Trump directs ICE to expand deportations in Democratic-run cities, including Los Angeles

Masked ICE agents attempted to arrest a man in Downey during one of three reported raids Wednesday morning, but they let him go after community members intervened.

In a video obtained by Eyewitness News, the man is seen on the ground next to his bike surrounded by federal police.

Community members filmed the attempted arrest and after calling out the federal agents, the man was let go.

According to Downey councilman Mario Trujillo, the man was working when he noticed ICE was at his job. He immediately started riding his bike toward the apartments.

That's when one of the agents stopped him by grabbing one of the tires, causing him to fall to the ground.

People began shouting for the agents to leave him alone and told the man not to sign anything.

Moments later, the agents let the man go and left.

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As demonstrations continue in Los Angeles and spread to other cities across California and the nation, watch the video for a timeline on how the conflict has unfolded.

About 700 Marines are still undergoing civil disturbance training at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in Orange County, said Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, head of the task force that's overseeing the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles.

Sherman wouldn't speculate about when the Marines might join the 2,000 or so Guard troops that have been deployed in downtown areas to protect federal buildings during sometimes violent demonstrations against President Trump's immigration crackdown.

"Our mission is to protect federal agencies, our federal partners, their personnel, as they conduct their federal mission," Sherman said.

Another 2,000 Guard soldiers are on duty and stationed at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.

- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

An immigrant in Los Angeles has been charged with one count of assault of a federal employee for allegedly spitting on an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer.

The Department of Justice announced on Wednesday that the suspect, Omar Pulido Bastida, 41, faces a statutory maximum sentence of eight years in federal prison for the alleged crime.

The incident happened earlier this week when the officer was executing a warrant for Bastida's arrest, according to the DOJ. Bastida allegedly spat at the officer through an iron security gate on his door.

ICE officials eventually forced entry into the residence and arrested Bastida.

"This defendant found out the hard way: When you spit, we hit - with a felony charge," said United States Attorney Bill Essayli. "Law enforcement officers risk their lives and safety to uphold the law. To treat them with disrespect, like this defendant did, mocks our great nation and such behavior will be punished accordingly."