(NewsNation) — Some protesters in the increasingly violent clashes with law enforcement in Los Angeles have thrown rocks and launched water bottles, fireworks and other projectiles at officers, while police have fired foam and rubber bullets, tear gas and “flash bangs” to try to disperse crowds.
Sunday marked the third straight day that demonstrators took to the streets of L.A. or neighboring communities in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in southern California.
The escalating physical threats faced by police officers undercut claims that most or all protesters are simply trying to voice their anger about the Trump administration’s immigration policies, observers said.
Anti-ICE protests intensify in Los Angeles on third day of unrest
“This is a very dangerous activity for law enforcement to get involved in because the crowd is so large,” retired FBI special agent Bobby Chacone told “NewsNation Prime” Sunday. “You can get surrounded. You can get separated. (Police) have to keep those lines strong, and they have to take people into custody, particularly if you know who the ringleaders are.”
Some observers fault Feds for chaos in LA County
Sunday’s confrontations arguably were the most disruptive yet, as protesters set fire to several autonomous vehicles and briefly took over part of the 101 Freeway. As Los Angeles police officers lined up on the other side of the median, some members of a crowd on the overpass above rained projectiles on them, independent journalist Anthony Cabassa said.
“There’s a lot of anarchists, a lot of bad-faith actors, that come to these protests and take advantage of the situation. They vandalize, they break up bricks and throw them at police, and they kind of get the crowd going,” he said.
Cabassa said there is an “online network of people” who frown on reporters like him who document these violent tactics. “They’re not happy that it’s being reported because it kind of debunks the idea of this being a mostly peaceful or wholly peaceful protest,” he said.
NewsNation national correspondent Mills Hayes was on the scene in L.A. In one live report on Sunday, she held up pieces of rock that protesters had thrown at police, as well as non-lethal 40 mm foam and rubber bullets fired by officers. Police also have fired canisters of tear gas and flash bangs throughout the weekend.
National Guard members deployed by President Trump over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom were stationed in the downtown area.
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