Will we hear from Trump today?

Bernd Debusmann Jr

Travelling with Donald Trump, in New Jersey

Image source, Reuters Image caption, Donald Trump attends the UFC-316 mixed martial arts event in New Jersey last night

I’m in New Jersey, where President Donald Trump spent the night at his Bedminster property after going to the UFC fight in Newark last night.

Even as news of the National Guard deployment broke, we didn’t hear directly from him, who seemed in good spirits as he entered the arena to thunderous applause and “USA” chants.

We may, however, hear from him today.

At 15:45 EST (20:45 BST), the president – along with the travelling press pool, including the BBC – will fly to Hagerstown, Maryland, before heading to Camp David for the night.

It’s possible he’ll speak to reporters before boarding, or during the hour-long flight, as he did on the way here.

If he does, we’re likely to hear him condemn the protests in Los Angeles, echoing what we’ve heard from other officials and on his Truth Social posts.

We’ll bring you the latest as we get it, so stay with us.

LOS ANGELES (KTLA) — A heavy military presence was seen in downtown Los Angeles early Sunday morning after unrest sparked by ICE raids in the L.A. area and ahead of what is expected to be a third day of protests.

President Donald Trump ordered thousands of National Guard troops to be deployed Saturday night after a raid in Paramount earlier in the day that set off a chain of destructive demonstrations. While Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said just after midnight Sunday that the National Guard had not been deployed in the city, troops began arriving later that morning.

Military personnel were seen at the Federal Building in downtown around 4 a.m. Sunday to ensure that federal agents are protected. More have been deployed to the Hall of Justice, next to City Hall.

“It’s one thing to see a heavy law enforcement presence, but it’s a whole other situation when we have [this many] military personnel in downtown L.A.,” Jennifer McGraw of Nexstar’s KTLA said Sunday.

On Sunday morning, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the National Guard would “keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order.”

A rally has been planned for 2 p.m., but impromptu demonstrations are expected to pop up on Sunday morning.

A heavy military presence was seen in downtown Los Angeles early Sunday morning after unrest sparked by ICE raids in the L.A. area and ahead of what is expected to be a third day of protests. (KTLA)

A heavy military presence was seen in downtown Los Angeles early Sunday morning after unrest sparked by ICE raids in the L.A. area and ahead of what is expected to be a third day of protests. (KTLA)

Protests began on Friday after federal agents conducted raids in downtown LA and the Westlake neighborhood, which resulted in more than 40 people being detained, including a local labor union president. The tension continued the next day when ICE officials were seen in Paramount, and large crowds quickly gathered there and in neighboring Compton, where demonstrators set a car on fire.

The unrest spread to downtown by Saturday evening, where protesters clashed with ICE agents outside the Federal Detention Center, where some detainees are believed to be held.

Immigrant advocates, legal representatives, and U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (CA-34) attempted to enter the facility to see those who had been detained during raids but said they were denied entry multiple times.

A protester places debris in a fire as Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stand guard outside an industrial park in Paramount, Calif., on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

In dramatic footage captured by the stringer service Key News Network, a white sedan is fully engulfed by a blaze in the middle of the intersection of Atlantic and Alondra boulevards while groups of onlookers, protestors – some waving Mexican flags – and sheriff’s deputies in riot gear surround the flaming scene. June 2025. (KNN)

The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted a raid in Paramount on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (KTLA)

Protestors threw fireworks as federal officers created a skirmish line to push back protestors gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night over ICE raids happening in SoCal. Gil Leyvas reports from Sky5 on June 7, 2025. (KTLA)

Protestors threw fireworks as federal officers created a skirmish line to push back protestors gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday night over ICE raids happening in SoCal. Gil Leyvas reports from Sky5 on June 7, 2025. (KTLA)

A demonstrator waves an American and Mexican flag during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Law enforcement investigate a car with a person inside during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Law enforcement investigate a car with a person inside during a protest in Compton, Calif., Saturday, June 7, 2025, after federal immigration authorities conducted operations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

The situation has escalated tensions between local, state and federal leaders; President Trump has repeatedly called out L.A. Mayor Bass and California Gov. Gavin Newsom for their handling of the protests.

Newsom called Trump’s move to deploy the National Guard “purposefully inflammatory” and less than ten minutes later, Trump put out a social media post that read: “If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Two arrested on suspicion of assault as three deputies are injured, officials say

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Saturday evening that it had arrested two people as protests raged against a series of immigration enforcement raids that have roiled communities across L.A. County.

The arrests were on suspicion of assault on a peace officer, according to a spokesperson for the department who added that three deputies were struck and sustained minor injuries from a thrown Molotov cocktail.

“We are planning for long-term civil unrest and collaborating with our law enforcement partners,” the spokesperson said on Saturday.

Sheriff’s deputies joined U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in a clash with some of the protesters who had gathered Saturday near a Home Depot in the city of Paramount where day laborers often gather to seek work.

Federal agents deployed flash-bangs and pepper spray during the incident, which prompted the Trump administration to say it would send 2,000 National Guard troops to L.A.

“We will protect your right to peacefully protest, but we will not tolerate violence or destruction of property,” said a statement issued by the sheriff’s department Saturday evening. “I urge the community to approach the situation peacefully, as we do not want anyone to be harmed.”

The department added that “the Sheriff’s Department was not involved in any federal law enforcement operations … When federal authorities come under attack and request assistance, we will support them and provide aid. However, this does not mean that we are assisting with their immigration actions or operations.”

It was “normal operations” at the county’s jails, a department spokesperson said Saturday evening.

“We do not take people in custody for solely for federal charges nor do we take people in for civil detainers. If anyone is booked on a felony state charge we may take them into our custody. Typically, no one who was arrested as part of immigration enforcement would come to our jail.”

On the campaign trail last year, Donald Trump promised that he was not going to tolerate left-wing lawlessness on American streets and would use the full force of his presidential powers in response.

The protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) efforts in California on Saturday night gave him an opening to follow through on that promise.

Never mind that the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) said that the protests were largely peaceful, or that the ones that were more disruptive involved just a few hundred individuals.

Trump administration officials said that immigration agents were being targeted and injured – and that local law enforcement had been too slow to respond.

“Waiting several hours for LAPD to show up – or them telling us that they’re not going to back us up until they have an officer in a dangerous situation – is something that just isn’t workable when you have violent protests going on,” Homeland Security Secretary Kirsty Noem told CBS News on Sunday morning.

The LAPD said it “acted as swiftly as conditions safely allowed” and began dispersing crowds within 55 minutes of receiving the call.

Over California Governor Gavin Newsom’s objection, Trump federalised the 2,000 California National Guard soldiers, and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that US Marines were also on “high alert” to deploy – which would mark a rare use of the active duty military on US soil.

By Sunday morning, Trump was declaring victory and thanking the National Guard for restoring peace, even though the guard had yet to fully assemble.

22:47 (IST) Jun 08

With an uncharacteristically feistiness, Speaker Mike Johnson took clear sides Sunday in President Donald Trump’s breakup with mega-billionaire Elon Musk.

The Republican House leader and staunch Trump ally said Musk’s criticism of the GOP’s massive tax and budget policy bill will not derail the measure, and he downplayed Musk’s influence over the GOP-controlled Congress.

“I didn’t go out to craft a piece of legislation to please the richest man in the world,” Johnson said on ABC’s “This Week.” “What we’re trying to do is help hardworking Americans who are trying to provide for their families and make ends meet,” Johnson insisted.

Johnson said he has exchanged text messages with Musk since the former chief of Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency came out against the GOP bill.

Musk called it an “abomination” that would add to U.S. debts and threaten economic stability. He urged voters to flood Capitol Hill with calls to vote against the measure, which is pending in the Senate after clearing the House. His criticism sparked an angry social media back-and-forth with Trump, who told reporters over the weekend that he has no desire to repair his relationship with Musk.

The speaker was dismissive of Musk’s threats to finance opponents — even Democrats — of Republican members who back Trump’s bill.

“We’ve got almost no calls to the offices, any Republican member of Congress,” Johnson said. “And I think that indicates that people are taking a wait and see attitude. Some who may be convinced by some of his arguments, but the rest understand: this is a very exciting piece of legislation.”

Johnson argued that Musk still believes “that our policies are better for human flourishing. They’re better for the US economy. They’re better for everything that he’s involved in with his innovation and job creation and entrepreneurship.”