LA police chief Jim McDonnell is now taking questions, and he's just been asked about the tactics behind moving protesters on.

He says that the approach is to move a crowd away from where a threat is - for example, if people are throwing rocks or other ammunition at officials.

Police will attempt to disperse the crowd to stop people from being able to do that, and to be able to arrest those individuals.

He adds that authorities are moving the crowd to a place where they can cause the least damage.

We're about to hear from the mayor, so stay with us.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and the LA Police Department Chief Jim McDonnell are on a t press conference now.

McDonnell says LAPD has been put on a tactical alert, and that he is aware that the president "intends to deploy or or has deployed Marines to Los Angeles".

He says this creates logistical challenges and risks confusion, and that Los Angeles authorities have "decades" of experience managing large scale public gatherings.

Stay with us for more updates from the LA officials.

We're hearing from our reporters on the ground that police are moving in on protesters gathered by the federal building in downtown Los Angeles.

To keep up with the scenes currently unfolding, click Watch Live above.

Over on the BBC News channel, we've just been hearing from Jamie Contreras, who is a friend and union colleague of David Huerta.

Contreras says that Huerta, who was arrested on Friday and released on bail this afternoon, is innocent "and we'll prove that in court".

Officials accuse Huerta of deliberately obstructing federal agents during an immigration raid. Huerta said this afternoon he didn't intend to get arrested.

Contreras tells the BBC that the Service Employees International Union California, or SEIU, has instructed its to protest peacefully - and not to interfere with immigration enforcement agents.

Regan Morris
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, BBC/Regan Morris

The crowd is growing in LA.

Protesters are clogging the street, chanting “Get out of LA” at a row of National Guard troops posted outside a federal building which is covered in graffiti.

The guards have riot shields which read “California National Guard” and they’re warning protesters to stay off the property and stick to the sidewalk.

Now they’re chanting “National Guard, Out of LA”.

Image source, BBC/Regan Morris

Image source, Reuters

We've just reviewed Governor Gavin Newsom's lawsuit against President Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Here are some key points from the filing:

• Newsom says Trump violated the Constitution by sending the California National Guard to LA without his approval as head of the state
• He says local authorities had the protests under control on Saturday before Trump evoked emergency powers
• Newsom describes the move as an "unprecedented power grab" that "cost the sovereignty of the state of California"
• The lawsuit says Trump is violating states' rights to control their own militias and determine how their laws should be enforced
• "Defendants have overstepped the bounds of law and are intent on going as far as they can to use the military in unprecedented, unlawful ways," the suit notes.

Alex Lederman
Reporting from Los Angeles

Earlier, I reported that one group of protesters gathered near the federal building here in downtown Los Angeles had been declared an "unlawful assembly".

The rerouted marches have now ed a larger group of protesters, but more police are standing by now.

Flashing police cars still line the bridge while helicopters whirl overhead.

Protesters continue to chant in front of the row of National Guardsmen blocking the federal building, waving American, Mexican and Guatemalan flags, among others.

They're surrounded by graffiti on all the nearby walls filled with expletives.

Chants include "ICE out of LA," "Trump out of LA" and "Shame on you".

California Governor Gavin Newsom says that he's been told Donald Trump is sending another 2,000 National Guard troops to LA.

"This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous president’s ego," he said in a post on X, further claiming that those already on the ground are deprived of food and water.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth confirmed in a post on X that 700 Marines are being deployed to the Los Angeles area.

"We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers - even if Gavin Newsom will not," he says.

Hegseth says the troops are being deployed from Marine Corps base Camp Pendleton, located to the south of LA.

Former Donald Trump advisor Steve Bannon says Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass should be arrested for "interfering with federal authorities".

Speaking to the BBC News channel, the conservative podcast host says sanctuary cities are "completely against federal law" and allow California Governor Gavin Newsom and Bass to "override federal law".

A “sanctuary city” means police are restricted in how much they can co-operate with federal immigration agents - LA is one of these.

Bannon says it's "absolutely the prerogative of the president as commander in chief to do what he did".

For context, Bass has urged the federal government to change tact after President Trump deployed troops to California without the consent of California's governor. She has accused the istration of causing chaos.

The chief of the Los Angeles Police Department says the deployment of Marines to Los Angeles "presents a significant logistical and operational challenge".

In a statement, chief Jim McDonnell says the LAPD has not received any "formal notification" that Marines would be arriving in LA, and says he is confident in the force's experience in managing public demonstrations.

"Our top priority is the safety of both the public and the officers on the ground," he continues.

"We are urging open and continuous lines of communication between all agencies to prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time.”

Alex Lederman
Reporting from Los Angeles

The atmosphere has grown more tense here in LA than it was an hour ago. Authorities have declared the gathering here an unlawful assembly and extra police have arrived.

A row of officers has lined the bridge over the 101 Freeway, clearing all protesters to either side of the over.

This is where demonstrators threw projectiles from yesterday down at police cars below.

The crowd is now gathered in front of the Federal Building a block away, guarded by National Guard troops.

Another group of demonstrators has marched toward police on the other side of the bridge. They have been rerouted in their efforts to fellow protesters across the bridge.

Our livestream is currently showing pictures from this protest - you can follow it via the watch live button at the top of the page.

Christal Hayes
Reporting from Los Angeles

Image source, Reuters

David Huerta, president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), has been released on a $50,000 bond.

Protesters had gathered this afternoon at the detention where he was being held.

His release comes three days after he was arrested amid immigration raids in Los Angeles.

He was detained on Friday after officials say he "deliberately obstructed" federal agents by blocking their vehicle – though the union said Huerta was "peacefully observing" the operation.

After he was released, Huerta was seen hugging his wife and made brief comments to reporters. He appeared emotional and asked for "forgiveness" of the union, saying it was not his intention to be arrested and he hoped he didn't put of the union in harm's way.

California Governor Gavin Newsom says Trump's activation of 700 Marines in the Los Angeles area is a "deranged fantasy".

In a post on X, he says that Marines are "heroes" who "shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfil the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president. This is un-American."

We've just reported that 700 Marines have been activated to the Los Angeles area to "provide continuous coverage of the area".

The statement confirming the deployment, external says the Marines will "seamlessly integrate" with forces on the ground who are protecting "federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area".

The activation is to provide "adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage" of the area "in of the lead federal agency".

Task Force 51 - which comprises of 2,100 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines - are trained in "de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force," the statement adds.

We have now seen confirmation that the US military is activating 700 Marines in the Los Angeles area.

"The activation of the Marines is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in of the lead federal agency," a US military statement says.

Earlier, we reported that the US Marines were on "high alert".

Image source, Reuters

Away from Los Angeles for a moment, let's take a look at the situation in San Francisco, where protests have also been taking place.

San Francisco Police has given an update on the impact of those protests on Sunday. Its acting chief, Paul Yep, says the first amendment right to protest turned into "violence and property destruction".

He also says:

• One officer was treated at the hospital, and has now recovered
• A group of 60 who "refused to disperse" were arrested
• A total of 148 arrests were made throughout Sunday night at "multiple locations", 147 of those were released
• Officers also arrested six minors
• Half of those arrested were San Francisco residents. The other half lived outside the city

John Sudworth
Reporting from Los Angeles

US labour union leader David Huerta, who was detained on Friday, will be arraigned in a court close to the Metropolitan detention centre where many immigrants are being held.

Meanwhile, a few hundred protestors are gathered in a nearby park are here to make their voices heard, and demand his release.

These protest have been fairly peaceful, marred by violent outbursts in pockets of the city.

But for the first time in 60 years, the National Guard has been deployed against the wishes of a national governor.

Local political leaders, who believe the deployment is purely for political effect, are repeatedly calling for calm.

They fear the clashes play into the president's narrative, as the violence becomes the focus of the news coverage.

It's now afternoon in Los Angeles, where downtown we are seeing photos of a rally against the detention of US labour union leader David Huerta.

Huerta was arrested during an ICE operation on Friday and is scheduled to appear in court today.

Huerta is president of the California branch of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), who officials said "deliberately obstructed" federal agents by blocking their vehicle.

The union said Huerta was "peacefully observing" the operation.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters