Trump and CA Governor Newsom clash over deployment of National Guard in LA

Donald Trump is deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom after a second day of clashes between hundreds of protesters and federal immigration authorities in riot gear, Report informs referring to Euronews.

Newsom wrote on social media: “The federal government is creating chaos so it can have an excuse to escalate things. This is not the way any civilised country behaves”.

He described the decision to deploy the National Guard as a “deliberate and cowardly” action, adding that it would “only escalate tensions.”

Trump reacted to Gavin Newsom in a posting on his “Truth Social” platform on Saturday, writing, “If Governor Gavin Newsom of California and Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles can't fulfill their duties that everyone knows they can't, then the federal government will step in and solve the problem of rioters and looters the way it needs to be solved!!!”

Confrontations broke out on Saturday near a Home Depot in the heavily Latino city of Paramount, south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office nearby. Agents unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, and protesters hurled rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles. Smoke wafted from small piles of burning refuse in the streets.

Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, including in LA's fashion district and at a Home Depot, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed past 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.

The White House announced that Trump would deploy the Guard to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester.” It wasn't clear when the troops would arrive.