Hundreds of Marines and another 2,000 National Guard troops to be sent to Los Angeles
The US military says it will activate around 700 Marines to Los Angeles and double the number of National Guard troops, as the Trump administration escalates its response to protests against immigration raids.
Demonstrations in the city have been running for four consecutive days, with hundreds of protesters gathering outside a federal detention centre where immigrants have been held.
Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell said his department had not received any formal notification that the Marines would arrive in the city. The deployment “presents a significant logistical and operational challenge,” he said.
On Sunday, Donald Trump ordered 2,000 members of the California National Guard to be deployed to the city to intervene, claiming local officials had failed to respond properly.
On Monday, the Pentagon confirmed the Guard number would be doubled, bringing the total number of troops put on federal orders for the protests to more than 4,100.
The US President also posted a warning on social media to demonstrators, writing: “IF THEY SPIT, WE WILL HIT, and I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!”
California sues Trump government
California sued the Trump administration to block deployment of the National Guard and the Marines on Monday, arguing that it violates federal law and state sovereignty.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said Trump and Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth violated the law and exceeded their constitutional authorities when they federalised the National Guard without going through the governor of California.
It described the unrest in Los Angeles as “primarily peaceful protests with some acts of violence or civil disobedience” that “do not rise to the level of a rebellion.”
The lawsuit also alleges Trump violated the 10th Amendment, which is designed to protect state power from federal intrusion.
“This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,” Gavin Newsom said in press release.
Trump said on Monday he felt he had no choice but to order the deployment to prevent violence from spiraling out of control.
He cited Title 10 of the US Code, a federal law that outlines the role of the US Armed Forces.
A provision of Title 10 – Section 12406 – allows the president to deploy National Guard units into federal service if the US is invaded, there is a “rebellion or danger of rebellion” or the president is “unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States”.
The protests so far have resulted in some property damage, including some self-driving Waymo vehicles that were set ablaze on Sunday evening.
The LAPD said five officers sustained minor injuries. Police on Sunday said some protesters had thrown concrete and bottles at officers.
Trump threatens to arrest Newsom as clash between two intensifies
The federal government’s response to the protests has been sharply criticised by California’s governor, who called the move to deploy Marines the “deranged fantasy of a presidential dictator”, while Trump threatened his arrest.
“I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Trump said in an interview, referencing border czar Tom Homan, who warned that anyone including public officials would be arrested if they obstructed federal immigration enforcement.
In response, Newsom said: “Come after me, arrest me. Let’s just get it over with, tough guy.”
Newsom and other Democrats have said Trump’s decision to deploy military force to handle the protests amounts to an abuse of presidential power.
It is the first time that a president has used such power since the 1992 LA riots, sparked by the acquittal of four white police officers in the beating of black motorist Rodney King.
In post on X, Newsom said Marines “shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American.”
Marines to be deployed
US Northern Command said it had activated Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines and 1st Marine division.
The troops have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force, and they will be armed with the weapons they normally carry.
Northern Command said the forces will all be under Task Force 51, commanded by Major General Scott Sherman, deputy commander of US Army North.
It is extremely rare for US military troops to be used for domestic policing.
Previous domestic deployments have included major disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 attacks.
The Pentagon is drafting guidelines that will explain to the Marines what they can and cannot do, the Associated Press cited a US official as saying.
Trump could deploy Marines under certain conditions of law or under his authority as commander in chief.
Without invoking the Insurrection Act, the Marines, like the National Guard, would still be prevented from directly enforcing civilian laws and would likely be limited to protecting federal personnel and property.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines was a “deliberate attempt” by the Trump administration to “create disorder and chaos in our city.”
“I feel like we are part of an experiment that we did not ask to be a part of,” she told a news conference on Monday.
More protests break out
Clashes erupted on Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, a predominantly Latino city south of Los Angeles, where federal agents were staging operations at a nearby Department of Homeland Security office.
LA police said they arrested 29 people Saturday night “for failure to disperse” and made 21 more arrests on Sunday on charges ranging from attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail and assault on a police officer to looting.
The police department also confirmed it used tear gas and more than 600 rubber bullets and other less-than-lethal munitions over the weekend.
Tensions have been rising since Trump activated the National Guard on Saturday.
Two journalists were shot with non-lethal bullets -British news photographer Nick Stern and Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi.
Stern required emergency surgery after the projectile left a golf ball-sized wound in his thigh. “I thought it was a live round because of the sheer intensity of the pain,” Stern told the Associated Press. “Then I passed out from the pain.”
He remained hospitalised as of Monday.
Protests also sprang up in at least nine other US cities on Monday, including New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, according to local news outlets.
The Trump administration has argued that Democratic President Joe Biden’s administration allowed far too many immigrants to enter the country and that Democratic-run cities such as Los Angeles are improperly interfering with efforts to deport them.
Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people who are in the country illegally and to lock down the US-Mexico border, setting a goal of at least 3,000 daily arrests.
With agencies
