Trump Deploys 700 Marines, Additional 2,000 National Guard Members to LA in Response to Riots

Since June 6, riots have broken out in Los Angeles to protest against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations to arrest illegal immigrants.

President Donald Trump activated National Guard troops to deploy in Los Angeles to quell the protests. At least 300 troops have been deployed so far.

Officers, who all appeared to be from the Los Angeles Police Department, used flash bangs and shot projectiles into the crowd as they pushed the protesters through a crowded, popular commercial area where bystanders and restaurant workers rushed to get out of their way. Some protesters set off fireworks and threw water bottles at the officers, yelling “Shame!” or chanting, “ICE out of LA.”

Northcom added that the Pentagon has “activated the Marine infantry battalion that was placed in an alert status over the weekend,” and that those 700 Marines requested by the president will now be directed to “seamlessly integrate” with approximately 2,000 state National Guard who have been requested to form “Task Force 51.”

“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,” Northcom said.

“Task Force 51 is comprised of approximately 2,100 National Guard soldiers in a Title 10 status and 700 active-duty Marines. Task Force 51 forces have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force.”

Since the public disorder started, President Donald Trump has requested two California National Guard units, totaling 4,100 soldiers, to be ready for orders to assist state law enforcement, in addition to the 700 Marines.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who has been critical of the president’s deployments, said in a post on X, “Trump is trying to provoke chaos by sending 4,000 soldiers onto American soil.”

Newsom then said those “foolish agitators” who commit acts of violence or disobey orders from law enforcement “will be held accountable.”

Asked by Fox host Sean Hannity if there’s any evidence showing that the protesters were paid, in light of reports saying that they were being provided with equipment such as face shields and bricks, Noem said “Absolutely.”

“These are organized. These are people that are being paid to do this. You can follow how they behave, the signals they give to each other in these crowds and these protests to instigate violence,” she said. “This is an operation, and it’s professionally done. They’ve done it before, and we’re going to stop it and make sure that we prosecute every single one of them.”

“I unapologetically stand for free speech, peaceful demonstrations, and immigration—but this is not that,” Fetterman said in a social media post Monday evening. He wrote those words above the photo of vehicles ablaze and flames filling the sky.

“This is anarchy and true chaos,” Fetterman said. “My party loses the moral high ground when we refuse to condemn setting cars on fire, destroying buildings, and assaulting law enforcement.”

Agents were executing a search warrant at the man’s house "right now," she told Fox News’ Sean Hannity just after 9 p.m. ET Monday.

"We're coming after you … we will find you, and you will go to jail and we will prosecute you federally," Bondi said. Technology is "amazing," she said, and helps police ID people when they're wearing masks. "The mask won't protect you," she said.

In a poster that the White House publicized on June 8, the FBI’s Los Angeles field office said it was offering a reward of up to $50,000 for information leading to the identification, arrest, and conviction of a man who allegedly assaulted a federal officer and damaged government property.

“Chaos is exactly what Trump wanted, and now California is left to clean up the mess,” Newsom wrote in a post on social media platform X.

“We’re working with local partners to surge over 800 additional state and local law enforcement officers to ensure the safety of our LA communities.”

Over 640 of those are with the California Highway Patrol, which is directly subordinate to Newsom.

More than 240 others are from neighboring San Bernardino County, Orange County, Santa Barbara County, and Ventura County, and some are from within Los Angeles County.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said on X he had been informed of the decision. He called the move reckless and “disrespectful to our troops.”

U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) said in a statement Monday that the Marines “will seamlessly integrate” with troops “who are protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.”

The Marines were to be deployed from their base at Twentynine Palms in the Southern California desert.

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.

Jeffries also called the Trump administration’s actions regarding immigration enforcement, “egregious overreach” and said the National Guard wasn’t needed in the area because of the thousands of law enforcement officers already in the state.

Trump federalized troops over the weekend as riots broke out in Los Angeles County.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Huerta has been charged with one count of “conspiracy to impede an officer” under 18 U.S.C. § 372, which carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison.

Huerta allegedly sat cross-legged in front of a gate to prevent federal agents from transporting illegal immigrant detainees, and encouraged others to do the same. The criminal complaint suggests that he was spreading and/or receiving information about the real-time locations of agents in order to protest.

“In the early hours of Sunday morning, President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unlawfully federalized 2,000 California National Guard troops for 60 days with no indication as to when they intend to stand down,” Bonta said during a press conference.

“They did so without authorization from Gov. Newsom and against the wishes of local law enforcement.

They include Cuong Chanh Phan, a Vietnamese national who was convicted of second-degree murder; Eswin Uriel Castro, a Mexican national with a criminal record that includes arrests for robbery and domestic violence in addition to convictions for child molestation and being armed with a dangerous weapon; and Rafael Gamez-Sanchez, a Mexican national who was convicted of vehicular manslaughter.

“The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism,” Newsom posted on the social media platform X.

Earlier at the White House, Trump was asked by a reporter whether Homan should arrest Newsom over his handling of the riots.

“I would, if I were Tom,” Trump replied from the White House lawn. He added that the governor has done a “terrible job” over his handling of the riots in Los Angeles.

Homan said public officials could be arrested for not enforcing the law.

“I’m telling you what, we’re going to keep enforcing law every day in L.A.,” Homan told NBC News late Saturday. “Every day in L.A., we’re going to enforce immigration law. I don’t care if they like it or not.

“I’ll say it about anybody,” Homan also said. “You cross that line, it’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement doing their job.”

Newsom sought to call Homan’s bluff.

Huerta was arrested on June 6 for allegedly obstructing the access of federal agents as they executed a warrant at a worksite in Los Angeles, according to a social media post by Bill Essayli, the interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

Essayli said Huerta will be arraigned on June 9.

“Mr. Huerta, a well-known and deeply respected community leader, was exercising his lawful right to observe the conduct of immigration enforcement personnel … It is deeply troubling that a U.S. citizen, union leader, and upstanding member of the Los Angeles community continues to be detained,” wrote Schiff, Schumer, and Padilla in a June 9 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, and Attorney General Pam Bondi.

They demanded that a disciplinary review be conducted for the agents who arrested Huerta.

“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,” he posted on Truth Social.

Trump criticized California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass for downplaying the violence.

“Just one look at the pictures and videos of the Violence and Destruction tells you all you have to know,” he wrote.

The spokesperson told The Epoch Times that the unlawful assembly ended six hours ago and that information is still coming in and, therefore, the number of arrests is subject to change.

The protests, which started on Friday, were in response to ICE carrying out immigration operations to arrest those illegally in the United States.

“We do not know where and when the next raids will be. That is the concern because people in this city have a rapid response network,” she told CNN on Monday.

“If they see ICE, they go out, and they protest, and so it’s just a recipe for pandemonium that is completely unnecessary,” she continued.

The bill would make the 2017 tax cuts permanent and includes border, deportation, and energy provisions.

"The riots in Los Angeles prove that we desperately need more immigration enforcement personnel and resources,” she posted on Monday.

“America must reverse the invasion unleashed by Joe Biden of millions of unvetted illegal aliens into our country,” she continued.

The leader, speaking from her morning press conference, also called on U.S. authorities to respect the rule of law in migration processes.

"It must be clear: We condemn violence wherever it comes from," Sheinbaum said.

Protests spread on the streets of Los Angeles over the weekend over Trump's immigration enforcement as groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing U.S. immigration authorities, gathered in spots around the city.

At least 42 Mexicans are being held in four detention centers after recent raids in Los Angeles and four were deported, Mexico's Foreign Minister Juan Ramon de la Fuente said during Monday's press conference.

"We will continue our visits to monitor the Mexicans in detention centers in Los Angeles," De la Fuente said.

National Guard troops—deployed by Trump over the weekend to help quell the protests in a move that California Gov. Gavin Newsom called unlawful—guarded federal government buildings on Sunday.

“Jim McDonnell, the highly respected LAPD Chief, just stated that the protesters are getting very much more aggressive, and that he would ‘have to reassess the situation,’ as it pertains to bringing in the troops. He should, RIGHT NOW!!! Don’t let these thugs get away with this,” the president posted at 12:14 a.m.

Two minutes later, Trump called for sending in troops to Los Angeles, though it was unclear to which troops he was referring. At least 300 National Guard troops have already deployed to the area.

“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” he posted.

At 12:19 a.m., Trump called for police to “ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!”

Trump has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilize federal troops when there is "a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States."

But Newsom said he believed the president was required to coordinate with the state’s governor before ordering such a deployment.

“This violence that I’ve seen is disgusting. It’s escalated now since the beginning of this incident,” McDonnell said.

“What we saw the first night was bad. What we’ve seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent.

President Donald Trump activated National Guard troops to deploy in Los Angeles to quell the protests. At least 300 troops have been deployed so far.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom did not request the deployment. Trump said that federalizing California’s National Guard was necessary to “address the lawlessness.”

Newsom has requested that Trump withdraw the National Guard, saying the move will “escalate tensions.” The governor said the state will sue over Trump’s move.

There have been riots in the streets of Los Angeles, and protesters even blocked a major highway on June 8. Los Angeles Police have cleared the 101 Highway of demonstrators.

Several dozen protesters have been arrested.

Cars and other objects have been set on fire during the violent protests.

Protests in Los Angeles are scheduled to resume at 11 a.m. PT/2 p.m. ET.

Trump has said he could invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807 if order is not restored. This would allow the president to restore order by sending in the military.