Even as protests against raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) entered their fourth day on Monday in Los Angeles, city workers began clearing graffiti and repairing other damage caused over the weekend.
Maintenance workers could be seen removing anti-ICE graffiti spray painted on City Hall as other workers covered up messages in the city’s Arts District. Burned out shells of Waymo autonomous vehicles remained on the city street where they had been engulfed in flames a day earlier.
Spray painted messages with expletives aimed at ICE and anti-police, and pro-migrant statements could be seen across downtown Los Angeles, including at the Roybal Federal Building where protesters continued to gather on Monday afternoon.
Intense Protests
The cleanup efforts come after protesters clashed with the Los Angeles Police Department, other law enforcement personnel and ICE agents amid ongoing immigration sweeps in Southern California.
The protests reached a boiling point on Sunday as multiple vehicles, including a California Highway Patrol cruiser, were set on fire. Police fired tear gas into the crowds.
Los Angeles television station KTLA reported several businesses in the downtown area, including a cell phone retailer and a clothing store, were looted and vandalized overnight and in the early morning hours.
Los Angeles Public Library said it would close its branches in downtown, Chinatown and Little Tokyo due to the protests.
“We’re closing to ensure the safety of patrons and staff in DTLA,” the library said on Monday in a post on X.
More Deployment
Meanwhile, The US military said a battalion would be sent to help protect federal property and personnel until more National Guard troops could reach the scene.
For now, the Trump administration was not invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement, according to a US official speaking on condition of anonymity.
California sued the Trump administration to block deployment of the National Guard and the Marines on Monday, arguing that it violates federal law and state sovereignty.
Shortly after, California Governor Gavin Newsom said he had been told that Trump is deploying another 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, after Trump on Saturday said he would deploy an initial 2,000 troops.
(With inputs from Reuters)
