Tensions in Los Angeles escalated Sunday as thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to President Donald Trump’s extraordinary deployment of the National Guard, blocking off a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd.

 

Associated Press White Hour reporter Chris Megerian says the president’s decision clashes with the wishes of California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom.

 

“California Governor Gavin Newsom does not want the National Guard there. He has rejected Trump's approach to the protest. He says that California can handle it on their own, and he wants to rescind their deployment. However, Trump seems not interested in listening to what he wants, and is pushing forward,” Megerian said.

 

Megerian also notes that what Trump is doing by sending in the National Guard is rare.

 

“It's very unusual for a president to deploy the National Guard over the objections of a state's governor. This was used during the civil rights era when the U.S. President deployed the National Guard to integrate schools in the south over the objectives of governors there. But this is a far different situation, and it really shows how Trump is using the full extent of his powers to try to push his agenda forward,” Megerian said.