The Trump administration deployed the California National Guard to quell the LA riots that began Friday night over ICE enforcement operations. There were violent clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement officials, and both sides engaged in a struggle that involved shouting, pushing, and aggressive measures of crowd control. The administration took things further by deploying an additional 2,000 National Guard troops, along with 700 Marines, to Los Angeles.
LA Riots: Trump Administration Sends Authorities
2,000 Guard troops arrived in LA on Sunday under orders from President Donald Trump. The city had seen the most violence in only three days of the LA riots and protests, driven by anger over Trump’s hardline immigration policies. Critics have been voicing that the administration’s immigration laws are breaking apart migrant families.
Monday’s protests were far less chaotic, with many peacefully gathering for a rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that has a detention center where some immigrants are being held. Trump has continuously described LA in horrid terms, while Mayor Karen Bass and Governor Gavin Newsom say that it is nowhere near truthful.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth took things further by sending approximately 700 Marines to the city. U.S. Northern Command confirmed in a statement, “Approximately 700 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division will seamlessly integrate with the Title 10 forces under Task Force 51 who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.” Also, the command added, “The activation of the Marines is intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement that he was confident about the police department handling the large-scale demonstrations. He also pointed out that the Marines’ arrival without coordinating with the police presented a “significant logistical and operational challenge” for the police department. Newsome wasted no time criticizing the deployments on X: “Trump is sending 2,000 National Guard troops into LA County — not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis. He’s hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful.”
Trump doubled down on his deployment tactics on the LA riots on his Truth Social platform, “We made a great decision in sending the National Guard to deal with the violent, instigated riots in California. If we had not done so, Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.” Trump even demanded that Newsome and Bass say “THANK YOU.”
He added, “The very incompetent ‘Governor,’ Gavin Newscum, and ‘Mayor,’ Karen Bass, should be saying, “THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.” Instead, they choose to lie to the People of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are “peaceful protests.” Just one look at the pictures and videos of the Violence and Destruction tells you all you have to know. We will always do what is needed to keep our Citizens SAFE, so we can, together, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Newsome and Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration for their hardline use of National Guard troops following the first deployment. Bonta told reporters on Monday that Trump had “trampled” on California’s sovereignty. Bass criticized the move as the Trump administration’s “deliberate attempt to create disorder and chaos in our city.”
Final Thoughts
The protests started on Friday in California’s largest city after more than 40 people were arrested across downtown Los Angeles by federal immigration authorities. Although there were peaceful demonstrations, there was some violence resulting in some LA riots and aggressive measures by law enforcement authorities. Smoke met up with the air on Monday, a day after crowds of demonstrators blocked a major freeway, while people set self-driving cars on fire. Police met the extreme actions with tear gas, flash bang grenades, and rubber bullets.
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965. That year, President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice. On Saturday, Trump made a legal provision to allow him to invoke federal service members against “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” In other news, Trump recently had a plan that could shake up space exploration.
