Los Angeles leaders impose curfew as protests against Trump's immigration crackdown continue

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles leaders imposed a downtown curfew Tuesday on the fifth day of protests against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown as his use of the National Guard escalated and the governor accused him of drawing a “military dragnet” across the nation's second-largest city.

Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents, with some guardsmen now standing in protection around agents as they carried out arrests. He said it would only heighten tensions and promote civil unrest. The judge chose not to rule immediately, giving the administration several days to continue those activities before a hearing Thursday.

The change moves troops closer to engaging in law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised as part of his administration’s immigration crackdown. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers but any arrests ultimately would be made by law enforcement.

Trump has activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders, though the Marines have not yet been spotted in Los Angeles and Guard troops have had limited engagement with protesters. They were originally deployed to protect federal buildings.

As the curfew went into effect, a police helicopter flew over downtown federal buildings that have been the center of protests and ordered people to leave the area. Riot police on horses and foot surrounded a group of a few hundred that had gathered in the area, shouting: “Move!” Most of the protesters scattered, with some regrouping and refusing orders to disperse.

Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators looking to cause trouble.

Demonstrations have spread to other cities nationwide, including Dallas and Austin, Texas, Chicago and New York, where a thousand people rallied and multiple arrests were made.

In Texas, where police in Austin used chemical irritants to disperse several hundred demonstrators Monday, Republican Gov. Greg Abbott’s office said Texas National Guard troops were “on standby" in areas where demonstrations are planned, Abbott spokesperson Andrew Mahaleris said Tuesday evening.

Guard members were deployed to San Antonio, according to assistant police chief Jesse Salame. He said he did not know how many were sent or details on the deployment.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass declared a local emergency and said the curfew will run from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

“We reached a tipping point” after 23 businesses were looted, Bass said during a news conference.

The curfew covers a 1 square mile (2.5 square kilometer) section of downtown that includes the area where protests have occurred since Friday. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (nearly 2,300 square kilometers).

The curfew doesn’t apply to residents who live in the designated area, people who are homeless, credentialed media or public safety and emergency officials, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.

McDonnell said “unlawful and dangerous behavior” had been escalating since Saturday.

“The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city,” McDonnell said.

Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. It's one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a U.S. president.

“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see,” he said from the Oval Office.

Later the president called protesters “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg ostensibly to recognize the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth.

In a public address Tuesday evening, Newsom called Trump’s actions the start of an “assault” on democracy.

“California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next,” he said.

Newsom warned people against inciting violence, but urged them to stand up to the president's actions.

“What Donald Trump wants most is your fealty, your silence. To be complicit in this moment," he said. “Do not give it to him.”

The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.

The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated downtown in the city of 4 million. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids.

Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting ICE present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action and some have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom.

McDonnell said that police had made 197 arrests on Tuesday, including 67 who were taken into custody for unlawfully occupying part of the 101 freeway.

Several businesses were broken into Monday, though authorities didn't say if the looting was tied to the protests.

The vast majority of arrests have been for failing to disperse, while a few others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting, vandalism and attempted murder for tossing a Molotov cocktail. Seven police officers were reportedly injured, and at least two were taken to a hospital and released.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Tuesday that the use of troops inside the U.S. will continue to expand.

The Pentagon said deploying the National Guard and Marines costs $134 million.

Baldor and Copp reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Dorany Pineda and Christopher Weber in Los Angeles, Amy Taxin in Orange County, California, John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, Jim Vertuno in Austin, Texas, Hallie Golden in Seattle, and Greg Bull in Seal Beach, California, contributed to this report.

Los Angeles Police Department officers on horseback move through a street during a protest on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Protesters march along a street Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Santa Ana, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

California Highway Patrol officers clash with protesters on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

California National Guard guard the Federal Building on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Protesters gather to denounce ICE, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, operations Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo Damian Dovarganes)

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during an address on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Office of California Governor via AP)

The California National Guard arrives to stand watch outside the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., Tuesday, June 10, 2025, after Monday's protests against President Trump's ICE raids resulted in violence. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP)

Workers remove graffiti from the Ronald Reagan Federal Building and Courthouse in Santa Ana, Calif., Tuesday, June 10, 2025, after Monday's protests against President Trump's ICE raids resulted in violence. (Mindy Schauer/The Orange County Register via AP)

Protesters gather to denounce ICE, U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement, operations Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo Damian Dovarganes)

U.S. National Guard stand protect buildings Tuesday, June 10, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo Damian Dovarganes)

Law enforcement officers in riot gear patrol a street near Los Angeles City Hall in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A protester waves a National Flag of El Salvador in front of a line of California National Guard in front of Federal Building on Monday, June 9, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A convoy of buses moves along Interstate Highway 10 after leaving the Marine Corps base in Twentynine Palms, Calif, Monday, June 9, 2025, near Redlands, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

A person displaying multiple flags walks past a burning car during protests over the Trump administration's immigration raids in Los Angeles, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Cleanup continues after a night of protests in downtown Los Angeles, Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (AP Photo Damian Dovarganes)

Los Angeles police officers with batons and riot gear attempt to move back protesters in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

An injured protester is tended to by another during protests over the Trump administration's immigration raids in Los Angeles, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

A person displaying multiple flags walks past a burning car during protests over the Trump administration's immigration raids in Los Angeles, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Protesters jump over a fence to avoid being kettled by police during protests over the Trump administration's immigration raids in Los Angeles, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Los Angeles police department personnel fire non-lethal rounds at protesters on Monday, June 9, 2025, in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo Jae Hong)

A person who was wearing a MAGA hat, according to witnesses, is confronted by a group of protesters after he was chased down in downtown Los Angeles, Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Protesters confront Los Angeles police department personnel in riot gear in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A protester offers a flower to Los Angeles police officers in riot gear while they attempt to clear a street in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo Jae Hong)

A protester taunts a line of California National Guard protecting a federal building in downtown Los Angeles on Monday, June 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

A protester throws a scooter at a police vehical near the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night's immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

People take cover as a fire work explodes during a protest near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope)

Protesters clash with authorities in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night's immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)

Protesters clasp hands in front of a line of California National Guard, Monday, June 9, 2025, at a Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo Jae Hong)

Protesters confront police on the 101 Freeway near the Metropolitan Detention Center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night's immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)