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Unlawful Assembly Declared Throughout Downtown Los Angeles; California Governor Newsom Accuses President Trump of Pouring Fuel on Fire in Latest L.A. Protests; Australian Journalist Hit By Rubber Bullet During L.A. Protests. Aired 5-5:30a ET
Aired June 09, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News!
POLO SANDOVAL, ANCHOR, EARLY START: Good morning, and welcome to all of our viewers that are joining us from the United States and all around the world, I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. It is Monday, June the 9th, and we are following breaking news out of Los Angeles where it's currently 2:00 a.m.
And police there say that an unlawful assembly has been declared throughout all of downtown L.A. after the area was rattled by a third consecutive day of unrest. Now, at this hour, police are still out in full force on the streets of Los Angeles, but only scattered demonstrators remain at this hour.
But on Sunday, the L.A. police chief said that at least 27 protesters were arrested amid clashes with police, and now downtown businesses and residents are being asked to report any vandalism, damage or any looting. To the north in San Francisco, about 60 people there were arrested on Sunday after police say a peaceful protest turned violent. All of this sparked by immigration raids across the state.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR KAREN BASS, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: What we're seeing in L.A. is chaos caused by the administration. People should exercise their right to protest, that's their First Amendment right. But people should also exercise that right peacefully. We do not want to play into the administration's hands. We're working with officials. We're organizing resources.
But what we're seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration. When you raid Home Depot and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you cause fear and you cause panic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Police used tear gas and flash bangs as they worked to disperse large crowds in L.A. on Sunday, some which caused major traffic disruptions as you see people there on highways. The police chief says that he will have to make a reassessment on the need for the National Guard, prompting this social media post from President Donald Trump over the weekend, who urged him to bring in the troops.
But California officials say that Trump's deployment of the National Guard has made a tense situation even worse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D-CA): 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 an illegal act and a moral act, an unconstitutional act, and we're going to test that theory with a lawsuit tomorrow.
JACOB SOBOROFF, NBC NEWS CORRESPONDENT: 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 --
NEWSOM: Well --
SOBOROFF: Give us a preview of this lawsuit --
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've 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. We had no problem working collaboratively on a mutual aid system with local law enforcement. But there's a protocol. There's a process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And despite some of that criticism that you just heard from Democratic leaders, Trump's border czar is vowing to continue the immigration operations, and is warning that anybody obstructing enforcement could face arrest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SOBOROFF: You've also mentioned Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom, and there have been threats, you know, previously that if you stand in the way of your enforcement operations, you know, you could be subject potentially to arrest. Are you saying that about Mayor Bass and Governor Newsom? Are they at risk --
TOM HOMAN, U.S. BORDER CZAR: I said --
SOBOROFF: Of being arrested?
HOMAN: I'll say about anybody. You cross that line, it's a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job. SOBOROFF: Do you think that the mayor of L.A. is doing that?
HOMAN: Well, has she crossed that line? We'll ask DOJ to prosecute. Do I think she's crossed the line? I don't think she's crossed the line yet. But I'm telling you, the warning we're sending is we're not going to tolerate people attacking our officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: It's really escalated into a war of words between officials. Meanwhile, we did speak with Victor Gordo; the mayor of Pasadena, California, which is just northeast of Los Angeles. He says the city has been through enough already.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR VICTOR GORDO, PASADENA, CALIFORNIA: I'm appalled that a community that just gone through the worst of times with the 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.
[05:05:00]
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. It's wrong for people to live in fear. There's no place in this world for people who 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: He's certainly hitting home, close to home for the Pasadena mayor. And now, back to that war of words that we mentioned, President Trump urging the LAPD to bring in the troops, meaning call in more of the 2,000 National Guard members that are already been activated by the federal government into California.
And he posted online that L.A. police should utilize the National Guard, quote, "right now". Now, he also added, in his own words, quote, "don't let these thugs get away with this", referring to the protesters. Now, despite the violence, the police chief says that events are following a pattern that they're used to seeing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM MCDONNELL, POLICE CHIEF, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPARTMENT: 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 much different from that pattern.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And President Trump continues to face backlash for his decision to defy California officials and activate the guard in. CNN's Kevin Liptak with more from the White House.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER (on camera): 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're going to see what happens. If we think there's a serious insurrection or less than that, we're going to have law and order, 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. And you have an incompetent governor.
LIPTAK: No later Sunday, the President reiterated that point of view on Truth Social, saying that "violent insurrectionists, 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 trying 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. 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 officials in California are blaming President Trump for inflaming tensions in Los Angeles by taking that step to deploy the National Guard.
[05:10:00]
And Governor Gavin Newsom says that the state does plan to sue him. He's previously called this a breach of state sovereignty. CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein laid out just how unusual and historic this is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: 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 -- you know, 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, you know, feeling that he has been bypassed is going potentially to court tomorrow to try to reverse -- 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. 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 protests 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. 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, to 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, or 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?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Ron Brownstein with some critical context as we continue to see developments out of California. More of our breaking news out of L.A. is just ahead. And also the message one immigrant right activist has for protesters. Plus, also officials on the ground in L.A. appearing to aim at a reporter and then fire a rubber bullet. We'll show you more of this video on things turned out coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:00]
SANDOVAL: President Trump's deployment of National Guard troops into Los Angeles without the request from California's governor. The move's sparking debates over whether sending in troops could be potentially further fueling that unrest. CNN's senior national security analyst Juliette Kayyem weighed in on that angle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: We don't generally send in a federalized military deployment for something that honestly looks like this. And that's why I think the White House needs to explain what's its standards for the federalization of the National Guard.
Two thousand, our understanding, at least in numbers, we don't know how many are actually out in the street. And I think that's why it's a fair criticism, and one I'm certainly concerned about from an operational perspective, is whether that is an appropriate response given unrest. That's -- I mean, that's what it is.
I'm not -- no one is defending it that people should be arrested. You cannot disrupt federal law enforcement actions or burn things on the street. But between allowing everything to happen and pulling out the federal military, there is a -- there is a middle ground. And the White House didn't seem to want to support that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And it's important to not lose sight of how we got here in the first place. Why these protests, really? You know, how they started, and why they devolved into violence in certain pockets of downtown Los Angeles?
[05:20:00]
Remember, they were initially triggered by a series of immigration raids, but one immigration rights activist says that the clashes with police and also some of that unrest, they're not helping their cause.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
ANGELICA SALAS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, COALITION FOR HUMANE IMMIGRANT RIGHTS OF LOS ANGELES: These raids continue. People are being picked up. But what is unfortunate -- and I've never experienced this in my entire career, is that you have a situation which legal representation is absolutely denied for the people who are being detained.
Many who have deep roots and potentially the ability if they go before a judge to stay in this country. It's unfortunate that we have very peaceful protests that began with gathering of community members who actually are sympathetic to our cause and who are speaking up against this injustice, and also the militarization and enforcement that's coming into our communities.
As the -- as the protest is over, some people linger. But then what I see is these protests are taken over, sort of protest takeovers, just in the way that sometimes in Los Angeles, we have street takeovers of individuals who are coming in. In many instances, you know, really acting in a very violent way.
And I want my message to all of those individuals is, you're not helping our folks. Instead, you know, you're putting attention on yourselves and on the activities. You know, sometimes the vandalism, the burning of cars, you're not putting the attention on the very people that you say you want to help.
Right now, what we have to pay attention is that we have hundreds of people in detention who need to be with their families. That's what our focus should be about their stories. And so, for me, it's important that we reiterate that. Absolutely, I believe deeply in our First Amendment right to protest.
I have been organizing protests and rallies for years, always very peaceful. I mean, we have rallied hundreds of thousands of people in Los Angeles with -- absolutely peaceful working with our police department. And what I also know is that as protesters, we also have responsibilities. And so, it's important that we're also -- our responsibility is to keep our people safe and to create an -- and to make sure that our message is really centered on the people who are most impacted during this time.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: And also, Los Angeles is not the only California city that's been dealing with isolated, but very disruptive waves of protests. In fact, dozens of people were arrested after gathering in northern California. People there also initially protesting immigration enforcement actions. A large group helding -- holding up anti-ICE signs and also waved Mexican flags, among others, in San Francisco to support the protests in Los Angeles against immigration raids.
But the demonstration initially started peaceful, then escalated into a tense standoff with San Francisco police officers wearing riot gear. The protest took place just outside the immigration services building, and officials saying that some 60 people there were arrested. Still on the way this morning, self-driving cars have been easy targets for vandals in L.A. amid the growing protests. How Waymo, the company that owns some of these vehicles is actually reacting after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:25:00]
SANDOVAL: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the situation in Los Angeles. I want to take a quick moment now to remind us of the sort of unpredictable nature of the situation on the ground, not just for those that are participating in these protests, certainly for law enforcement, but also for the reporters that are covering this, including Lauren Tomasi.
She was actually hit with a rubber bullet that was fired by law enforcement at Sunday's protest. We're going to show you some of this video, a reminder, she is OK. In the video, you see an officer off to the left of your screen, he will turn towards her, aim and fire. Now, a reminder, we don't really know what was taking -- potentially taking place behind that TV crew, but you could see what played out yourself.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LAUREN TOMASI, U.S. CORRESPONDENT, NINE NEWS: Firing rubber bullets at protesters, moving them on through the heart of L.A.
(RUBBER BULLET FIRED)
TOMASI: Oh --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've just being shut the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?
(RUBBER BULLET FIRED)
TOMASI: Yes, I'm good, I'm good --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Where did it hit you?
TOMASI: Just my leg, I'm good --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fascists! Report that there's -- fascism --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, you're OK --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not OK --
(RUBBER BULLET FIRED)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Fascists --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: Tomasi is currently covering the L.A. protests with "Nine News" out of Australia, she suffered only bruises. Pretty amazing. She dusted herself off and she was right back at it reporting on that unrest. Now, as the protests escalated in Los Angeles on Sunday, multiple self-driving vehicles were set on fire and vandalized with graffiti.
The video you're seeing now appearing to show Waymo cars suffering some heavy damage. You see, in many cases even destroyed. CNN's chief media analyst Brian Stelter has more on how this company and others are responding to the violence. And also, this is critical, how misinformation about these protests is being spread online by some Republicans.
(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 robo taxis in California, first in San Francisco, now in Los Angeles. And 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.