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Clashes Erupt in LA as Trump Deploys National Guard; California Governor Accuses Trump of Putting Fuel on the Fire. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 09, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome to all of our viewers joining and streaming in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval. It is Monday, June 9th, 4 a.m. here in New York. And it is 1 a.m. in the city of Los Angeles, where police say an unlawful assembly has been declared throughout all of downtown. And this after a third straight day of unrest sparked by immigration raids across the state of California. The L.A. police chief says at least 27 protesters have already been arrested amid clashes with officers on Sunday, when thousands took to the streets, causing a major traffic disruption and more.

Also, officers are now investigating reports of looting at stores in L.A.'s financial district. You see some of the activity from overnight tear gas and also the sound of flashbangs as police working to disperse large crowds. They gathered outside a detention center in L.A. earlier in the afternoon. A police -- the police chief there saying that he would make a reassessment on the need for the National Guard. And this has prompted this social media post from the U.S. president who urged him to bring in the troops. But California officials say that Trump's deployment of the National Guard has actually served to worse intentions there, sparking -- there was initially spark --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUAN JOSE GUTIERREZ, FULL RIGHTS FOR IMMIGRANTS COALITION: Our working men and women there for decades have made our community strong. They work, they pay taxes and they -- and they respect the law. Many of them, most of them, I would say, are people of faith and they're being treated like terrorists.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN's Kevin Liptak has more on the president's decision to ignore the objections of state and local officials and deploy the National Guard.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: President Trump's decision to call up National Guard troops in Los Angeles is really one that's without precedent, at least in recent memory. You have to go all the way back to the civil rights era to find another example of a president calling up a state's National Guard without the explicit request of that state's governor, which has not happened this time around. In fact, it's quite the opposite.

The Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, calling on Sunday for President Trump to reverse his decision, saying that there is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation while simultaneously depriving the state from deploying these personnel and resources where they are truly required.

Now, as of Sunday evening, there was no sign that President Trump planned to back off this decision. He said at multiple points on Sunday that this was about instilling law and order and that he could potentially deploy these troops in other cities across the United States. Listen to more of what President Trump said as he was heading to Camp David.

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

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We'll see what happens. If we think there's a serious insurrection or less than that, we're going to have law and order. Very important.

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 and it could have gotten much worse. You have an incompetent governor.

LIPTAK: Now, later Sunday, the president reiterated that point of view on Truth Social, saying ... that violent insurrectionist mobs were swarming and attacking our federal agents to try and stop our deportation operations. But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve.

The president went on to say that he was instructing federal officials to quote, take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the migrant invasion and put an end to these migrant riots.

Now, President Trump has mused in the past, including during his first term in office, about using federal military personnel to tamp down on protests and on crime. But aides previously had talked him out of it, taking such an extreme action. This time, he seems unencumbered by these so-called guardrails around him. And the president clearly tried to follow through on things that he said he would do as a candidate.

Now, he's long seen California and its Democratic leaders as something of a foil. You've seen that really escalate over the last several months as the president threatens to withdraw federal aid from that state.

[04:05:00]

Now, clearly, the president willing to take it a step further as he deploys these National Guard troops against that state's wishes.

Kevin Liptak, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And meanwhile, California's governor says that the state will sue President Trump over his deployment of the National Guard. Governor Gavin Newsom says that the federal order violated established protocols requiring coordination with the state's governors. And he also blames the president for actually making tensions worse on the ground.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GAVIN NEWSOM, (D) CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR: 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 in a legal act, in a moral 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, 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.

NEWSOM: Well, 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 coordinate with the governor of the state.

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

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So that that's a state's take. What about the locals? LA Mayor Karen Bass, she says that she actually spoke with the Trump administration hoping to convince them not to deploy National Guard troops before that decision was made. But she says that was ignored.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN BASS, (D) LOS ANGELES MAYOR: We don't need any of that in our city right now. Our city is trying to heal. Our city is trying to rebuild. Our city does not need to be torn apart with a provocative measure from the federal government. The most important thing right now is that our city be peaceful. And

so protests and expressing your, you know, fears, your beliefs is appropriate to do. But it is just not appropriate for there to be violence. And I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: All right let's get to the law enforcement side. Before the situation further unraveled, L.A.'s police chief was asked exactly how National Guard troops are affecting the situation on the ground. This is how they responded to reporters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE CHIEF: What was the catalyst for us seeing the second and third day of this becoming increasingly more violent to be able to say it's because of the National Guard? I can't because there aren't enough on the ground at this point to make a difference. I've seen civil unrest a number of times before, and generally the second and third days are more violent than the initial phase.

And so this is not not much different from that pattern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Joining me live now is Natasha Lindstaedt, a professor of government at the University of Essex. Professor, it's good to have you this morning.

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: So we just heard from L.A.'s police chief. Clearly, you could hear it. They're quite hesitant to directly link that violence that we saw break out, directly link it to the Trump administration's decisions to send in troops.

I'm curious, what are your concerns, Natasha, about the president's decision to do this, which is seen by local leaders as really a factor in the situation just getting out of control last night?

LINDSTAEDT: Well, I have several concerns. I mean, the first concern is that Trump is flexing too much federal power, too much executive power over the states. He's not adhering to what the states want.

And the last time this has happened, as the report mentioned, was in 1965 when Lyndon Johnson deployed National Guard troops. But this case -- in that case, he was trying to support protesters, not to go after dissenters.

And then the other issue I have is that Trump is basically using the military for law enforcement purposes, which violates an 1878 act that said that you cannot do that. And you would have to work in coordination with state leaders, with governors. And, of course, he's not doing that at all. There is no collaboration taking place.

And he's using the military to go after dissenters. I mean, that's really what happens in authoritarian regimes or in hybrid regimes. They see protesters as terrorists or as rebels, and they use the military for domestic law enforcement purposes.

So while Trump is not technically violating the law, he is violating the spirits of our laws. And this is not what happens in democracies.

[04:10:00]

SANDOVAL: Look, we can't ignore that this is an administration that has tried to make it a priority to take into account states' rights. And yet, in this particular situation, ignoring that call from the state to basically leave it in their hands. So that's certainly important to keep in mind as we watch the situation play out in California.

Do you think that we're an uncharted legal waters right now regarding that deployment that we just talked about? Do you think this will actually prompt any lawsuits on behalf of the state?

LINDSTAEDT: So, certainly, we are in uncharted territory. And we have been for some time because Trump's view of the presidency is just very, very different than any president we've ever had. He really likes to lead in a much more autocratic way, violating norms, in some cases violating laws. And as a result, there will be lawsuits.

And there have been lawsuits on a number of issues as Trump has executed power in this way. And so I can imagine we're just going to keep having these types of legal battles.

But what we've seen, and this is in contrast to his first administration where he mostly adhered to decisions by federal judges or the Supreme Court. In this case, he's just ignoring them. And that strategy seems to be working. He just keeps doing what he wants to do.

In terms of immigration, he still has a slight majority of support in that most Americans do think that he's doing the right thing regarding immigration. But some of the polling has shown that this has decreased over time, that he's exercising too much power.

And I think the end result of all of this is we're seeing that the U.S. is more polarized than ever before. So while Republicans may agree with deploying the National Guard, for example, Democrats are going to be more appalled by it.

SANDOVAL: Let's briefly talk, Professor, about public perception. Visuals certainly matter. And we've seen these images play out.

I have to tell you, as a Mexican-American, I can't help but notice the Mexican flag has really become one of the dominating symbols of the protests, among other flags, of course. But that really one has stood out. How could these images really prove to provide, in one case, perhaps in some cases, a sense of pride when seen in peaceful scenarios, but also potential backlash when you see that flag alongside burning cars, literally dumpster fires as well, and vandalism?

LINDSTAEDT: That's a really good question. And I think this is what happened with the George Floyd protests as well. There was a lot of momentum behind supporting human rights and people's just complete shock and disgust at the overreach of law enforcement and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.

And on the other hand, there were images of violence. There were images of looting. And this propelled the right even further to believe that law enforcement needs to take a stronger hand.

And if we were to speed up to what's happening today, there's this backlash against our diversity. And so when you see it could be Mexican flags or Honduran flags or El Salvadoran flags that are being waved, there will be a backlash and these types of people gravitate towards Trump and the MAGA movement.

SANDOVAL: In the last few seconds I have with you just your quick final thought on what we could potentially expect in the week ahead in California, specifically in L.A.?

LINDSTAEDT: Hopefully the situation doesn't escalate, that the protests remain peaceful, and that we don't see any further violence. But I think we're for certain going to see lawsuits.

SANDOVAL: Professor Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you so much for your perspective. You have a good day.

LINDSTAEDT: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: Well, L.A. police saying that officers are making more arrests as the protests continue. Our breaking news coverage here on CNN when we return.

[04:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: And welcome back to your breaking news coverage out of Los Angeles as we continue to monitor the ongoing clashes between demonstrators and federal law enforcement agents.

Sunday was actually the third day and perhaps one of the most intense day of protests against immigration raids that swept across California. Police say officers have arrested at least 27 people so far and they are now investigating reports of looting in L.A.'s financial district.

The entire downtown Los Angeles area has been declared as an unlawful assembly. Earlier, our Brian Abel spoke with Victor Gordo, he's the mayor of Pasadena, California, which is not far from L.A.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VICTOR GORDO, MAYOR OF 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 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.

BRIAN ABEL, CNN 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.

[04:20:00]

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 to 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.

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 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 like -- how does the 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 live 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 path to citizenship. And that's what's missing today.

And so, you know, no one out there did that. We're talking about working people. We're talking about families. We're talking about immigrants who everyday 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 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 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 VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Brian Abel and his guests, the mayor of Pasadena adding his voice to the local chorus of critics of the Trump administration.

Still to come here on CNN, more on the California protests over federal immigration rates. Our breaking news coverage continues after this.

[04:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: And welcome back to our viewers joining and streaming us in the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York and you're watching EARLY START.

I want to get you more now on our top story at this hour out of Los Angeles, where all of downtown LA has been declared an unlawful assembly by police. That's a measure often deployed by law enforcement that allows them to take further action to try to restore peace.

Protests over federal immigration sweeps turned violent on Sunday with clashes between some protesters and officers. We know that thousands of demonstrators filled LA streets, some even forcing the closure of the 101 freeway.

Police now asking the public to report any signs of vandalism, damage, or looting around the city. While some are still out on the streets, others are calling for peace and want to see the government change when it comes to immigration policy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REVEREND FRANK WULF, PASTOR: That our brothers, our sisters, our siblings, our fathers, our mothers, our parents, our friends, our neighbors that have been detained. There's no reason why these good, hardworking, loving, compassionate people need to be treated in the way they're treated.

Why they need to be shipped out of this country. Why they need to be jailed. There's no reason why the president of a major union needs to be imprisoned and injured by ICE. ICE is out of control.

And the federal government is out of control because this is not their home. This is our home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: A reminder there to draw that distinction between peaceful protesters and those who are certainly instigating.

LAPD officers, they have warned demonstrators that violence will not be with quote -- will be met, I should say, with quote appropriate force. They've also approved the use of less lethal munitions for crowd control.

Here's what White House borders are Tom Homan told NBC on Sunday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACOB SOBOROFF, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: You've also mentioned Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom. And there have been threats, you know, previously that if you ...