Los Angeles, California - Law enforcement officers escalated attempts to repress peaceful protest by attacking No Kings demonstrators and firing pepper balls and tear gas into crowds over the weekend.

Most of the more than 40 No Kings protests that took place across Southern California over the weekend went off without a hitch.

The nationwide protests were sparked by opposition to President Donald Trump's mass deportation campaign, his deployment of the US military to police city streets, and his decision to launch a war of aggression against Iran.

In Los Angeles, however, a No Kings protest rapidly escalated as law enforcement officers began shooting pepper balls and gas into crowds.

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Some protesters reported to Status Coup News and MeidasTouch that the amount of tear gas that was deployed was so heavy at points that even professional gas masks were not enough to protect them.

Shocking footage captured in LA showed officers chasing and violently detaining protesters, who gathered and in some cases blocked streets.

Police cavalry units were deployed to control the crowd, with footage showing line upon line of fully-armed law enforcement officers facing threatening protesters.

Footage showed journalists arguing with police officers after they were denied access to film and document a protest.

The Los Angeles Police Department issued a tactical alert for a protest in Alameda, alleging in a statement on X that protesters had thrown "large concrete blocks, bottles, and other objects" over a fence.

KTLA reported that around 150 demonstrators were arrested as a result of the police action.

"Peaceful protest is our constitutional right," wrote LA Mayor Karen Bass on X. "When people come together to make their voices heard, that is democracy in action."