Protest erupts in downtown Los Angeles over surge in ICE raids, demonstrators temporarily block 101 Freeway

A large crowd gathered in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday in response to the recent increase in ICE raids and deportations. The gathering briefly closed the 101 Freeway, which led to police declaring an unlawful assembly and forcing demonstrators to disperse during the daylong event.

The protest initially began on Olvera Street, but grew to a few thousand people who marched to City Hall before walking onto the 101 Freeway.

Some protesters sat down in lanes, while many others held Mexican flags and signs that read phrases like, "Nobody is illegal," and "Viva Mexico," as they marched along the busy thoroughfare while being closely watched by law enforcement. Several other flags of the world could also be seen amongst the large gathering.

At times, fireworks could be heard bursting above the large crowd while demonstrators leaned out of car windows and flew their flags and shouted along with the crowd, "Si, se puede," which translates to "Yes, you can."

Protestors gathered in downtown Los Angeles. KCAL News

The California Highway Patrol's Transportation Management Center reported that some protesters were blocking some lanes, which forced a temporary closure of lanes in both directions, which has since been lifted.

At the same time that the freeway was blocked, the LAPD reported major gridlock along Spring Street, Main Street, Los Angeles Street, Arcadia Street, and both northbound and southbound lanes of the 101 Freeway.

Some videos from the scene of the protests show demonstrators spray painting along the freeway walls, and SkyCal was overhead when a Metro bus was tagged with profanity directed towards ICE.

At around 4 p.m., Los Angeles Police Department Central Division officers reported that the protesters had exited the freeway, making their way to converge on the steps of City Hall. Police, along with Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department deputies, were working on crowd control and continuing the flow of traffic in the area.

The demonstration eventually made its way to the Main Street Bridge, blocking traffic and creating dense gridlock. Police moved the crowd from the area and blocked the road from both cars and pedestrians.

Many of the people gathered said they were doing so to provide a voice to their communities impacted by the sudden change in the country's immigration policies.

"We're not criminals," said Sara Aguilar, one of the many in attendance. "We wanna work. A lot of people just wanna work, we all wanna provide. ... I'm out here to represent for my people. I'm out here to be the voice for the people that have been silenced out of fear."

Just after 8 p.m., two hours after declaring unlawful assembly, a large skirmish line of police began to move towards a large group of demonstrators, at which point it appeared that non-lethal shots were fired by officers as SkyCal followed along.

A skirmish line of police moving towards protesters. KCAL News

The incident comes with traffic delays already impacting downtown streets near Crypto.com Arena, many of which were closed for the Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Since his inauguration, President Trump has upheld his campaign pledge to significantly increase the number of deportations, with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducting raids in major cities.

Later in the day, about 250 people gathered in Pacoima for another rally, where police claimed that drivers were performing stunts and blocking traffic with their cars.

There have been no reports of any arrests in either incident.

According to The Associated Press, there were similar large rallies in several other Southern California cities like Riverside and San Diego on Sunday, as well as one in Dallas, Texas.