Police arrest more than 20 people on first night of curfew aimed at protests in downtown Los Angeles

Source: AP

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Police arrested more than 20 people, mostly on curfew violations, on the first night of restrictions in downtown Los Angeles and used crowd-control projectiles to break up hundreds of protesters demonstrating against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, officials said Wednesday.

But there were fewer clashes between police and demonstrators than on previous nights, and by daybreak the downtown streets were bustling with residents walking dogs and commuters clutching coffee cups.

Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators looking to cause trouble after five days of protests, which have mostly been concentrated downtown.

The curfew covers a 1-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometer) section that includes an area where protests have occurred since Friday in the sprawling city of 4 million. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (1,295 square kilometers).

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/los-angeles-protests-ice-national-guard-f39ba39287f628ce8c8be47c92ea6147