LOS ANGELES — Police detained more than 20 people, mostly on curfew violations, on the first night of restrictions in downtown Los Angeles and used crowd-control projectiles to break up hundreds of protesters demonstrating against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, officials said Wednesday.

But there were fewer clashes between police and demonstrators than on previous nights, and by daybreak, downtown was bustling with residents walking dogs and commuters clutching coffee cups.

Officials said the curfew was necessary to stop vandalism and theft by agitators after five days of protests, which have mostly been concentrated downtown. Demonstrations have also spread to other cities nationwide, including Dallas and Austin in Texas, and Chicago and New York, where thousands rallied and more arrests were made.

LA’s nightly curfew, which the mayor said would remain in effect as long as necessary, covers a 1-square-mile section that includes an area where protests have occurred since Friday in the sprawling city of 4 million. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles.

“If there are raids that continue, if there are soldiers marching up and down our streets, I would imagine that the curfew will continue,” Mayor Karen Bass said.

The tensions in LA and elsewhere emerged as immigration authorities seek to dramatically increase the number of daily arrests across the country.

Bass said the raids spread fear across the city at the behest of the White House.

“We started off by hearing the administration wanted to go after violent felons, gang members, drug dealers,” she told a news conference. “But when you raid Home Depots and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart, and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you’re not trying to keep anyone safe. You’re trying to cause fear and panic.”

Some 2,000 National Guard soldiers are in LA, and about half of them have been protecting federal buildings and agents, said Army Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, head of Task Force 51, which is overseeing the deployment of National Guard and Marines to LA.

About 700 Marines will soon join the National Guard troops, but they are still undergoing training and will not be mobilized Wednesday, Sherman said. Another 2,000 National Guard troops should be on the streets by Thursday, he said.

Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Trump of drawing a “military dragnet” across the nation’s second-largest city with his escalating use of the National Guard, which Trump activated, along with the Marines, over the objections of city and state leaders.

Newsom asked a court to put an emergency stop to the military helping federal immigration agents. The aid includes some National Guard personnel now standing protectively around agents as they make arrests.

A judge set a hearing for Thursday, giving the administration days this week to continue its activities.

The change moves the military closer to engaging in law enforcement actions such as deportations, as Trump has promised as part of his immigration crackdown. The National Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests would be made by law enforcement.

Two people accused of throwing Molotov cocktails at police during the LA protests over the weekend face charges that could bring up to 10 years in prison, the Justice Department announced Wednesday. No one was injured by the devices.

One of the suspects is a U.S. citizen, and the other overstayed a tourist visa and was in the U.S. illegally, authorities said.

“We are looking at hundreds of people,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said.

Trump has called the protesters “animals” and “a foreign enemy” and described Los Angeles in dire terms that the governor says is nowhere close to the truth.

Newsom called Trump’s actions the start of an “assault” on democracy.

“California may be first, but it clearly will not end here. Other states are next,” he said.

The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.

Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids.

Despite the protests, immigration enforcement activity has continued throughout the county, with city leaders and community groups reporting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement present at libraries, car washes and Home Depots. School graduations in Los Angeles have increased security over fears of ICE action, and some have offered parents the option to watch on Zoom.

Los Angeles police detained 200 people related to the protests throughout the day on Tuesday, including 67 who were occupying a freeway, authorities said.

The majority of arrests since the protests began have been for failing to disperse, while a few others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting and vandalism. At least seven police officers have been injured.