See burnt remains of Waymo cars lining Los Angeles street after protests
Piles of ash are all that remain of several Waymo cars set on fire in the protests.
Several Waymo self-driving cars were reduced to rubble after being torched in weekend protests against immigration raids in downtown Los Angeles, videos show.
Tensions escalated in the protests on June 8 when National Guard troops arrived in the city under the direction of President Donald Trump.
Social media videos from that day showed several Waymo driverless taxis engulfed in flames, while others were vandalized with messages against Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
A Waymo spokesperson confirmed to Paste BN on June 9 that it removed vehicles and temporarily suspended service in downtown Los Angeles "out of an abundance of caution." It's unclear whether service is still unavailable in the area as of June 10.
See debris of Waymo cars after being torched in LA protests
Mere piles of ash are all that remain of several Waymo cars set on fire in the Los Angeles protests, a June 9 social media video showed.
Frames and wheels were the only distinguishable remnants of the cars, which lined the middle of a street and were still emanating smoke in the video. See scenes from the aftermath in the video at the top of this story.
The Los Angeles Police Department said on June 8 around 9:15 p.m. EST that a portion of Los Angeles Street had been closed after "multiple autonomous vehicles" had been set on fire.
Waymo cars are self-driving taxis operated by computers instead of humans. The company uses electric Jaguar I-PACE cars.
Los Angeles protests ongoing
Officials are expecting protests to continue into a fifth day Tuesday. Demonstrations initially began on Friday, June 6 after ICE agents raided several businesses in downtown Los Angeles.
By Saturday, June 7, Trump ordered at least 2,000 National Guard members to the area to quell protests. Tensions intensified the following day after troops arrived, and demonstrations eventually grew violent.
After protests continued on Monday, June 9, the Trump administration deployed about 700 Marines to respond to the area.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit on June 9 against the Trump administration over the military response, alleging an overstep of authority.
Paste BN is covering live updates of the Los Angeles protests.
Melina Khan is a national trending reporter for Paste BN. She can be reached at melina.khan@usatoday.com.