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

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass sat down with Eyewitness News for a one-on-one interview on Sunday, where she said she anticipates the downtown curfew to continue for a few days.

Bass said she spent time Saturday watching the "No Kings" protests from a helicopter above the city. She said she went by all 15 locations that had protests, where everything remained peaceful until the sun set in downtown L.A.

"There were 20,000 to 30,000 people there. It was overwhelmingly peaceful," Bass said. "In all of those folks, you would have imagined there would have been hundreds of arrests... There were five arrests, but about 35 people received citations, which is about equivalent to a ticket. "

Bass said she hopes the number of people involved in vandalism and curfew violations downtown will taper off over the next couple of days. She is continuing to monitor the need and effectiveness of the curfew daily.

The nightly curfew has been from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. in a one-mile section of downtown.

Meanwhile, Bass maintains that ongoing ICE raids across the city are having a negative impact on the economy, keeping people at home and sparking anger and fear.

"Today is Father's Day, and there are missing fathers around our city. There are families who don't know where their fathers are, they don't know if they are still in the country, had no opportunity to interact with them or know how they're doing, don't know where they are," Bass said. "Their legal counsel has not been able to access them."

Despite criticism from some, Bass said business owners downtown reached out to her office directly, asking for the curfew to be put in place. She reminded residents that if you have plans downtown, such as a restaurant reservation or tickets for an event, you can still go. She said law enforcement knows the difference between people trying to live their lives and people going downtown to cause mayhem.

Bass said she has submitted a request to speak to President Donald Trump, but has not heard back.

A person carrying a gun was arrested at the "No Kings Day" protest in Huntington Beach on Saturday afternoon.

Eduardo Pineda was arrested after yelling at a pedestrian and threatening to knock that person out in the middle of the street, according to the Huntington Beach Police Department. That confrontation happened just a few blocks from the pier.

He was also carrying a loaded handgun.

Police later learned that Pineda had warrants out for his arrest and is a convicted felon, which means he's not allowed to possess a firearm.

Some Southern California churches are concerned that recent ICE raids could keep people from gathering for Sunday service. Some perishes are now offering virtual services.

That includes Downey Memorial Christian Church, where ICE took someone into custody on church property last week.

Reverend Tanya Lopez said it all unfolded in the parking lot area of the church and called the incident unacceptable. However, she insisted it will not deter them from coming together to worship.

Lopez also said the service will be streamed on Facebook and said there are also options to watch via Zoom.

At Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Lincoln Heights, service got underway as normal and there were no plans to livestream it yet.

The Los Angeles Police Department made dozens of arrests Saturday, when tens of thousands of people descended on the downtown area to protest the Trump administration's policies in a series of nationwide demonstrations.

Thirty-five people were arrested for curfew violations, one for failure to disperse, one for resisting, obstructing or delaying a police officer, and one for resisting arrest, according to the department.

Three officers were injured, police added, but details on the extent of those injuries were not provided.

Since the daily demonstrations began on June 7 to protest federal immigration raids in the Los Angeles area, the LAPD has arrested 561 people related to protest activity, according to the department. Twelve officers have been injured, police added.

City News Service contributed to this report.