At least 30 members of the media, including a former writer for the Courier, have been injured covering the protests over federal immigration enforcement in the downtown Los Angeles area this week. The injuries stem from use of nonlethal rubber rounds or other projectiles. A video that has gone viral worldwide shows an Australian reporter being hit by a rubber bullet in the leg. The former Courier reporter was hit by a tear gas canister that exploded in his ear.
A curfew is currently in effect for the area bounded by the Golden State (5) and Harbor (110) freeways, and from the Santa Monica (10) Freeway to where the Arroyo Seco (110) Parkway and Golden State Freeway merge. The area includes the Arts and Fashion Districts, Chinatown and Skid Row.
“If you do not live or work in downtown L.A., avoid the area,” Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said. “Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted.”
Protests have been ongoing since June 6, when ICE agents carried out a series of immigration enforcement raids, detaining dozens of people. In response, President Donald Trump federalized 2,000 California National Guard troops and ordered them to be deployed to Los Angeles, despite protests by Bass, Gov. Gavin Newsom and other local officials who said such a move would further exacerbate tensions and lead to more intense protests.
On June 9, Trump ordered 2,000 additional Guard troops into the city and directed 700 U.S. Marines to move into the area. Newsom condemned the move, stating that Marines “shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president. This is un-American.”
The state of California has sued Trump to overturn the federalization of National Guard troops. Pentagon officials said on June 10 that the deployment is expected to cost about $134 million.
On June 14, “No Kings” counterprotests to Trump’s military parade in Washington, D.C., are scheduled throughout the country, including Beverly Gardens Park in Beverly Hills. This is a developing story.
With City News Service
