Los Angeles mayor announces curfew as anti-ICE protests continue downtown

Mayor Karen Bass announced a curfew for downtown Los Angeles as anti-ICE protests continued on Tuesday. 

The curfew will begin at 8 p.m. tonight, last until 6 a.m. on Wednesday, and apply to one square mile of downtown L.A. Bass said she issued the curfew ” to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting.” 

“If you do not live or work in downtown L.A., avoid the area,” Bass said. “Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew and you will be prosecuted.”

Bass said the curfew’s boundaries will encompass the area encircled by the 5 Freeway, the 110 Freeway, and the 10 Freeway and end where the 5 Freeway and the 110 Freeway merge. Bass said people who live, work and credentialed media representatives have limited exemption from the curfew. Those experiencing homelessness are also exempt from the curfew, according to police chief Jim McDonnell. 

“The city of Los Angeles is a massive area, 502 square miles,” Bass said. “The area of downtown, where the curfew will take place, is one square mile … Some of the imagery of the protest, of the violence gives the appearance as though this is a citywide crisis and it is not.”

For five consecutive days, protesters and law enforcement have lined the streets of downtown, resulting in nearly 200 arrests. Some of the encounters between demonstrators and police turned violent at times. Bass added that 23 businesses were looted on Monday night. 

“The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property, following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city,” McDonnell said. “Since Saturday, we have seen a concerning escalation in unlawful and dangerous behavior.”

The demonstrations started on Friday after several immigration raids in the Westlake District, downtown and South LA. Crowds quickly formed around federal agents during the operations. Some individuals attempted to prevent authorities from placing individuals into vans. 

The nearly week-long protest caught the attention of President Trump, who deployed thousands of troops from the California National Guard and 700 U.S. Marines to protect federal buildings, against the wishes of Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

“Donald Trump is putting fuel on this fire. Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom wrote Sunday on X. “California will be taking him to court.”