California Gov. Newsom Dares Border Czar To Arrest Him After Threat Over L.A. Protests: 'Let's Go'

California Governor Gavin Newsom dared border czar Tom Homan to arrest him after the Trump official threatened to do over his stance regarding the immigration-related protests unfolding in Los Angeles.

Homan warned on Saturday that the immigration enforcement operations in the city would continue despite opposition, claiming that anyone who stand in between agents and their goal will be arrested, even if those people are high-ranking officials.

"You cross that line, it's a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It's a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job," Homan said.

Newsom, in turn, responded with defiance. Speaking with MSNBC, he told Homan to "just get it over with." "He's a tough guy. Why doesn't he do that? He knows where to find me;" the governor added. "That kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let's go."

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, also a Democrat, said Homan "had absolutely positively no reason to even say that." "I spoke to him last night. He understands that I am the mayor of the city; the last thing in the world I'm going to do is get into a brawl with the federal government. So that just made no sense. There was no reason for that comment."

President Donald Trump, however, seemed to stand behind Homan, saying on Sunday that "officials who stand in the way of law and order" will "face judges."

The Trump administration ordered the deployment of 2,000 troops, while roughly 500 Marines are in stand by in case they are called. About 300 National Guard troops have been deployed after protests erupted following immigration enforcement raids, and at least 56 people were arrested over the weekend.

Newsom criticized the raids, saying the "chaotic federal sweeps" sought to meet an "arbitrary arrest quota." Bass, on her end, said "what we're seeing is chaos provoked by the administration."

On the streets, protesters clashed with law enforcement, with agents deploying tear gas, pepper spray and flash-bang grenades to disperse crowds that were throwing objects at them, including rocks and Molotov cocktails. Many moved to block traffic on the 101 freeway until law enforcement cleared them.

Clashes continued through the night, and the Los Angeles Police Department declared the Civic Center area in downtown Los Angeles an "unlawful assembly." Authorities added that some stores were being looted and at least five driverless Waymo cars had been set on fire.

The White House said it is circumventing a law usually needed to deploy National Guard troops to a state, which requires a state governor to request it, claiming that "violent protests threaten the security of and significant damage to Federal immigration detention facilities and other Federal property." Newsom requested Trump remove the officers in a letter on Sunday, saying the deployment was a "serious breach of state sovereignty."