Watch: Tear gas, pellets fired at Los Angeles protesters without warning

Protesters in Los Angeles clashed with police and Guard troops after they used tear gas and fired pepper balls without giving a clear warning. The protest is being held in response to immigration raids ordered by President Donald Trump. Demonstrators gathered outside a federal building downtown to oppose the actions.

California Guard troops were sent to the city earlier in the day. They joined with the Department of Homeland Security and local police to control the crowd. A group of demonstrators marched from Mariachi Plaza to the federal immigration detention centre, chanting and holding up signs. They were shouting slogans like "ICE out of LA," referring to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, whose crackdown was the cause of anger and protests across the city.

Videos showed about a dozen Guard members and several federal officers confronting the group outside the detention centre. The crowd stood in front of a line of police in riot gear.

The protest was mostly peaceful. Tension rose when someone in the crowd threw a water bottle at officers, The Washington Post reported. After that, without any warning or clear dispersal order, the situation escalated.

TEAR GAS DEPLOYED AS CROWD SCATTERS

According to The Washington Post, Guard members suddenly put on gas masks, and police released tear gas into the crowd. Then, officers also fired pepper balls. However, some of them returned after a short time to continue protesting on Alameda Street.

The demonstrations are part of a movement in Los Angeles against immigration enforcement operations that began on Friday. On the third consecutive day of protests, residents feel that the raids unfairly target immigrants.

President Trump, speaking from New Jersey, called the protests as "riots." Without citing any specific incidents, he warned that any aggression toward authorities would be met with force. "They spit, we hit," Trump said. He added, "If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, it will be very, very strong in terms of law and order."

PROTESTS SPREAD TO OTHER PARTS OF LOS ANGELES

Guard troops were also seen in Paramount in southeast Los Angeles near the Home Depot, the site of altercations between protestors and police on Saturday.

The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 27 people on Saturday for failure to disperse from the downtown protest, police spokesperson Norma Eisenman said. She said she could not comment on whether the LAPD used less lethal force. Less lethal force refers to crowd control tactics such as pepper balls.

With inputs from Reuters