US President Donald Trump on Monday blamed "insurrectionists" for unrest in Los Angeles, after he sent in National Guard troops to quell protests against immigration raids.
"The people that are causing the problems are professional agitators and insurrectionists," Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday.
"They're bad people, they should be in jail," he added when asked about the clashes occurring in parts of the second biggest US city.
The Republican, who turns 79 on Saturday, did not give evidence of why the street protesters are insurrectionists.
Trump was returning to the White House after meeting with senior US officials and military officers at his Camp David presidential retreat. Before talking to reporters he greeted workers at the site of a new flagpole he has ordered to be erected outside the White House.
Trump did not reply when asked several times by reporters whether he plans to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would allow the military to be used as a domestic police force.
The White House has previously said Trump relied on a seldom used law, known as Title 10, to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles despite California's Democratic governor Gavin Newsom saying the move was unnecessary, given the limited nature of the protests.
Newsom has announced that California is suing the Trump administration after the president on Sunday deployed the National Guard to confront protesters.
'A terrible job'
Trump lashed out at Newsom, who has been widely tipped as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, over the unrest.
"He's done a terrible job. Look, I like Gavin Newsom, he's a nice guy — but he's grossly incompetent, everybody knows," Trump said.
Newsom, meanwhile, dared Trump's border czar Tom Homan over the weekend to arrest him, after Homan said the governor and LA Mayor Karen Bass could face federal charges of trying to impede immigration agents.
"I would do it if I were Tom," Trump said when asked if Homan should arrest Newsom.
Homan on Monday meanwhile fired back at Newsom after the Democratic governor challenged him to carry out an arrest as tensions rise over controversial immigration raids in Los Angeles.
"He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me," Newsom told a reporter who asked about Homan threatening arrest to him and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass if they interfere with federal immigration enforcement.
"Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get it over with. Tough guy. I don't give a damn, but I care about this community," Newsom added.
Newsom criticised the controversial raids, saying: "Let your hands off 4-year-old girls that are trying to get educated. (Get) your hands off these poor people just trying to live their lives."
'We made LA safer'
Responding on Fox News, Homan said: "What I said was, if someone crosses the line, puts hands on an ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement) officer, hides someone, destroys property, they can be prosecuted. No one is above the law."
He defended the raids, arguing that ICE is targeting individuals involved in cartel-related crimes, while protesters say few if any criminals are being caught in the wide-ranging raids.
"We arrested a sexual predator, gang members, someone with an armed robbery conviction. We made LA safer," he claimed.
Homan added that Newsom — sometimes mentioned as a possible Democratic presidential candidate in 2028 — delayed declaring that people protesting the raids were doing so unlawfully.
"He waited two days with the city burning and officers being assaulted. He failed that state."
"We're keeping our promise to the American people, (to) make these streets safe again," said Homan, adding that they are "not going to stop."
On Saturday, Trump signed a memo invoking his authority to deploy a minimum of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles County.
The protests in Los Angeles, held in support of undocumented immigrants detained by ICE, continue and have prompted strong statements from the Trump administration.
Critics of the raids say ICE is going after law-abiding undocumented migrants, a vital part of the community and the local economy, rather than the criminals and "bad hombres" that Trump has long vowed to deport.
