ICE prepares to deploy tactical agents to several Democratic-led cities

More than 200 people were arrested after police said they failed to leave the downtown area in compliance with the mayor’s curfew. They face a charge of failure to disperse.

In addition, 17 people were arrested on a charge of curfew violation, the Los Angeles Police Department said. Others were taken into custody on charges of possessing a firearm, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, and discharging a laser at a police airship.

Police said that two officers were injured and received medical treatment, but did not say what caused their injuries.

Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., pressed Hegseth about a “double standard” when responding to protesters who support Trump versus those who oppose him.

Murphy pointed to Trump’s response to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and asked Hegseth whether it was the right decision to deploy the National Guard to respond to Jan. 6.

“All I know is it’s the right decision to be deploying the National Guard in Los Angeles to defend ICE agents who deserve to be defended in the execution of their jobs,” Hegseth responded.

When asked again, Hegseth said that he supported Trump’s request for the National Guard on Jan. 6 but claimed that his request was denied.

The Jan. 6 committee did not find evidence to support Trump’s claim that he offered then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi National Guard troops.

After the attack on the Capitol, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said that the Army secretary had been responsible for making decisions related to the National Guard’s response. Months after the attack, two senior U.S. military officials involved in the Jan. 6 response denied that they advised against the deployment of the National Guard.

Roger Garcia, the commissioner for Douglas County, Nebraska, said the ICE raids are “incredibly sad” and have forced some Latino businesses to shut down.

“It’s just incredibly sad that people woke up to just go to work to provide for their families, to contribute to our local economy here in Omaha, and they end up in the midst of chaos as a surprise ICE raid comes to their company,” he said Wednesday on MSNBC. “There’s a lot of confusion, and it was a very difficult and messy day.”

Garcia said Latino businesses shut down early yesterday out of fear. 

They “locked their doors and went home or hunkered down in their own business,” he said. “Today, many of those businesses are staying closed because of the fear that has been instilled in our community.”

A man was arrested and charged with attempted murder after authorities said he threw a lit Molotov cocktail at law enforcement during a protest in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Emiliano Garduno-Galvez, 23, was taken into custody Monday by immigration agents, the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday in a news release. The agency said Garduno-Galvez is from Mexico and is in the U.S. illegally.

In the past, Garduno-Galve was arrested in Anaheim for grand theft and in Long Beach for a DUI and was deported, DHS said.

“These are the types of criminal illegal aliens that rioters are fighting to protect,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “The Los Angeles rioters will not stop us or slow us down. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.” 

Another man, Wrackkie Quiogue, 27, was also taken into custody for allegedly possessing a Molotov cocktail while holding a lighter during a protest in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday. Police saw him “with the device and quickly arrested him,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said.

“As Quiogue attempted to flee arrest, he threw the Molotov,” the office said in a news release.

Two others, Christian Andres Garcia and Rene Luna, were arrested and charged with assault. Garcia is accused of throwing objects at law enforcement outside a Homeland Security Investigations office, and Luna is accused of tossing water bottles and beer cans at officers.

A defense official said 700 Marines are mobilized and in the Los Angeles area but are not on city streets as part of Task Force 51. The official said some Marines could be sent out as early as today, but there are no orders to do so at this point.

The Marines are still going through some basic training about the standard rules of force.

Kim Kardashian spoke out about the “inhumane” treatment of “innocent, hardworking people being ripped from their families.”

“Growing up in L.A., I’ve seen how deeply immigrants are woven into the fabric of this city. They are our neighbors, friends, classmates, coworkers, and family,” she said in an Instagram story. “No matter where you fall politically, it’s clear that our communities thrive because of the contributions of immigrants. We can’t turn a blind eye when fear and injustice keep people from living their lives freely and safely.”

Chicago police said they are ready to “protect those exercising their First Amendment Rights” ahead of a planned ICE protest on Saturday.

“With public safety as our top priority, our planning and training for First Amendment assemblies are rooted in constitutional policing and the safety of all those participating, working, and living in the affected areas,” the department said in a statement.

It added, “As we protect these assemblies, we will not tolerate any criminal activity or violence. Those in violation of the law will be held accountable.”

Homeland Security posted what it says is drone footage of demonstrators in Los Angeles and called on politicians to end what it called a “rioting mob.”

“This is not calm. This is not peaceful,” the agency said Tuesday in a post on X.

The video showed a person in the middle of the street appearing to hit a van, and black smoke billowing from a car that was on fire. Protesters are seen swarming the city streets and sidewalks.

But Mayor Karen Bass said that trying to paint a picture of chaos in the city “is just not true.” In a Wednesday “Morning Joe” interview, Bass said there was no looting or vandalism on Tuesday night.

“We are a city of 3.8 million, 500 square miles. This is happening over about five or six streets in downtown Los Angeles,” she said.

Bass said having National Guard members deployed in city streets is “completely unnecessary.”

“There is no need for this. The city handled things perfectly last night and will continue to do so,” she said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said that a majority of protesters in the city did so peacefully. He slammed President Donald Trump for commandeering thousands of the state’s National Guard members, calling it a “brazen abuse of power.”

A curfew was issued for downtown Los Angeles beginning Tuesday night. The mayor did warn that vandalism wouldn’t be tolerated.

“I do not believe that individuals that commit vandalism and violence in our city really are in support of immigrants; they have another agenda. If you support immigrants and the rights of immigrants to be in our city, you would not be tearing the city apart,” Bass said at a press conference.

Outgoing San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg said Wednesday that he did not ask Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to send state National Guard troops into the city, “nor did we get any advance warning.”

Abbott said he would deploy Texas Guard troops across the state ahead of a planned protest in San Antonio.

Nirenberg held a news conference with the city’s police chief and city manager to urge peaceful protest and safety at a Wednesday evening rally that the police chief said would be held at the Alamo.

Nirenburg, ending eight years in office next Wednesday, said he empathizes with the “serious fatigue this federal administration is causing within our community” but expressed support for Police Chief William McManus’ call for peaceful protest and plans to respond to property damage or violence.

“I’m confident San Antonio knows how to do this right,” Nirenberg said.

He opened the news conference by saying he acknowledged the “anger and frustration … with the government’s crude interpretations of immigration law and cruel approach to human rights.”

McManus said the city has everything it needs to handle the protests, is prepared for a peaceful operation, and is “planning for the worst” should it occur.

ICE is preparing to deploy its Special Response Teams to five cities run by Democratic leaders, two sources familiar with the planning of the future operations told NBC News today.

The Special Response Teams (SRTs) are tactical units under ICE that use BearCat tracked vehicles, long guns and tactical vests in operations considered high risk. They were used in the raid on Sean “Diddy” Combs’ home, for example.

They were most recently used in Los Angeles and are seen as among the reasons protests began.

The sources said the SRTs have been ordered to deploy in Seattle, Chicago, Philadelphia, northern Virginia and New York.

It is not clear that the raids in those cities will begin immediately, but all SRT units in those areas have been told to be ready to deploy, the sources said.

Mayor Karen Bass said Tuesday night that a curfew will be in effect in the Los Angeles area, where protests have occurred. 

According to the mayor’s office, the curfew is effective from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in downtown Los Angeles. It covers the area between the U.S. 110, I-5 and I-10 freeways and extends north of the 101 into Chinatown and Elysian Park until the 5 and the 110 meet.

As preparations continue for a massive military parade that marks the Army’s 250th anniversary and falls on President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, the president is shrugging off Republican criticism of the $45 million spectacle coming to Washington, D.C., and promising that protesters will be “met with very big force.”

It comes as Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth faced new scrutiny over the president’s decision to deploy the National Guard and the Marines to Los Angeles in response to immigration protests. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he’ll deploy the National Guard to locations across the state “to ensure peace and order” ahead of a planned protest in San Antonio.

“Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest. @TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order,” Abbott wrote on X late Tuesday local time.