The peaceful protest began shortly after 6 p.m. and soon tripled in size as people congregated in front of a road closure, occupied by at least six members of the California National Guard on

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell sharply countered President Donald Trump’s claims that the city was at a point of needing National Guard support, emphasizing Wednesday that protests were “nowhere near” that level.

About 500 of the National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, the commander in charge said Wednesday.

The National Guard has at times detained protesters in its deployment to Los Angeles, an official said Wednesday, as demonstrations against Immigration and Customs enforcement raids spread to other major cities.

Thousands of troops and hundreds of US Marines have been deployed to the city by US President Donald Trump to quell the demonstrations. Nearly 400 people have so far been arrested, including 330 undocumented migrants and 157 people arrested for assault and obstruction, including one for the attempted murder of a police officer.

Tensions flared in Los Angeles late Monday. On Tuesday, teams worked to scrub away, cover up or fade out protesters' graffiti.

HOW WE GOT HERE: The protests erupted after Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers on Friday carried out raids in three locations across L.A., where dozens of people were taken into custody. Newsom called the raids “chaotic federal sweeps” that aimed to fill an “arbitrary arrest quota.”

In a move that has prompted division, Trump ordered the California National Guard to quell the immigration protests, moving to deploy 2,000 soldiers to the Los Angeles area. “Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence,