LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass ended a curfew in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. It was initially set in place due to confrontations with police and incidents of vandalism amidst protests against President Donald Trump’s immigration policies.
The curfew, which began on June 10, successfully helped prevent crime and protect stores, restaurants, businesses, and residents from vandalism, according to Bass, a Democrat.
On Monday, the mayor shortened the curfew hours due to a decrease in arrests during evening protests and noted that there was less violence and vandalism in the downtown area following the demonstrations.
When the curfew was imposed, Bass said the city “reached a tipping point” after 23 businesses were broken into and robbed, which was blamed on agitators looking to cause trouble.
The curfew covered a relatively tiny slice of the sprawling city — a 1-square-mile (2.5 square kilometer) section of downtown that includes the area where protests have occurred.
Last week, Trump ordered the deployment of roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the second-largest U.S. city following protests over his stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws.
On Sunday, Trump directed federal immigration officials to prioritize deportations from Democratic-run cities, a move that comes after large protests erupted in Los Angeles and other major cities against his administration’s immigration policies.
