Protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in Los Angeles turned volatile, with demonstrators burning and spitting on American flags while chanting anti-Trump slogans.

The unrest, centered in downtown Los Angeles and the city of Paramount, prompted the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) to declare an unlawful assembly and led to the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops by President Donald Trump.

The demonstrations were sparked by a series of ICE raids across Los Angeles, targeting illegal immigrants, including those with criminal histories such as drug trafficking, assault, and gang affiliations.

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE operations resulted in 118 arrests in Los Angeles over the week, with 2,000 nationwide.

Protesters, however, decried the raids as attacks on immigrant communities, with some advocates claiming that legal residents were also detained.

On Saturday, clashes intensified in Paramount, where protesters blocked streets, set a car on fire, and threw projectiles at federal agents.

By Sunday, the protests had spread to downtown Los Angeles, particularly around the L.A. Live entertainment complex near Crypto.com Arena. Demonstrators blocked lanes on Figueroa and 11th streets, with some waving Mexican flags while burning American ones.

Footage captured by FreedomNewsTV showed a group surrounding a burning flag, with individuals spitting on it or adding flammable liquid to fuel the blaze.

The LAPD declared an unlawful assembly Sunday night, urging protesters to disperse. “Agitators have splintered into and throughout the Downtown Area,” the LAPD’s Central Division posted on X, advising residents and businesses to report criminal activity.

Riot police, supported by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, used flashbangs and non-lethal munitions to control crowds.

President Trump, citing attacks on ICE agents and the perceived inaction of California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, authorized the National Guard deployment to “address the lawlessness.”

Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, defended the move, stating, “We’re not going to apologize for enforcing the law.”

The White House emphasized that the troops were tasked with protecting federal personnel, not conducting arrests, due to legal restrictions on military involvement in civil law enforcement.

Governor Newsom sharply criticized the federal response, calling the National Guard deployment a “purposefully inflammatory” breach of state sovereignty.

In a letter to Trump, Newsom demanded the troops’ withdrawal, arguing that local authorities were capable of maintaining order. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved,” he wrote on X.

Mayor Bass described the deployment as a “chaotic escalation,” urging protesters to remain peaceful.

Federal officials, including White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, accused Newsom of failing to protect federal agents, claiming his inaction allowed “violent radicals and illegal criminals” to attack law enforcement.

DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin condemned the protests as “despicable,” urging Democratic leaders to denounce the violence.