The 10 (P) –. A curfew was ordered for parts of downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday night, after police made more than 114 arrests Monday for looting and vandalism at dozens of businesses. The curfew follows four days of protests directed at Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids and a “concerning escalation” of “unlawful and dangerous behavior,” according to police.
The curfew will go into effect from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. PDT, throughout a one square mile area of downtown Los Angeles, and will continue for the next several days. Residents and those who work in the area are exempt. Fewer than 100,000 people live in the zoned-off area.
“If you do not live or work in downtown LA, avoid the area,” said Mayor Karen Bass. “Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted.”
Bass blamed the Trump administration for the violence, saying “bad actors are taking advantage of the president’s chaotic escalation.”
The administration deployed 700 Marines and thousands of National Guard troops to help law enforcement. The Marines are currently standing by and awaiting orders outside of Los Angeles.
On Tuesday, a federal judge denied California’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop the Trump administration from using deployed troops to enforce immigration laws in the state. A hearing is set for Thursday.
Police in Los Angeles said looters vandalized 23 businesses in the downtown area during Monday’s protests. They targeted an Apple store, a pharmacy, a jewelry store, a couple of dispensaries and an Adidas store.
LAPD chief Jim McDonnell said the number of arrests have “increased significantly” since the protests began Friday.
“Following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city since Saturday, we’ve seen a concerning escalation and unlawful and dangerous behavior,” McDonnell told reporters.
“Let me be clear that this behavior, blocking freeways, city streets and onramps, refusing to comply with lawful dispersal orders and interfering with public safety operations, is dangerous, unlawful and won’t be tolerated,” McDonnell added.
Local law enforcement is also investigating the death of a man whose body was found on a downtown Los Angeles sidewalk early Tuesday morning, where the protests and looting occurred.
The Los Angeles Police Department responded to a call at 1:30 a.m. PDT regarding an unresponsive man on a sidewalk in the downtown area of West 3rd Street and Broadway, KTLA reported.
The unidentified man was dead, and his cause of death is being investigated.
Several businesses in the area were looted and vandalized at about the same time that the police received the emergency call.
Mayor condemns looting, violence and vandalism
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass addressed the violence and looting during a Tuesday morning press conference.
She told reporters city officials have not received word of raids because Immigration and Customs Enforcement does not notify the city when ICE raids are planned.
“What we rely on is reporting from the community, especially the immigrant rights organizations that have formed the ‘rapid response network,'” Bass told reporters.
“I do not believe that individuals that commit vandalism and violence in our city really are in support of immigrants,” Bass said. “They have another agenda.”
She said the “unrest that has happened are a few blocks within the downtown area” are not all of downtown or citywide.
“The visuals make it seem as though our entire city is in flames, and that is not the case at all,” Bass explained.
“The violence and the damage is unacceptable. It is not going to be tolerated, and the individuals will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
She said those who participate and make it home at night should not think they got away with it because local police are investigating, and “there will be follow-up and arrests.”
Bass also said Los Angeles “was peaceful” on Thursday.
Bass blames ICE raids for violence
“There was nothing going on here that warranted the federal intervention that took place the very next day,” Bass told reporters.
“If we want to look at the cause of what is happening here, I take it back to raids that took place on Friday and the uncertainty and the fear and the fact that families across the city are terrified.”
She said city officials don’t know how many people ICE has detained and some people have not had contact with legal representation or their families.
“When the administration started, they said this was about crime,” she said.
“They were going to go after violent felons, drug dealers, and I don’t know how that matches with the scenes that we saw of people at Home Depot running through the parking lot because they were afraid they would be arrested.”
Bass said vandalism and graffiti “have been extensive,” and she wants to meet with local business leaders and faith leaders to discuss how to clean up the downtown area ahead of next year’s FIFA World Cup, which Los Angeles is scheduled to host.
The Los Angeles riots prompted President Donald Trump to call up the National Guard to protect federal buildings, as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth deployed 700 Marines.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of illegally calling up the National Guard, but Trump said the violence would have “completely obliterated” Los Angeles.
