A U.S. Marine Corps battalion joined the more than 2,000 National Guard troops deployed in Los Angeles County on Monday to contain protests against recent immigration raids, the Department of Defense reported.
“U.S. Northern Command has activated the Marine battalion that was placed on standby over the weekend,” the Pentagon said in a statement, detailing that “approximately 700 Marines” will be integrated with National Guard forces “who are protecting federal personnel and property in the greater Los Angeles area.”
The"activation of the Marines" is intended to provide the National Guard force deployed yesterday by the Department of Defense at the direction of President Donald Trump with "sufficient personnel to provide continuous coverage."
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the “insane” decision by “dictatorial” US President Donald Trump to deploy hundreds of marines to Los Angeles after days of protests against anti-immigrant raids.
“United States Marines have served honorably in multiple wars in defense of democracy,” Newsom posted on X. “They should not be deployed on American soil to confront their own countrymen to fulfill the demented fantasy of a dictatorial president. This is un-American,” he added.
The California Attorney General earlier said the president's actions had"trampled" on the state's sovereignty.
“We do not take lightly the president’s abuse of authority and unlawful deployment of California National Guard troops,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta told reporters. Bonta planned to seek a court order declaring Trump’s use of the Guard unlawful and requesting a restraining order to halt the deployment.
The streets of the sprawling city of 4 million were quiet Monday morning, but the smell of smoke hung in the air downtown, a day after crowds blocked a major highway and set self-driving cars on fire, while police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and stun grenades. The police presence was heavy, with patrol cars blocking the street in front of the federal detention center, the focus of the protests.
Bonta accused Trump of inflaming protesters' anger with his announcement of the deployment, saying it triggered Sunday's clashes with law enforcement in downtown Los Angeles."This wasn't inevitable," he said.
Although much of the city was spared the violence, clashes spread across several blocks in the downtown area and elsewhere. It could take days to clear the debris from burned cars and erase or paint over the graffiti on City Hall and other buildings near the detention center. Sunday marked the third and most intense day of protests against Trump's immigration crackdown in the region, as the arrival of the first 300 National Guard troops sparked anger and fear among many residents.
Trump said Monday that the city would have been “completely destroyed” if he hadn’t deployed the Guard.
Later, at a White House event, he added that state leaders “were afraid to do anything.”
U.S. officials reported that about 1,000 National Guard members were in the city under federal orders as of midday Monday. The 2,000 troops authorized by the president were expected to be on the ground by the end of the day. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to reveal details of the military operations.
The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading Saturday to Paramount, a predominantly Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.
Multiple protests were brewing in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon, and it was unclear whether any of them would escalate into violence. More protests were planned for cities across the country.
Thousands of people gathered in a park across from City Hall to protest the arrest of union leader David Huerta. He was arrested Friday and accused of conspiring to obstruct an officer during a demonstration. Protesters carried signs harshly criticizing Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Huerta, whose initial court appearance was expected Monday afternoon, is the president of the California Service Employees International Union, which represents thousands of custodians, security officers, and other workers in the state.
Elsewhere, outside a clothing store, relatives of detained workers demanded at a press conference that their loved ones be released.
The family of Jacob Vasquez, 35, who was arrested Friday at the warehouse where he worked, said they have not yet received any information about him.
“Jacob is a family man and the sole breadwinner of his household,” Vasquez’s brother, Gabriel, told the crowd. He asked that his last name not be used for fear of being targeted by authorities.
On Sunday, many protesters dispersed as night fell, and police declared an unlawful assembly, leading officers to intervene and arrest those who refused to leave. Some who remained threw objects at police from behind a makeshift barrier. Others threw pieces of concrete, rocks, electric scooters, and fireworks at California Highway Patrol officers and their vehicles parked on the closed southbound Highway 101. At one point, officers ran under an overpass to take cover.
The Guard was deployed specifically to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where protesters gathered.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said officers were “overwhelmed” by the remaining protesters. He added that among them were regular agitators who come to demonstrations to cause trouble.
Several dozen people were arrested over the weekend. One was detained on Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police, and another for ramming a line of officers with a motorcycle.
Trump responded to McDonnell at Truth Social, telling him to arrest protesters wearing masks.
“They look really bad in Los Angeles. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he wrote.
The governor says no guard is needed
Newsom asked Trump to rescind the Guard deployment in a letter on Sunday, calling it a “serious violation of state sovereignty.”
The governor, who was in Los Angeles meeting with local authorities and law enforcement officers, also told protesters they were participating in Trump's plans and would face arrest for violence or destruction of property.
“Trump wants chaos and has instigated violence,” he said. “Stay peaceful. Stay focused. Don’t give him the excuse he’s looking for.”
The deployment appears to be the first time in decades that a state's National Guard has been activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to thwart the administration's mass deportation efforts.
Meanwhile, Newsom reiterated that California authorities had the situation under control. He mocked Trump for posting a congratulatory message to the Guard on social media even before the troops arrived in Los Angeles.
Clashes intensify with the arrival of National Guard troops
The National Guard stood together Sunday morning in Los Angeles, carrying long guns and riot shields, as protesters chanted “shame!” and “go home!” After some protesters approached the Guard members, another group of uniformed officers advanced toward the group, firing smoke canisters into the street.
Minutes later, the Los Angeles Police Department fired riot control ammunition to disperse the protesters, who they claimed had assembled illegally. Much of the group then moved to block traffic on the 101 Freeway until the State Patrol cleared them.
Nearby, at least four Waymo self-driving cars were set on fire, sending up large plumes of black smoke and intermittent explosions. By nightfall, police had closed off several blocks of downtown Los Angeles.
The stun grenades boomed every few seconds well into the night.
The deployment comes after days of protests.
On Friday, federal agents arrested immigrants in the Los Angeles Fashion District, in a Home Depot parking lot, and several other locations. The next day, they were at a Department of Homeland Security office near another Home Depot in Paramount, attracting protesters who suspected another raid. Federal authorities later stated that no enforcement action had been taken at that Home Depot.
The number of immigrant arrests in the Los Angeles area surpassed 100 in one week, federal authorities reported. Many more were arrested during the protests, including a prominent union leader accused of obstructing law enforcement.
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
In a Saturday directive, Trump invoked a legal provision that allows him to deploy federal service members when there is “rebellion or danger of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
In San Francisco, officers arrested and then released about 155 people for refusing to obey orders to disperse, said Officer Paulina Henderson of the city's police department.
Officers monitoring a protest declared an unlawful assembly when members of the group turned violent, according to the San Francisco Police Department. Many protesters left the scene, but some remained, while others moved to another area where they vandalized buildings and a police vehicle.
