Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass lifted nighttime curfew for downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, 17 June, citing a decrease in violence and looting during a week of protests. In a statement, Bass declared the restrictions “largely successful” in protecting businesses but blamed the White House for the turmoil in LA.
The protests began last Friday after US federal agents raided the city’s garment district to detain undocumented workers as a part of President Donald Trump’s anti-immigration policy.
The situation escalated over the weekend after Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops and Marines into the city, overriding state officials. Governor Gavin Newsom condemned the deployment—the first of its kind not following a governor’s request since 1965—as a “brazen abuse of power” that inflamed tensions.
The president defended the move, saying he needed to prevent the city from being “conquered by a foreign enemy.” Meanwhile, US Attorney General Pam Bondi signaled the administration might take further action, including expanding military power by invoking the Insurrection Act.
