The protests in Los Angeles - between civil disobedience and military intervention

Protests against President Donald Trump's immigration policy in Los Angeles have escalated to the intervention of federal authorities. In response to the ongoing demonstrations, the city's mayor, Karen Bass, declared a curfew on Wednesday evening in a limited area in the city center. This happened after 197 protesters were arrested the previous night - a record number for a single day since the start of the protests.

The curfew will be in effect from 8:00 PM to 6:00 AM (local time) in an area of 2.59 square kilometers where the demonstrations have been taking place in the past week. Mayor Bass stated that this is a "necessary step" to deal with "illegal behavior and looting" after 23 businesses were robbed the previous night.

On the orders of President Trump, hundreds of marines arrived in Los Angeles yesterday to join 4,000 National Guard troops sent to quell the protests. However, the Governor of California, Gavin Newsom, challenged the legality of this step, stating that Trump is using the military against American citizens for political reasons.

Trump justified the deployment of troops, calling the protesters "paid rioters" and "foreign invaders," claiming that without the military the city "would have been burning." However, Mayor Bass emphasized that most of the demonstrators are not violent, and only a small group is committing acts of vandalism and looting, which will be strictly punished.

The protests in Los Angeles began at the end of the week, after the Trump administration launched a campaign to arrest illegal immigrants in the city. Although most of the demonstrations were peaceful, there were also clashes with the police, with protesters throwing stones and setting cars on fire. This forced the authorities to use tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the crowds.

Governor Newsom accused Trump of using the military against American citizens for political reasons, not for public safety concerns. This is the first time in decades that the president has ordered the deployment of the National Guard without a request from the state's administration.