The LAPD says mass arrests are underway as officers enforce a curfew imposed across parts of the city by Mayor Karen Bass “to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting”.

Bass declared a local emergency and said the curfew would run from 8pm Tuesday (1pm Wednesday AEST) until 6am Wednesday.

She said the city had reached a “tipping point” after 23 businesses were looted.

“Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted,” she said.

Shortly after the curfew came into force, the Los Angeles Police Department posted on X that multiple groups were continuing to congregate and “mass arrests” were being initiated.

Multiple groups continue to congregate on 1st St between Spring and Alameda.

Those groups are being addressed and mass arrests are being initiated.

Curfew is in effect.

— LAPD Central Division (@LAPDCentral) June 11, 2025

The curfew came as protests against federal immigration raids spread to other cities across the US, with crowds gathering in New York, Austin, Washington DC, Dallas, Boston and San Francisco.

Activists are planning more and even larger demonstrations in coming days, with so-called “No Kings” events nationwide on Saturday to coincide with US President Donald Trump’s planned military parade in Washington.

Members of the National Guard have also been deployed to San Antonio in anticipation of protests there, with the police department saying it “will not tolerate the lawlessness we have seen in Los Angeles”.

Mayor Karen Bass says people who break the curfew will be prosecuted. Photo: AP

The LA curfew covers a 2½-square-kilometre section of downtown that includes the area where there have been protests since Friday. It doesn’t apply to residents who live in the designated area, people who are homeless, media or public safety and emergency officials.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said “unlawful and dangerous behaviour” had escalated since Saturday.

“The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city,” he said.

Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom ramped up his attack on the Trump administration, saying in a video address that the “brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk”.

“That’s when the downward spiral began,” he added.

Newsom said Trump had chosen escalation, force and “theatrics” over public safety, claiming his government was traumatising the community rather than protecting it: “If some of us could be snatched off the streets without a warrant based only on suspicion or skin colour, then none of us are safe.”

Earlier on Tuesday, National Guard troops began protecting immigration agents as they made arrests in Los Angeles, an expansion of their duties that had been limited to protecting federal property.

Newsom has asked a federal court to block the Trump administration from using the National Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids, saying it will only heighten tensions and promote civil unrest.

The Governor filed the emergency request after Trump ordered the deployment to LA of roughly 4000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines following protests at Trump’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws. A judge set a hearing for Thursday.

The Marines and another 2000 National Guard troops were sent to LA on Monday, adding to a military presence the police chief says made it harder to handle the protests safely.

Marine Corps General Eric Smith said on Tuesday that the Marines had not yet been called to respond to the protests and were there only to protect federal officials and property.

The Los Angeles protests began after the arrest of dozens of workers in federal immigration raids.

The Los Angeles Police Department said there had been more than 100 arrests. The vast majority were for failing to disperse, while others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting, vandalism and attempted murder for lobbing a petrol bomb.

Seven police officers were reportedly injured, and at least two were taken to a hospital and released.

I just filed an emergency motion in court to immediately block the ongoing and unnecessary militarization of Los Angeles.

The federal government is turning the military against American citizens. This is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy. pic.twitter.com/foadPUdlow

— Governor Gavin Newsom (@CAgovernor) June 10, 2025

‘Very big force’: Trump warns

Trump described the unrest as an invasion by a “foreign enemy” during a speech at Fort Bragg military base in North Carolina.

He said demonstrators were “rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of our country”.

“What you’re witnessing in California is a full-blown assault on peace, on public order, and on national sovereignty. We will not allow an American city to be invaded and conquered by a foreign enemy,” he said.

Later, from the Oval Office, Trump warned against protesting at this weekend’s military parade in Washington to mark the US Army’s 250th anniversary.

“For those people that want to protest, they’re going to be met with very big force,” he said.

Saturday’s event, which coincides with Trump’s 79th birthday, includes an army birthday festival on the National Mall and will culminate with the parade and an enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony led by Trump.

The No Kings group has called for nationwide protests.

“They’ve defied our courts, deported Americans, disappeared people off the streets, attacked our civil rights and slashed our services,” it says on its website.

“The corruption has gone too far. No thrones. No crowns. No kings.”

US Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Matt McCool said on Monday that thousands of agents, officers and specialists would be deployed from law enforcement agencies from across the country for the parade in Washington.

-with AAP