Thousands of protesters filled the streets.

LOS ANGELES, BRATISLAVA. For US President Donald Trump, it is a controversial way to demonstrate military power in a state controlled by Democrats.

However, the call-up of National Guard units in Los Angeles against unrest sparked by raids by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents may further escalate the situation - and, according to CNN, lead to even more aggressive steps by the Trump administration.

Thousands of angry Los Angeles residents filled the city's streets on Sunday, blocking a freeway and shouting"we are not afraid!", reports the newspaper The Guardian.

Trump, who experts say is trying to squeeze political capital out of the situation, has defended his response to the events in California."Order will be restored, illegal immigrants will be deported, Los Angeles will be liberated," he said on the social network Truth Social on Sunday.

The president has been waiting for this fight, according to The New York Times, as he fights for his political agenda in a Democratic state. By circumventing the authority of California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, Trump is deliberately pushing the boundaries of his powers in order to establish more assertive governance.

While covering the Los Angeles protests, a police officer shot and killed journalist Lauren Tomasi on live TV. Footage shows him aiming at Tomasi.

Breaking the norms

California authorities did not ask the federal government for help in quelling the unrest over the weekend. But the Trump administration has portrayed the demonstrations as an existential threat to the United States and called in the National Guard to quell protests against immigration deportations, leading to a wave of new protests.

As the number of protesters increased, Trump's rhetoric escalated. He said on social media that Los Angeles was being attacked and occupied by violent rioting mobs. He later ordered his cabinet to liberate Los Angeles from the migrant invasion.

Law enforcement used tear gas and rubber bullets against protesters over the weekend, while a few demonstrators attacked with fireworks or Molotov cocktails.

However, as time went on, rioters also appeared on the scene, setting electric cars on fire and smashing store windows. Trump immediately condemned the situation."Bring in the troops!" he also wrote.

California Governor Newsom urged protesters to remain calm and reminded those engaging in rioting that Trump was merely using them as an excuse to militarize the city and circumvent democracy.

Trump's decision to send 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles is, according to The New York Times, the latest example of the US president's willingness to break norms to achieve his political goals and circumvent the limitations of the office he holds.

Trump criticized the governor of Minnesota in 2020 for his response to protests that erupted after the death of George Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for nine minutes during an arrest.

Trump has since said several times that he would not hesitate to deploy National Guard troops in the future. And while state governors typically have control over National Guard units, the Trump administration completely bypassed Newsom over the weekend. He then accused the federal government of deliberately creating chaos to escalate tensions.

War with the Democrats

In recent days, 118 people have been arrested in Los Angeles. The protests against ICE come as the US government pushes to increase the number of immigrants detained, with Trump reportedly proposing up to 3,000 arrests per day.

Newsom sent a letter to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Sunday asking Trump to cancel the call-up of the National Guard, saying federal action would escalate the situation.

According to Democrats, the growing demonstrations are the result of Trump's own actions.

The New York Times warns that Trump is using a similar approach against the state of California to that he uses against American universities. Like Californian authorities, they are threatened with a cutoff of federal funding.

By sending troops without Newsom's permission, Trump is also escalating his dispute with the California governor, who is one of the most prominent Democrats. CNN reports that this may be a warning to other Democratic states that may become victims of the Trump administration if they do not cooperate with the US president.

The US president has deployed the National Guard for the first time since 1992, when riots broke out in Los Angeles after the acquittal of four white police officers accused of brutally attacking black driver Rodney King. At that time, former US President George H. W. Bush used National Guard units.

However, this is the first time since 1965 that a US president has activated the National Guard without a request from the state's governor. The last time this happened was when former US President Lyndon B. Johnson sent National Guard troops to Alabama to protect civil rights protesters.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Saturday that it was a necessary step prompted by the failure of California authorities to protect federal ICE agents and their own citizens.

However, CNN adds that the deployment of National Guard units to Los Angeles may also signal an effort to mask a confrontation between the US president and billionaire Elon Musk or doubts about the bill, which, according to estimates by the Congressional Budget Office, will increase the US deficit by more than two trillion dollars over the next ten years.

The situation is also being exacerbated by Hegseth, who claims that the Trump administration could send Marines to the streets of Los Angeles. This would be an illegal act if Trump did not invoke the Insurrection Act. However, Trump said on Sunday that he was not yet ready to invoke such a decision.