U.S. Marines Deployed To L.A. Amid Anti-ICE Protests, As CA Sues Trump Over National Guard Order
Approximately 700 U.S. Marines were mobilized by the Trump administration Monday to support the National Guard in LA amid anti-ICE protests.
Hours before, California sued the Trump administration for deploying 2,000 National Guard troops there without California Governor Gavin Newsom’s consent. Under President Trump’s order, they were told to remain there for roughly 60 days to help disperse protesters.
It follows an Immigration and Customs Enforcement crackdown in L.A., with officers announcing Saturday that 118 undocumented immigrants were arrested the week prior. That includes more than 40 on Friday alone during raids at two Home Depots, a store in the fashion district, and a doughnut shop.
ON THE GROUND
While most of the protests have been peaceful, some turned violent, with people setting Waymo cars on fire and throwing fireworks at police. On Sunday, demonstrators threw cinderblocks on California Highway Patrol (CHP) officers on the 101 Freeway in Los Angeles.
There were more than 40 arrests and at least five law enforcement officers were injured during the protests.
Things were calmer in L.A. today, but solidarity protests have already emerged in San Francisco, Sacramento, Houston, San Antonio, Chicago, and New York, with at least 30 new protests planned for this week in major cities across the country.
On Monday, Trump said he would arrest Governor Newsom if he were White House Border Czar Tom Homan, who warned Saturday that the governor and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could face arrest for obstructing federal immigration enforcement efforts. Newsom fired back, calling Trump’s threat an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
Trump also called the demonstrators “insurrectionists” and “professional agitators” who “should be in jail.”
The remarks come just months after Trump granted clemency to all individuals charged or convicted for their roles in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, including those who attacked police officers.
THE LAW OF IT
Trump has not yet invoked the Insurrection Act — an 1807 law that allows the president to deploy the U.S. military domestically in cases of foreign invasion or domestic rebellion. When asked on Sunday whether he might invoke the law, Trump said, "It depends on whether or not there's an insurrection." His recent comments, including labeling the protesters “insurrectionists,” may be laying the groundwork to do so.
What it means: Given that the law has not been officially invoked, the Marines cannot participate in law enforcement activities.
In the California lawsuit, officials argue Trump overstepped his authority by taking actions usually reserved for presidents invoking the Insurrection Act.
“There is no invasion. There is no rebellion,” CA Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) said. “Trump and [Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth] jumped from zero to 60, bypassing law enforcement expertise and evaluation. They threw caution to the wind and sidelined strategy in an unnecessary and inflammatory escalation that only further spurred unrest.”
It’s not the first time a president has used the power, though. President George H.W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act to deploy troops to help restore order during the Rodney King verdict riots in 1992, at the request of the California governor. According to the Brennan Center, the last time the act was used against a state’s wishes was by President Lyndon B. Johnson during civil rights demonstrations in Alabama in 1965.
