The Los Angeles Police Department has declared all of downtown as an unlawful assembly, telling all demonstrators to leave the area immediately. "Downtown Los Angeles has been declared as an UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY. You are to leave the Downtown Area immediately," police said on X.

Mass protests are taking place today in more than 2,000 cities and towns across the United States in opposition to the Trump administration’s fascist assault on immigrants and its escalating drive to establish a presidential dictatorship.

The protest comes before leaders vote on whether or not to pass a budget that is expected to lock new undocumented immigrants out of Medi-Cal.

Snopes has fact-checked many claims that have spread related to the protests, such as whether videos show a man committing several acts of violence, whether the California Democratic Party bought pallets of bricks for LA protesters ( originated as satire ), and whether a Craigslist ad proved the protests were orchestrated.

Given the sharp divides in public opinion over the protests, and the deportations that sparked them, Big Tech is steering clear of a combustible situation. “Anything that increases the tension around immigration will just make it harder for tech,” said Nu Wexler, a consultant who formerly worked in policy communications for Facebook and Google.

LAist reporters witnessed LAPD officers firing less-lethal munitions into crowds and taunting protestors from a helicopter. State law and a federal court order restrict the use of crowd dispersal weapons unless specific criteria are met.

Saturday marks the first full day of Marines on duty in Los Angeles, one week after protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids ignited in LA.

Franchesca Olivas drove two hours alone from Hemet to attend the anti-ICE demonstration this week outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles. She was carrying an upside-down American flag attached to the Mexican flag because she’s half-white and half-Mexican.