Dozens of people were arrested in Los Angeles after a “No Kings” rally protesting President Donald Trump’s actions and the war in Iran ended with a dispersal order, the Los Angeles Police Department said Sunday. Police said the arrests came after authorities deployed tear gas near a federal detention complex downtown and some protesters did not comply.
According to police, 74 people were arrested for failing to heed the dispersal order given after Saturday’s rally ended. An additional person was taken into custody on suspicion of possessing a weapon police described as a dagger.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late Saturday night that hundreds of protesters surrounded a federal complex as some participants threw rocks, bottles and broken concrete blocks at officers. DHS said two officers struck by concrete blocks received medical attention, but described their injuries as undetermined.
Andre Andrews Jr., identified by organizers and described by the Associated Press as a Navy veteran and independent journalist, said he walked the entire route of the Los Angeles rally and filmed the events. Andrews said that after authorities issued the dispersal order, they deployed tear-gas canisters when protesters did not comply, and that some protesters on the other side of a fence at the federal complex picked up the canisters and tossed them back at police.
Andrews also described the sequence of clashes as involving people who smashed concrete barriers into smaller pieces and threw them at authorities. Speaking after the dispersal order, Andrews said, “Does it make L.A. look bad? No. They’re bad actors causing problems, for sure,” adding, “The peaceful protest was good for the cause. You have the right to do that. But the other people, they were definitely causing problems.”
Police said those arrested included eight juveniles. Police also said that a woman dressed as the Statue of Liberty was detained while talking with an officer who led her away, and she was not described as being among those arrested for failing to disperse.
Elsewhere, Denver police said on the social platform X that they declared an unlawful assembly and deployed smoke canisters after a small group of protesters blocked a road and did not leave as asked. The Denver department said at least eight people were arrested and that a ninth person was later taken into custody after police said the person was throwing objects.
Organizers said “No Kings” demonstrations drew large crowds across the country and abroad. The AP reported that people rallied nationwide from New York City, a blue state with almost 8.5 million residents, to Driggs, Idaho, a town of fewer than 2,000 people in a state Trump carried with 66% of the vote in 2024, and that a major event in St. Paul, Minnesota, drew Bruce Springsteen as its headliner.
Demonstrations also were held in more than a dozen countries, according to Indivisible co-executive director Ezra Levin, which spearheaded the events. U.S. organizers estimated that the first two rounds of No Kings rallies drew more than 5 million people in June and 7 million in October, and Levin estimated that at least 8 million people showed up Saturday. Levin said Sunday, “It was powerful. It was historic. It was joyful. It was boisterous,” adding, “I’d say it went pretty well.”