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LAPD Declares All of Downtown L.A. an Unlawful Assembly Area; Trump Deploys National Guard Over Protests in L.A.; Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) Denied Entry into L.A. Detention Center. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired June 09, 2025 - 10:00   ET

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

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[10:00:00]

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news, unrest in Los Angeles. Dozens of people under arrest as protesters clash with police. We are live with the latest.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Plus, the National Guard on the ground and on the frontlines dispatched by the president, going around the governor, but did the president cross a line by sending them?

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in The Situation Room.

And we begin with the breaking news. It's just after 7:00 A.M. in downtown Los Angeles, and police have now declared it an unlawful assembly area.

Police in riot gear have fired less lethal weapons, including flash bangs and tear gas to break up violent protests over immigration raids that are entering their fourth day. Overnight, we learned more than two dozen people were arrested in the latest clashes. Here you see officers huddled under an overpass. Demonstrators are gathered above and chunks of concrete and other debris cover the ground.

President Trump has called up 2,000 National Guard troops to protect federal personnel and property, another 500 U.S. Marines right now, they are standing by. It's the first time in about 60 years that a president has done this without a governor's consent.

Democratic leaders and many protesters are calling it an abuse of power that threatens to further inflame the tensions.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, my husband's a soldier overseas, as we speak, and I'm a veteran. So, this angers me. This angers me. It's disgusting. They're using your own soldiers on your own people.

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BLITZER: Let's go live right now to CNN Correspondent Julia Vargas Jones. She's in Los Angeles for us. Julia, what's the latest? What are you seeing? What are you hearing this morning?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, it's a bit of a surreal scene here in downtown Los Angeles, Wolf, where you see this heightened police presence and National Guard in a line just behind me, but just across the street here, steps from where we are. The 101 freeway that was blocked by protestors, it's business as usual. There's traffic in Los Angeles again this morning. And just hours ago, this was still an active scene with protesters on the ground.

That violence that you talked about, these were crowds that were angry over what they said was an overreach of the federal government in the sweeping immigration operations across Los Angeles over the past few days. And that feeling of powerlessness, of lack of control that brought so many people to the streets to protest peacefully also brought some to commit acts of vandalism and resort to violence.

These protests did abrupt in response to those immigration raids. And then also they were -- the tensions in these protests were heightened with the presence of the National Guard. Trump's border czar spoke to Fox News earlier today to try and justify the presence of the National Guard here in Los Angeles. Take a listen.

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TOM HOMAN, BORDER CZAR: The National Guard here to protect property, protect life, protect our officers, and protect civilians. You've seen the video, this city's burning is out of control because of the weak leadership of Democrats in the state and, frankly, in United States Congress. So, President Trump was sent National Guard to protect life and property.

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JONES: And, Wolf, both the mayor of Los Angeles and Governor Gavin Newsom has slammed this move of bringing the National Guard, Mayor Karen Bass calling it intentional chaos, and Governor Gavin Newsom saying he's now planning to sue the administration over the very legality of bringing over these troops without his consent or authorization. Wolf?

BLITZER: We're going to speak to the L.A. mayor later here in the situation room.

Julia Vargas Jones, thank you very much for that. Pamela?

BROWN: All right, Wolf. Let's continue this conversation. Joining us now is CNN Chief Law Enforcement and Intelligence Analyst John Miller.

[10:05:01]

Thanks for being here.

So, let's step back and look at the big picture here. The National Guard is on the ground. Marines are ready to deploy. There have been multiple clashes with law enforcement and people have been arrested for violent acts. The president is urging the L.A. Police chief to, quote, bring in the troops. How are you assessing the situation, John?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: Well, this is a very difficult situation for L.A. because the city of L.A. and most pointedly the LAPD is caught in the middle here, even though it may not look like that on the screen. You know, what you had was by bringing in the National Guard, what Tom Homan, the Trump administration and the federal government were saying was, we have to have our immigration people, ICE agents out on these raids looking for undocumented people. Why is that? That's because the pressure has been coming from the White House to ICE to increase from 1,100 a day to 1,600 a day, to 3,000 a day. And without hitting these bigger targets, large factories, and garment center locations, they're not going to get those numbers.

Well, the LAPD is barred by California law by participating in those things. So, the National Guard was sent basically to say, we'll protect the federal people with federal people because we're running out of agents.

The problem came yesterday when the National Guard was behind the jail as they were bringing back the people that they had arrested on these ICE raids, and the crowd surged on the National Guard and there was a very small number of National Guard, and there was a very large growing crowd. The LAPD moved in with California Highway Patrol, basically to separate a crowd that was way too big for that number of National Guardsmen and a number of National Guardsmen who were armed with fully loaded assault weapons from an angry crowd.

And, of course, the LAPD as we have seen overnight and into this morning, has kind of borne the brunt of that as you have immigration demonstrators worked in with anti-government demonstrators mixed in with some anarchist groups and anti-government groups that lurk in the back of the crowds and egged them on and are probably responsible for more of the violence than the actual demonstrators who were there for protesting immigration.

So, it's a complicated thing when you have a city of 3.5 million people, thousands of demonstrators, and a police department that only has 8,000 cops, basically, and has stopped answering regular calls for service because they have most of their resources in the street dealing with this now.

BROWN: And on that note, let's listen to what the police chief said last night about the violence.

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CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: What we saw the first night was bad. What we've seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent.

We are overwhelmed as far as the number of people out there engaged in this type of activity and the type of things that they're doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BROWN: So, you heard him there. He says they are overwhelmed. The situation is getting worse. As a former law enforcement official, what do you think the next step should be?

MILLER: Well, I think what they're going to have to do, because the LAPD, based on its size, is going to be overwhelmed, is this is where the governor has to bring in more resources from the California Highway Patrol, CHP, which is in effect California's version of the state police. LAPD is going to need help from the sheriff, but the sheriff has their own hands full, but the LA County Sheriff, LAPD, CHPD and other jurisdictions are going to really have to set up a unified command to reach the kind of numbers that you're going to need to deal with this.

And they're going to have to do a lot of community outreach to the protest groups to kind of figure out who are the people behind the violence and the trouble, who are the core demonstrators concerned with the issue, who want to protest peacefully and, you know, how do they work with, with one of those groups and deal with the other.

BROWN: John Miller, as always, thank you for your analysis.

MILLER: Thanks. Wolf?

BLITZER: The California Democratic congresswoman, Maxine Waters, was denied entry to a detention center in Los Angeles.

The congresswoman was trying to speak with David Huerta, the leader of the service employees International Union of California yesterday. He was arrested by federal agents after prosecutors say he tried to obstruct their access to a work site. He has called actions taken against protestors, and I'm quoting him now, an injustice.

Joining us now on the phone is Democratic Congresswoman Maxine Waters. Congresswoman, thanks so much for joining us.

First of all, take us through your attempt to get into that detention center.

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What were you told?

REP. MAXINE WATERS (D-CA): First of all, I went down into the area because David Huerta is a big leader in organized labor with SCIU, and everybody was wondering what happened to him. He was arrested. We did not know where he was. And so I went down to see if I could get some information.

I had on one of my jackets with the emblem on it for the Congress, and I identified myself when I saw two people going in that looked like they were in authority. And I tried to ask them, I did ask them if I could come in. I said, I'm Congresswoman Waters and I'm coming to see if I can see about David Huerta. They said, we are not letting anybody in and slammed the door. And so I didn't have an opportunity to talk with anybody to see if I could find out if he was all right. Now, when I was there on the street right in front of the detention center, the protests were very small and very peaceful. There was no animosity. The only problem that we had was the National Guard who was standing there with these assault weapons, you know, in front of the small crowd that was there. And so that looked very, very dangerous.

And I don't know why the National Guard was there with weapons because ICE was in Los Angeles in the black and brown communities, you know, trying to grab people off the street, trying to identify who may be illegal, et cetera, et cetera.

And so, President Trump has literally instigated all of this. He knows that he cannot meet the numbers that he promised during the campaign that he was going to send back to their country, send back to Mexico, et cetera. And so he's now playing to his MAGA crowd to say, see, I'm working hard. I'm going to get them out of here for you, on and on and on.

He's not going to make the numbers, but he's going to upset our city. He's going to cause a great deal of problems. He is going to anger a lot of people and then he's going to want martial law. We know what he wants. He wants to call martial law. He wants to get the military in here.

This is a dishonorable human being, a cruel man that does not care about the disruption that he's causing and the lives that may be lost because of him. His son was quoted this morning saying to the Koreans, get on top of the rooftop and shoot the protesters.

BLITZER: Are you going to try to get into that detention center again, Congresswoman?

WATERS: Well, no, I have to go to Washington. I am the ranking member of the Financial Services Committee dealing with trying to stop Trump from, you know, stealing with this cryptocurrency. And so I'm leaving, I'm in the airport right now and, you know, people are calling me and telling me and describing, you know, what was happening last night and concerned about my safety and all. No, I won't be back here until after Charlie Rangel's funeral in New York. After I go to Washington all week, I go to New York, yes.

And but they were in my district. They were in Compton and that's black and brown, and they really caused a lot of disturbance. They had no reason to go in the way that they're doing. Trump wants this to happen and I am predicting that he will get the military in here and he will create martial law to exercise his power and make it look as if he's doing everything that he promised to get rid of the migrants in our city.

BLITZER: I just want you to be safe and be careful out there when you get back out there, after you come back to Washington and then go to New York.

As you know, Congresswoman, the LAPD police chief, Jim McDonnell, says the level of violence he's been seeing across Los Angeles in his word, and I'm quoting him now, is disgusting. Given that, why shouldn't the National Guard be involved?

WATERS: Well, I was surprised at the way that the police chief was describing all of this. There have been no violence where anybody that was protesting hit anybody, shot anybody, threaten anybody. Nothing has happened. And so he doesn't know what to do, probably, because this is a sanctuary city and the police don't have the authority. All that he's got to do is call to work with the governor. The governor was not even called when he sent in the National Guard. The mayor was not even called.

The president is initiating this purposely. He knows what he's doing. If he was, you know, thinking, you know -- well, first of all, he started all this with the targeting, you know, all of the migrants in the way that he's doing.

[10:15:09]

And so, you know, if we had people who were working together and cooperating, the governor would've been contacted, the mayor would've been contacted, and they would've said to the police, whatever, the sanctuary city is, if we need to undo that at this time so that the police will have the authority, we can do that. But, no, the president doesn't want that. He wants to use his power. And I am predicting he will go so far as to create martial law.

BLITZER: I just want to point out, and I'm sure you know this, Congresswoman, there has been some violence in the course of these protests. Some police officers were assaulted, and some vehicles were damaged in the process. So, there has been some violence out there, right?

WATERS: Well, the thing about it is you may have people, one or two or a few people who will not conform. That happens everywhere. That happens in our workplace. There's always someone who does something. But we are saying to people, don't be goaded. Don't be goaded into a confrontation. Don't be goaded into violence because that's what Trump wants. He wants to violent so that he can send in the military and create martial law. That's what he wants. And if a few people were doing that, I've not heard of anybody being shot. I've not heard of anybody being killed. I've not heard of anybody being beaten. So, I don't know what all this so-called violence is all about.

BLITZER: All right. Congresswoman Maxine Waters of California, thanks so much for joining us. And when you get back out there, stay safe. Thank you very much.

And still ahead, without request or consent, the National Guard is on the ground in Los Angeles. We'll speak to the former Deputy Pentagon press secretary about the use of military force.

And later, we'll be joined by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass after a tumultuous weekend in her city.

Stay with us. You're in The Situation Room.

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BLITZER: All right. Let's get back to the breaking news we're following right now. Police have declared downtown Los Angeles an unlawful assembly area. Following days of protest against immigration raids around the city, the demonstrations at times turning into violent confrontations.

And later we'll get analysis from Sabrina Singh, a former deputy Pentagon press secretary, get her views on what's going on in Los Angeles right now, the deployment of U.S. National Guard troops and potentially more troops on the way, soldiers and Marines, in fact. We'll see what happens. We're staying on top of this story for our viewers. Pamela?

BROWN: All right. Wolf, coming up right here in The Situation Room, a very busy day, President Trump's newest immigration crackdown, we're taking a closer look at the travel ban that's now in effect.

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[10:25:00]

BLITZER: All right. Let's get back to our top story right now, the protests in Los Angeles. Joining us now, Sabrina Singh, she's a CNN Political Commentator, the former deputy Pentagon press secretary, and was also Vice President Kamala Harris' deputy press secretary. Sabrina, thanks so much for joining us.

As you know, President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of some 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles. Is this an appropriate use of the United States military?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, thanks Wolf for having me on. I mean, it is a legal use of the United States military. The president does have the authorization to do that. The difference here is how he's doing it is completely unprecedented. Usually with an event like this, there's coordination between the governor of that state and the president of the United States. And the governor is usually requesting additional forces to come into his or her state to help with a response.

That is not what happened here. The governor did not request additional use of force or use additional forces to be on the ground in Los Angeles to help mitigate these protests, and neither did the mayor. And so, what Donald Trump did was something completely unprecedented and is setting a very dangerous precedent going forward.

And at the end of the day, a governor like Governor Newsom knows his state the best. And local law enforcement, like the LAPD, know their communities best. They know what resources they need on the ground. They do not need these additional forces. So, at the end of the day, this is not a good use of military force in Los Angeles.

BLITZER: Beyond the the soldiers, the National Guard troops who have been deployed, the defense secretary, Sabrina, Pete Hegseth, now says active duty U.S. Marines are on high alert right now to potentially be deployed to Los Angeles as well. Governor Gavin Newsom responded by saying this, and I'm quoting him, the secretary of defense is now threatening to deploy active duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior, end quote.

What do you make of this threat to use active duty military in an American city, specifically U.S. Marines?

SINGH: Yes. Our U.S. Marines are trained to combat and be the first line of defense when it comes to America's adversaries, when it comes to war. Putting American Marines on the ground to deal with what is, for the most part, peaceful protests is not a good use of force.

[10:30:06]

It does not make sense for their training. It does not make us more --