US politics live: ‘Disgusting’ LA scenes ‘getting worse, more violent’

The LA Police Chief did not mince words when it came to the violence his officers are facing as the city battles through another dark chapter.

Welcome back to our coverage of US politics.

The focus today is on mass protests in Los Angeles, where the tensions between demonstrators and law enforcement are threatening to spiral out of control - and an Australian reporter has been caught in the crossfire.

Channel 9 correspondent Lauren Tomasi was reporting live on the protests when police shot her with a rubber bullet, causing her to recoil in pain.

“You just f***in’ shot the reporter!” a voice off camera shouted in true Australian fashion.

It was one incident of minor violence among many.

Yesterday President Donald Trump ordered the National Guard to intervene, against the wishes of Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who felt it would needlessly inflame the situation.

Today Mr Newsom has formally demanded the National Guard be withdrawn.

Meanwhile, protesters have gathered in high numbers, first outside an immigration detention centre and then in other parts of the city centre. At one point a mass of people blocked one of LA’s major freeways, stopping traffic in both directions.

The local police department has declared parts of the protests unlawful, and announced that multiple arrests have been made.

“I have formally requested the Trump administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles County and return them to my command,” Mr Newsom said.

“We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty, inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.

“Rescind the order. Return control to California.”

Mr Trump, meanwhile, has not ruled out sending in US Marines if the situation deteriorates.

Read on for the latest updates.

Originally published as US politics live: ‘Disgusting’ LA scenes ‘getting worse, more violent’