'No Kings' protests: Tensions rise in LA as crowd hurls concrete, police allege

President Donald Trump and his administration officials warned that the use of the military in response to protests against his immigration crackdown may not be limited to just Los Angeles, saying it could be the first "of many" -- and that protesters could be met with "equal or greater force."

Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that his administration was going to enforce its deportation policy strictly and that it would not tolerate violent protests against ICE officers.

"This is the first, perhaps, of many," Trump said of the deployment of 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to Los Angeles as demonstrators clash with law enforcement amid the protests.

Demonstrators have clashed with law enforcement sporadically for days, and Trump called in the National Guard, against Gov. Gavin Newsom's wishes, in an attempt to quell the violence and allow immigration enforcement to continue.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said President Donald Trump is "pulling a military dragnet" across Los Angeles during a brief public address on Tuesday.

The Democratic governor's remarks come after Trump ordered the deployment of nearly 5,000 troops, including National Guard and Marines, to the nation's second-largest city. They were deployed to protect federal buildings but are now also protecting immigration agents as they carry out arrests.

Newsom said Trump's immigration crackdown has gone well beyond arresting criminals and that "dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses" are among those being detained.

He said Trump's decision to deploy the California National Guard without his support should be a warning to other states.

"California may be first - but it clearly won't end here," Newsom said.

Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday "to stop the vandalism, to stop the looting."

She said in a news conference that she had declared a local emergency and that the curfew will run from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

"We reached a tipping point" after 23 businesses were looted, Bass said.

National Guard troops began protecting immigration agents as they made arrests in Los Angeles on Tuesday, an expansion of their duties that had been limited to protecting federal property.

Photos posted Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement show National Guard troops standing guard around officers as they made arrests.

ICE said in a statement that the troops were "providing perimeter and personnel protection for our facilities and officers who are out on daily enforcement operations." The change moves troops closer to engaging in law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised.

U.S. officials said earlier Tuesday that the Guard members were authorized to provide protection and secure streets and perimeters around areas where enforcement actions are taking place. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss military operations, said the Guard members are not participating in any of the enforcement actions, but were providing security in missions in the Los Angeles area.