Authorities make first wave of charges; L.A. enacts curfew.

By Nathaniel Percy | SCNG

The first wave of criminal charges against violent offenders during protests over immigration enforcement were announced Wednesday as local authorities continue their attempts to curb violence as the protests entered a sixth day in downtown Los Angeles and other parts of Southern California.

The announcement of charges came a day after Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew in part of downtown from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. to prevent violence, vandalism and looting that had victimized businesses in previous days. That curfew may continue for the next several days.

Federal authorities announced charges against four men - two in Los Angeles County accused of possessing destructive devices during protests in Paramount and L.A., and two in Orange County accused of assaulting federal officers during a protest in Santa Ana.

Later in the afternoon, Los Angeles County District Attorney Nathan Hochman announced charges against eight people accused of either attacking peace officers, looting or vandalism. The district attorney said several more cases were likely to be brought in the coming weeks.

"Those who haven't been caught, I have bad news foryou, there are cameras everywhere," Hochman said. "We will know who you are.... We will track you down."

One case against a Gardena man includes counts of assault on a peace officer, resisting arrest and advocating violence on a peace officer. The man allegedly passed out commercial-grade fireworks during a Sunday protest that were later used against officers.

Another case included counts of assault on a peace officer against two people accused of riding motorcycles into officers, Hochman said.

A third included charges of assault with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a felon, and reckless driving against a man who did doughnuts in his minivan and injured people, the D.A. said.

In all, the Los Angeles Police Department made 203 arrests for failure to disperse during Tuesday's protests. An additional 17 were for curfew violations.

Those numbers were much higher than the arrest totals from previous days. Prior to Tuesday, the highest arrest total was from Sunday night into Monday, when the LAPD, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the California Highway Patrol made more than 40 arrests combined.

By late Wednesday morning, downtown Los Angeles had mostly settled into its usual rhythm - joggers passed by, buses rumbled along their routes and workers chatted on their cellphones as they moved through the streets.

At a glance, the scene looked routine. But a closer look revealed signs of unease: a heavy police presence around public buildings such as City Hall and LAPD's headquarters, patrol cars stationed on nearly every block, helicopters circling overhead and fresh graffiti scrawled across walls and bus stops left behind from nights of protest.

"Everyone is a little worried, some tensions around, but everyone is just going about their business as usual," saidAlexis Lueva, a Boyle Heights resident waiting for bus near City Hall.

Authorities said they are there to support protesters' First Amendment rights.

"(But) when theyweaponize that right by assaulting peace officers, it is no longer a protest, that is a crime and that will not be tolerated," Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said.

"There's a big distinction between individuals that protest and demonstrate (and those who are) violent, destructive anarchists who create that chaos," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said. "They don't care about the issue at hand."

L.A. police officers enforced Bass' curfew starting Tuesday evening, making arrests moments after it took effect while deploying officers on horseback and using crowd-control projectiles to break up a group of hundreds of people demonstrating against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

Members of the National Guard stood watch behind plastic shields but did not appear to participate in the arrests. Hours later, many of the protesters dispersed, although sporadic confrontations continued that were much smaller, and much calmer, than in previous nights.

There have been various protests in recent days in Southern California, with the largest ones in downtown Los Angeles. The curfew covers 1 square mile that includes where protests have occurred since Friday. The city encompasses roughly 500 square miles.

Also on Wednesday, Bass, with mayors from more than 30 other cities behind her, renewed her call for President Donald Trump to stop federal immigration enforcement raids in the region. Bass again said the unrest taking place in Southern California was provoked by the White House and that last week "everything was peaceful."

Bass said instead of targeting criminals, the raids were instead being carried out at Home Depot stores, other day labor locations and near schools, targeting mothers and fathers and everyday Angelenos trying to earn a living.

"When you run armored caravans through out streets, you're not trying to keep anyone safe," she said. "You're trying to cause fear and panic, and when you start deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids, it is a drastic and chaotic escalation and completely unnecessary."

Staff writer Teresa Liu contributed to this report.