Los Angeles, Jun 14: After a week of protests over federal immigration raids, about 200 Marines moved into Los Angeles on Friday to guard a federal building in the city while communities across the US prepped for what is anticipated to be a nationwide wave of large-scale demonstrations against President Donald Trump’s polices this weekend.
The Marine troops wearing combat gear and carrying rifles took over some posts from National Guard members who were deployed to the city after the protests erupted last week. Those protests sparked dozens more over several days around the country, with some leading to clashes with police and hundreds of arrests.
On Friday, Marines started to replace Guard members protecting the federal building west of downtown, so the Guard soldiers can be assigned to protect law enforcement officers on raids, the commander in charge of 4,700 troops deployed to the LA protests said.
The Marines moved into Los Angeles before Saturday’s planned “No Kings” demonstrations nationally against Trump’s policies, which will also happen the same day as a military parade in Washington, DC.
The Marines’ arrival also came a day after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that had directed Trump to return control of Guard troops to California. The judge had ruled the Guard deployment was illegal, violated the Tenth Amendment, which defines the power between state and federal governments, and exceeded Trump’s statutory authority. The judge did not rule on the presence of the Marines.
Military mission
Some 2,000 National Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles this week. Hundreds have provided protection to immigration agents making arrests. Another 2,000 Guard members were notified of deployment earlier this week.
Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, the commander of Task Force 51 who is overseeing the 4,700 combined troops, said none of the military troops will be detaining anyone, though the Marines temporarily detained a man on Friday afternoon who had walked onto the property and did not immediately hear their commands to stop. He was later released without charges.
Roughly 500 National Guard members have been used to provide security on immigration raids after undergoing expanded instruction, legal training and rehearsals with the agents doing the enforcement before they go on those missions.
Asked about working together with the Marines, Los Angeles police Chief Jim McDonnell said he “would not call it coordination” but said he and the county sheriff were on a call with military senior leadership on Thursday to open lines of communication in case situations arise where collaboration is needed.
Under federal law, active-duty forces are prohibited by law from conducting law enforcement.
By mid-afternoon on Friday, more than a dozen Marines were stationed outside the 17-story Wilshire Federal Building. They mostly appeared to be checking tickets from members of the public who were there to renew their passports.
The federal building is the same place Democratic US Senator Alex Padilla on Thursday was forcefully removed from Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s news conference and handcuffed by officers as he tried to speak up about the immigration raids.
There were no protesters around the building. Occasionally, a passing driver shouted from their window, registering a mix of anger and support for the military presence.
California vs. Trump
California Governor Gavin Newsom has called the troop deployment a “serious breach of state sovereignty” and a power grab by Trump, and he has gone to court to stop it. The president has cited a legal provision that allows him to mobilise federal service members when there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States”.
A federal judge said in a ruling late on Thursday that what is happening in Los Angeles does not meet the definition of a rebellion and issued an order to return control of the Guard to California before the appeals court stopped it from going into effect on Friday. In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump thanked the appeals court.
“If I didn’t send the Military into Los Angeles, that city would be burning to the ground right now,” he said.
The court will hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday.
The Trump administration has characterised the city as a “war zone”, which local authorities dispute. Recent protests have drawn a few hundred attendees who marched through downtown chanting, dancing and poking fun at the Trump administration’s characterisation of the city.
There have been about 500 arrests since Saturday, mostly for failing to leave the area at the request of law enforcement, according to police. There have been a handful of more serious charges, including for assault against officers and for possession of a Molotov cocktail and a gun. Nine officers have been hurt, mostly with minor injuries.
An 8 pm curfew has been in place in a one-square-mile (2.5-square-kilometre) section of downtown. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (1,295 square kilometres). Protests have ended after a few hours with arrests this week largely for failure to disperse. Mayor Karen Bass said on Friday there was no termination date for the curfew yet.
The “No Kings” demonstrations are planned in nearly 2,000 locations around the country, according to the movement’s website.(AP)
