California governor calls Trump's military move a 'brazen abuse of power' as L.A. curfew begins

The speech came shortly before an all-night curfew imposed by Mayor Karen Bass took effect at 8 p.m. in downtown Los Angeles, forcing crowds to mostly disperse from areas where police and protesters have clashed for days.

As tensions flared in Los Angeles, protests across the United States also intensified on Tuesday, with larger and more forceful demonstrations reported in several cities.

In downtown Chicago, some demonstrators threw water bottles at police officers and vandalized at least two vehicles. Meanwhile, in New York, police officers made arrests near federal buildings in Lower Manhattan.

In Atlanta, officers used chemical agents and physical force to remove protesters from a highway, indicating a rise in confrontations between law enforcement and demonstrators.

Back in Los Angeles, National Guard troops accompanied federal immigration officers on raids throughout the city on Tuesday. California officials had tried to prevent these actions through an emergency court order that would restrict military troops to guarding a complex of federal buildings downtown, where protesters have been gathering.

Addressing the situation, President Trump, speaking to troops in North Carolina earlier on Tuesday, referred to Los Angeles as "a trash heap" and pledged to "liberate" the city.

According to The New York Times, nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and Marines have already been deployed in the Los Angeles area. As night fell, a U.S. official stated that the Trump administration was in talks to send military troops to other cities beyond Los Angeles.

With unrest spreading, more protests are planned for Wednesday in cities such as Seattle, St. Louis and Indianapolis. President Trump warned that protesters in these locations would be met with "equal or greater force" than those in Los Angeles.

In response, a federal judge in California has scheduled a hearing for Thursday afternoon on the state's request to limit the federal government's use of Marines and National Guard troops in the Los Angeles area, restricting their role to protecting federal property.

California has also filed a lawsuit against the administration over its decision to take control of the state's National Guard and deploy troops to the city.

Amid the turmoil, officials reported that hundreds of people have been arrested since Friday in at least five cities--including more than 330 in Los Angeles, over 240 in San Francisco and a dozen in Austin, Texas.

While tensions have run high, the protests have largely remained confined to limited areas in each city.

The New York Times also reported that misleading photographs and videos related to the protests have been widely circulated on social media, reviving old conspiracy theories and backing President Trump's actions.

This wave of disinformation appears to be aimed at fueling outrage toward immigrants and political leaders, especially Democrats while further complicating the situation in Los Angeles.

President Trump, addressing reporters on Tuesday, also issued a warning against protests at a military parade scheduled for Saturday in Washington. While he acknowledged peaceful protest as a constitutional right, he cautioned, "for those people that want to protest, they're going to be met with very big force." (ANI)