Chaotic scenes unfolded on Friday night in Los Angeles as protesters carrying Mexican and American flags clashed with police while demonstrating against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

Protesters stormed the outside of a federal prison in downtown Los Angeles and came face-to-face with police officers, who protected themselves behind shields before unleashing pepper balls and tear gas. 

One dramatic image depicted a protester striking an officer’s shield with a skateboard. Another revealed police firing non-lethal rounds at protesters in an effort to disperse them.  

The Los Angeles Police Department issued a warning just before 9pm, ordering all protesters near Union Station to disperse within 10 minutes.

Officers then infiltrated the scene and said they were met with bottles and rocks hurled at them, according to the LAPD’s social media account. 

LAPD Central Division announced a ‘tactical alert’ after federal authorities were hit with debris, bottles, and other objects.

As the night continued, the LAPD arrested ‘violent agitators’ who were allegedly ‘fighting with officers,’ one of whom was accused of ‘using a sling shot to shoot hard metal objects at officers who were standing on the line.’

Mayor Karen Bass later confirmed that five people were arrested during the dramatic confrontation. The LAPD told Daily Mail on Saturday afternoon that the arrests increased to eight, six for failure to disperse, one for assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, and one for violating curfew. 

Bass urged protesters in the city to remain peaceful during a press conference on Friday, adding that violence was ‘exactly what I believe this administration wants to see happen.’  

‘I think the protests are extremely important, but it is equally important for these protests to be peaceful, for vandalism not to take place,’ she said. 

‘That does not impact the administration in any kind of way that is going to bring about any type of change.’

Protesters told the Los Angeles Times that officers positioned themselves on the roof and fired off non-lethal rounds, deploying a green and yellow irritant that created a large cloud. 

Many of the protesters were seen in gas masks as some covered their eyes and fled the scene. 

Obscene messages were written on the front of the Metropolitan Detention Center, and protesters were seen pushing a large red dumpster to barricade themselves from police. 

One of the demonstrators, Yamilet Segundo, 19, told the Los Angeles Times: ‘I told my friends we should come out after school to use our voice, but I wasn’t expecting to see this.

‘It’s honestly really sad to see that it reached this point. I’m kind of nervous now because it seems like it’s getting violent.’

Another protester, Phil Swift, 22, told the publication that he was at the front of the crowd when LAPD officers sprayed tear gas directly into his eyes.

Bass doubled down on her message to refrain from violence later in the evening, writing on X: ‘Peaceful protest is a constitutional right. 

‘I urge Angelenos to exercise that right safely and not give this administration an excuse to escalate. Los Angeles stands together.’

Democratic Representative Maxine Waters had joined the demonstration earlier in the evening, defending the protesters from officers. 

‘What I see here at the detention center are people exercising their constitutional rights,’ Waters said, as reported by local Fox affiliate, Fox 11. 

‘And of course, they’re now trying to tear gas everybody. It’s in the air, but people are not moving.’

Before the chaos unfolded in front of a federal prison, protesters demonstrated peacefully throughout the day across Los Angeles. 

The demonstrators were part of a nationwide ICE Out initiative to oppose federal immigration raids. 

On Friday, many participated in a ‘national shutdown’ by refusing to spend money or go to work to send a message to the Trump administration.

Thousands of people took to the streets in Minneapolis for the second week in a row.  

The city has been caught in the crosshairs of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration. 

ICE raids have escalated to deadly degrees this month, as two Minneapolis residents, nurse Alex Pretti and mother, Renee Good, were fatally shot by federal agents. 

Protests are expected to continue throughout the weekend as local and state representatives have repeatedly called on the president to decrease the raids and de-escalate tensions.