L.A. Anti-ICE Demonstrations Calm After Curfew, More Arrests. Trump Praises U.S. Military.

The anti-ICE demonstrations and riots that broke out in Los Angeles County nearly a week ago calmed down on Wednesday night after L.A. Democratic Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew and local law enforcement officers moved in to arrest any demonstrators who defied the order.

Bass issued a curfew on Tuesday and Wednesday night from 8:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. for most of downtown L.A. to prevent any further violence or vandalism, The Los Angeles Times reported. An unlawful assembly was declared at 6:25 p.m. on Wednesday, and LAPD officers moved in to disperse the crowd, firing rubber bullets at 7:00 p.m. and causing many of the demonstrators to flee the scene. Thirty minutes later, the LAPD began arresting anyone who remained in the curfew zone downtown, which was around a few dozen protesters, according to the Times.

In a Thursday morning social media post, President Donald Trump took credit for the calmer nights of protests, praising the National Guard and the Marines, whom he deployed to L.A., for putting “L.A. Police in a position to effectively do their job.”

“Los Angeles was safe and sound for the last two nights. Our great National Guard, with a little help from the Marines, put the L.A. Police in a position to effectively do their job,” Trump wrote. “They all worked well together, but without the Military, Los Angeles would be a crime scene like we haven’t seen in years.”

Trump then ripped California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, saying that he “had totally lost control of the situation.”

“He should be saying THANK YOU for saving his ass, instead of trying to justify his mistakes and incompetence!!!” the president added.

L.A. Police Chief Jim McDonnell told “CBS Mornings” on Wednesday that the National Guard is not assisting local authorities with street protests or riot control.

“That’s not our understanding. They have a different mission,” McDonnell said. “They’re working in support of the federal agencies that are working with ICE on civil immigration enforcement and criminal immigration enforcement.” He added, “We don’t need the National Guard, and they are not here to help us right now.”

Mayor Bass told PBS on Wednesday that her curfews “absolutely” helped prevent more rioting in the downtown area.

“Last night was the first night of the curfew,” Bass said about the Tuesday night order. “And I will tell you, over 100 people were arrested, but they were arrested for failure to disperse and violating curfew, no violence, no vandalism. And so that is different than the night before.”

Bass continued to criticize Trump over the deployment of the National Guard, calling it “completely unwarranted” and arguing that Trump’s action provoked the rioting.

“No one asked for that help. You were talking about minor protests, but every time you do something like this, you provoke the population even further,” she said. “They are angry because of the raids, they are angry because of the National Guard being here, and now they are really going to be angry if the troops come in.”

Trump has called out both Bass and Newsom for how they handled the rioting over the weekend, when federal, state, and local law enforcement officers were attacked by agitators and buildings were vandalized and damaged. Earlier this week, the president accused the mayor and governor of lying “to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are peaceful protests.’”

As the authorities quell the violence in L.A., the Trump administration continues to conduct immigration raids throughout Southern California. The White House said on Wednesday that since last week, 330 suspected illegal immigrants in the Los Angeles area have been detained, 113 of whom had past criminal convictions. Immigration agents have targeted businesses, including at least five car washes in Los Angeles and Orange Counties, arresting dozens of suspected illegal immigrants, according to the Times.