After tear gas and street fires, a Los Angeles community cleans up as National Guard troops arrive
June 8, 2025
Local residents in one Los Angeles-area community cleaned up streets and erased graffiti while expressing dismay at the damage caused during violent clashes between protesters and immigration authorities over the weekend. Ernest Melendrez is one. He woke up early Sunday to shovel tear gas pellets and other charred and broken detritus from his neighborhood’s streets, the remnants of a battle the night before. Melendrez wore a mask covering his nose and mouth but he coughed often. It wasn’t enough to protect him from remaining tear gas still in the air. Given the breadth of the damage, he and his neighbors say they’re angry they were being left to clean up the mess.
