Los Angeles police order protesters to disperse as Trump deploys troops

Police ordered the public to disperse from downtown Los Angeles after further unrest, with cars torched and security forces firing tear gas at protesters, in the wake of President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to America's second-biggest city.

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Protests in Los Angeles, home to a large Latino population, broke out on June 6, triggered by immigration raids that resulted in dozens of arrests of what the authorities say are illegal migrants and gang members.

Critics say the US President - who has made clamping down on illegal migration a key pillar of his second term - was deliberately stoking tensions with his deployment of California's National Guard, a stand-by military usually controlled by the state governor.

Demonstrators told AFP the purpose of the troops did not appear to be to keep order, with one calling it an "intimidation tactic".

"You have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our First Amendment rights," protester Thomas Henning said.

California Governor Gavin Newsom called Mr Trump's order a "serious breach of state sovereignty" and demanded the President rescind the order and "return control to California".

He also urged protesters to stay peaceful, warning that those who instigate violence will be arrested.

"Don't take Trump's bait," he said on social media platform X.