles. Good to have you with us.

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

CHURCH: So, since you and I last spoke about 24 hours ago, L.A. is on tactical alert. The protests have grown, but now I'm happy to report have calmed down overnight, certainly in this hour. And President Trump has deployed an additional 2,000 additional National Guard troops and activated 700 Marines without authority from the governor. What is your response to these moves?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, the response from the president is so disproportionate to what's happening on the ground as to raise immediate questions about what exactly he is trying to accomplish.

I mean, when he initially sent in the National Guard, the level of disruption in L.A. was far below, far less than, you know, what we have seen in American history when the National Guard has been sent into cities. This was not Newark or Detroit in the '60s or even Los Angeles in 1992, we were talking about relatively contained demonstrations, even at the worst.

[02:25:22]

And certainly, tonight, you know all indications on local media and has been -- I mean, I think the uniform verdict of everybody watching is that we are -- we are watching a de-escalation, and the president is sending in not only more National Guard, but active duty Marines into L.A.

And I think, you know, I mean, clearly he is hoping to set to make some kind of point here that goes beyond what we're actually experiencing on the streets, because there's nothing that would justify a further injection of federal forces at this point.

Maybe we will get there, but we certainly have not been there at the points where he has made these decisions.

CHURCH: And Ron, how concerned are you that President Trump's next move might be to invoke the insurrection act. He's sort of teasing it, isn't it, using the word insurrection here and there?

BROWNSTEIN: Yes. Well, first of all, I mean, you know, the authority that he's using to send in the guard in the first place, as experts have explained to me, has historically only been used in conjunction with the insurrection act.

So, in many ways, he is charting new legal ground. Certainly, if the National Guard or the Marines are going to interact with protesters in any way beyond standing in a circle around federal buildings, which you know is a legitimate function, then he is going to need the insurrection act.

But so far, you know, they are bending over backwards to try to do whatever they could do under the insurrection act without actually invoking it. Because I think they, you know, understand, they recognize, and justifiably recognize that doing so would provoke a more would be more inflammatory, would provoke a more immediate reaction from the public.

But even without invoking the Insurrection Act, Rosemary, it's important for people to understand that his memorandum that he signed Saturday night is not specific to L.A. Doesn't mention L.A., doesn't mention California. It basically authorizes him to do this anywhere where there are protests against enforcement actions or they believe there is the potential for protests, which is basically everywhere in the U.S.

CHURCH: And Ron, as we have been talking, we're taking these live pictures. I'm getting confirmation that that is, in fact, a car that is burning.

Now, of course, we saw multiple cars burned 24 hours ago. So, we are seeing that in this aerial shot of downtown L.A., and we're keeping an eye on this, but still, you know, we do want to emphasize that overall, this has been calmer tonight than it was 24 hours ago, but we're certainly keeping a very close eye on this.

BROWNSTEIN: The real issue is whether we are dealing with a level of disorder is that beyond the capacity of one of the largest police departments in the country, plus what they call mutual aid from the roughly 80 other cities in L.A. county can handle, right?

I mean -- I mean, no one is suggesting that everyone on the street is behaving appropriately, or that there hasn't been violence, or that it isn't a legitimate concern for the mayor, the governor and the president to ensure public safety, that is their highest -- should be their highest concern.

But you know, in any rational world, you would have the mayor, the governor and the president, you know, sitting in a conference room together making decisions, or on a Zoom call together making decisions about what was the appropriate use of, you know, personnel from which jurisdiction to ensure public safety.

Instead, we have a president who is threatening to arrest the governor and the mayor, and a situation where the governor is in court against the president. It is utterly dysfunctional and irrational, and also, I think, utterly unlikely that you would be seeing this if we were seeing protests like this in Houston or Miami. I don't think President Trump would be talking about nationalizing the -- you know, federalizing the National Guard in a red state, much less arresting the governor.

CHURCH: Right. And on that very point, I mean, the war of words between President Trump, particularly and Governor Newsom is certainly intensifying, isn't it, with the president, as you mentioned, threatening to have the governor arrested, although for no specific reason. So, what are the politics of all this do you think?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, look, I mean, I think this goes -- this is a real distillation of something that I've written about since Trump's first term, which is that he governs as a wartime president with blue America, rather than any foreign enemy as the adversary.

I mean, he's already arrested a judge in Milwaukee, a mayor in Newark, a U.S. Representative in New Jersey, now a statewide labor leader in California, all on the grounds of allegedly interfering with immigration enforcement.

[02:30:00]

What -- Rosemary, what was the story right before this broke out last weekend? CNN and others were reporting that the administration was looking for ways to massively cancel federal grants to California, including all research grants to the University of California.

I mean, he is -- he is -- whatever the situation on the ground and again, ensuring public safety has to be the first responsibility for every level of government. But rather than working with local officials, he is continuing to treat blue states and cities not as legitimate partners in governing, but as hostile terrain to be subdued. And I think, the breadth of his presidential memorandum is a real indication of his viewpoint here.

I mean, he has said that one of his great regrets of his first term is that he didn't send in the National Guard faster to cities after the George Floyd protests. So in many ways, whatever the provocation here, this was something he has wanted to do for a long time. And I think he is trying to send a signal, much like the signal he is sending through his attacks on Harvard or law firms, that he will try to break any segment of -- any aspect of society that is showing resistance to him and his agenda.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Ron Brownstein, joining us live from Los Angeles. Many thanks for your analysis. Appreciate it as always.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

CHURCH: Still to come, more on the California protest over federal immigration raids. Our breaking news coverage continues. Stay with us.

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[02:36:10]

CHURCH: Back to our top story this hour, a fourth day of protests in Los Angeles over federal immigration raids and U.S. President Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard. Clashes between protesters and police continue throughout the evening with officers ordering people to clear the streets. CNN teams saw officers using flash bangs and rubber bullets for crowd control, and protestors throwing water bottles at police. President Trump has ordered an additional 2,000 members of the National Guard be deployed to Los Angeles to support immigration agents. That's in addition to the 2,000 already deployed without the consent of California officials. Hundreds of Marines have also been activated to assist federal agents in the area. The Los Angeles County Sheriff says they're still waiting for details on how these agents will be operating.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF ROBERT LUNA, LOS ANGELES COUNTY SHERIFF DEPARTMENT: We have had meetings with the officials, the leadership, from the new -- I say National Guard, but they're under federal control. And we're asking simple questions. What's their mission? How are they going to be equipped, rules of engagement, and how they're -- basically, how they're going to be utilized? And we're still getting or waiting for specific information on that. Obviously, whether we like it or not, that is not the case here. We are going to work with any law enforcement or military folks that are here, so that we can communicate, coordinate, and honestly, keeping our community safe is my priority.

(END VIDEO CLIP) CHURCH: The deployment of a full marine battalion marks a significant escalation in Trump's use of the military as a show of force against protesters. Like the National Guard, the Marines are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activities such as making arrests, unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act. His Border Czar Tom Homan says the troops will not try to do the job of the Los Angeles Police.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM HOMAN, TRUMP'S BORDER CZAR: Well, I think, look, they're not -- their number one goal, they're not going to be enforcing immigration law. We're doing that. We're immigration officers. But, there's two different lanes (ph) of effort here. Number one, we got ICE officers along with other Department of Justice agencies, FBI, DEA, U.S. Marshals that are out there doing immigration operations. And we're doing them today. We're going to do them tomorrow. We're going to do them every day we're here.

At the same time, you got these protests that are getting out of hand where protestors become criminals and public safety threats. So, we got the National Guard here, and the military. Their job is protection of property and protection of our agents and their lives and their wellbeing, along with the public's wellbeing. But when these protests get out of hand, that's when the local authority step in and their job is to maintain public safety and public peace. And last night, LAPD did a pretty good job out there, trying to quell some of this violence down. So, there's two different things going on here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: And I spoke earlier with CNN Military Analyst, Retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton, and I asked him about the activation of 700 Marines in Los Angeles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The interesting aspect for the Marines is that that's about a battalion size of Marines. So that is an independent war fighting unit, and it is how the Marines deploy. They deploy also as part of a marine air ground task force. But battalions are kind of that war fighting element, and they're also a unit of command that is best suited to handle tactical operations.

So, this is something that hasn't been done domestically since 1992. The Marines were deployed as part of the military response to the L.A. riots in the wake of the Rodney King case, where the officers, police -- four police officers were acquitted and there were riots after the acquittals.

[02:40:10]

The Marines deployed as part of the federal response to that. But that was done at the request of the Governor of California at the time. This, as you mentioned, is quite different because the governor did not approve the federalization of even portions of the California National Guard. And in essence, President Trump bypassed the normal rules when it comes to federalizing elements of what is actually a state militia.

CHURCH: And Colonel, does the city of Los Angeles need these Marines and National Guard troops, or is this simply inflaming the situation there?

LEIGHTON: Well, at the moment, it appears as if it's inflaming the situation. Now, there are times when military personnel can serve to augment law enforcement when they, in essence, have done -- the law enforcement people have done the hard part of clearing the streets, of suppressing protests, and the fire department has extinguished fires, things like that. Military can come in and kind of give the law enforcement and fire agencies a break, and they basically did some of that in 1992.

But in this particular situation, at this particular moment in time, it does not appear as if this is something that will pacify the population in Los Angeles and it will in fact inflame passions, because it's seen as part of the same federal government that does the immigration enforcement, which is of course what precipitated this whole situation in Los Angeles.

CHURCH: And Colonel, we are watching very closely to see where this goes, but I wanted to ask you, how likely is it, do you think, that President Trump will invoke the Insurrection Act? And if he does that, what would be the likely consequences?

LEIGHTON: Well, I think the consequences are somewhat unforeseeable because it hasn't really been done in this way before. Now, back in 1992, the first President Bush did invoke the Insurrection Act for Los Angeles and it basically covered that part of California. And in essence, it was limited in scope. This particular situation is one where there's been a, in my opinion, at least a concocted emergency and on top of that concocted emergency, they are using as many legal tricks as they can to get to a point where they could potentially, at the very least, deploy troops, which they've done and then invoke the Insurrection Act or some other aspect of the Title X of the United States Code, which would allow for the deployment of U.S. troops domestically.

Normally, for people who aren't as familiar with this, normally U.S. troops are not used in a domestic law enforcement role, even domestic relief operations. That's a rarity for federal troops, active duty troops to get involved in. They can do it by exception, but it has to be approved and it has to be done in a very concerted, very basically legalistic manner. All of this bypasses that and it potentially could weaken the democratic institutions that we have in the United States, which include the separation of the military from the political sphere. And that is -- of course, it would be a major change to the U.S. not only constitutionally, but also socially as well.

CHURCH: And Colonel, what efforts are you seeing to de-escalate tensions on the streets of Los Angeles, and what additional efforts would you like to see? LEIGHTON: Well, some of the efforts include, I think some very good police work by the LAPD, because when you look at how they're handling crowd control, right now, it's very methodical, very deliberate. They clear everything block by block, and they use specific law enforcement techniques that actually seem to diffuse the situation. In essence, they're making the crowd smaller as they move along. And that's a pretty good technique. The pacification elements here, of course, involve much more than that. And I'm sure some of them have been stopped because of the way in which the federal government has handled this.

So, in essence, what really needs to happen is better coordination between the federal government and state and local governments. Bring the governor back into this. I know there's a huge political feud between the Governor of California and the President of the United States. But this is about the safety of people and political differences obviously will exist, but they need to be put aside as much as possible in situations like this. So that is, I think, at least a starting point for a future resolution of these types of situations.

CHURCH: Colonel Cedric Leighton, we appreciate you and your analysis. Many thanks for joining us.

[02:45:00]

LEIGHTON: You bet, Rosemary. Anytime.

CHURCH: The latest from Los Angeles is just ahead. The crackdown on protesters intensifies as police detain demonstrators who refuse to clear the streets. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: (inaudible) on the scene of the protest in Los Angeles report things have calmed down considerably in the past few hours.

[02:50:00]

Earlier, demonstrators through fireworks and other objects at officers trying to clear the streets. Police responded with tear gas and rubber bullets. President Trump has ordered the deployment of another 2,000 National Guard troops to the area, and the Pentagon is sending 700 Marines to help deal with the protests.

Earlier, police removed a CNN crew in a protest zone in downtown Los Angeles. Our own Jason Carroll was reporting from the scene when an officer escorted him away from the area. Two security personnel from his crew were briefly detained by officers. They've since been released and no charges were filed. Here's how Jason described the incident.

JASON CARROLL, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As I was walking over to the officer, tried to explain what -- who I was, identified who I was with. I turned -- he said, I'd like you to turn around. I turned around and put my -- I had my hands behind my back. They did not put me in zip ties, but they did grab both my hands as I was escorted over to the side. They said you are being detained, while we lead you out of this area. You are not allowed to be in this area. So they took me over to the side. They took down my name. They asked me where I was from. They get your basic information and I said, am I being arrested? He said, no, you're not being arrested. You're being detained.

And so there's that. As press, these are some of the things that you -- you do take a lot of risks as press. This is low on that sort of scale of risks. But it is something that I wasn't expecting, simply because we've been out here all day. We -- I've covered any number of protests and normally, there's -- the officers put the press -- realize that the press is there doing a job, so to speak. And again, this is what happened. It did not last long. Felt a lot -- a little longer than what it was. But there you have it.

CHURCH: The leader of a Los Angeles interfaith group has a message for ICE agents and President Trump, get out of our city. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones spoke with the Reverend Eddie Anderson.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. EDDIE ANDERSON, SENIOR PASTOR, MCCARTY MEMORIAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH: I'm here with the interfaith delegation from CLUE and LA Voice. Black, Latino, Jewish, Muslim, pastors, we're all coming together because we understand that (inaudible) violent direct action is the way that we win this moral victory.

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: But you are aware, the National Guard is here. ICE, USCIS are in charge of the people that were detained in those raids. They're not working in collaboration with the LAPD. Right? So they're not under LAPD custody. What are you -- what are you trying to get from --

ANDERSON: What we're trying to get is to talk to the ICE agents and demand -- to give them our demands. And we're also trying to make sure that they know that we will not take it anymore in Los Angeles. That we are standing together united, the labor community, the faith community, we're all together in this. And we want ICE out of our city. We want the federal government out of our city. And we are going to say, shame every single time someone comes through here that's trying to take away our people.

JONES: I want to ask you a question. You seem to be with a group that is very peaceful. You've been chanting, you've been singing, you've been praying out here. What is your take on the violence on the depredation of public property that has been taking place in Los Angeles?

ANDERSON: It is a small group of people. It is agitators. It's what Donald Trump wants to see in our city. He wants to escalate the violence. But most -- majority of Los Angelinos are just here because they lost their loved ones, because their father was taking away, because their mother was taken away, because kids are in kindergarten and had a graduation and are scared about their parents being home. So most Angelinos are standing up. That's what we're supposed to do. It is -- Martin Luther King said, it is our moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

JONES: Federal authorities are saying that they would arrest anybody who stands in the way of their actions of immigration enforcement, regardless of who they are, if they're a community organizer, if they're a community leader. What do you say to that?

ANDERSON: I tell the federal government, your arms are too short to box with God. The right, we are standing on the side of justice and that God is for us. And we know that we will be victorious in this moment, and that they may have evil in their heart. They may seek to seek (ph) that they are doing violence, but this is not what Jesus told us to do. This is not what God calls us to do in this moment. And so I tell them, get out of our city. Your hand is too short to box with God and the people of Los Angeles will not be silent (inaudible) this injustice in our city.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Protestors are rallying in Dallas, Texas, in a show of solidarity with the demonstrations in L.A., following a series of immigration raids that unfolded in the metro area over the weekend. There were tense standoffs on Monday between protesters and law enforcement dressed in riot gear.

[02:55:00]

And in New York, multiple people were taken into custody at a protest against ICE after they blocked traffic in lower Manhattan. New York Police have also arrested at least 24 people who refused to leave the lobby of Trump Tower. In a statement on X, the police commissioner said "Any attack against law enforcement will be met with a swift and decisive response from the NYPD."

I want to thank you so much for joining us this hour. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back with more "CNN Newsroom" after a short break. Do stay with us.

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