Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Tuesday that he’ll deploy the National Guard to locations across the state “to ensure peace and order” ahead of a planned protest in San Antonio.
“Peaceful protest is legal. Harming a person or property is illegal & will lead to arrest. @TexasGuard will use every tool & strategy to help law enforcement maintain order,” he wrote on X late Tuesday evening local time.
A curfew was imposed in Los Angeles on Tuesday night after days of unrest there following ICE raids last week. Solidarity protests have taken place across the country in the last two days, including in Texas.
Spectrum News 1 reported that protesters held a peaceful demonstration in downtown San Antonio on Sunday. This demonstration followed the recent ICE arrests of immigrants who showed up for appearances in the San Antonio Immigration Court.
The city is bracing for more demonstrations on Wednesday. Mayor Ron Nirenberg and local police will hold a news conference today to discuss the city’s plan for the protests.
A “No Kings Day” protest decrying the Trump administration’s policies is planned for Saturday, President Donald Trump’s birthday, in downtown San Antonio. Several groups will organize it: the 50501 Movement, the Bexar County Democratic Party, the Party for Socialism and Liberation, Indivisible and Women’s March. Similar “No Kings Day” protests are planned across the country.
In Austin, 500 people gathered in front of the state’s Capitol on Monday evening to denounce Trump’s immigration policies in solidarity with the L.A. protesters. Local and state authorities used pepper spray and flash-bang grenades on protesters in that incident, and more than a dozen people were arrested, Abbott said.
The Los Angeles raids led to fallout over the weekend when Trump federalized and brought in the state’s National Guard against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes. The two politicians locked horns over the move, with Newsom saying it needlessly inflamed tensions between protesters and law enforcement.
California’s attorney general filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, saying the takeover exceeds his authority.
When asked about the ICE raids and the intense federal response to protests, Trump said from the Oval Office on Tuesday, “This is the first, perhaps of many.”
“We didn’t attack this one very strongly. You’d have them all over the country. I can inform the rest of the country that when they do it, if they do it, they’re going to be met with equal or greater force than we met right here. We did a great job,” he said.
“We stopped a disaster,” Trump added, describing protesters as “very dangerous people” who were “met with heavy force, and they folded.”
