LOS ANGELES: Hundreds of US Marines will soon move into Los Angeles, a military official said on Wednesday (Jun 11), as protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration raids continued to spread across the country.
The Marines, currently undergoing refresher training in riot and crowd control, are expected to enter the city “soon” but not on Wednesday, said US Army Major General Scott Sherman. Their deployment comes amid a wider military mobilisation by Trump, who has dispatched National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom.
TENSIONS RISE IN MAJOR US CITIES
The protests, initially concentrated in California, have expanded to cities including New York, Atlanta and Chicago. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott said he would deploy the National Guard ahead of planned demonstrations, following clashes between police and protesters in Austin earlier this week.
In Los Angeles, Mayor Karen Bass imposed a limited curfew in the downtown area after some looting incidents. Local police made mass arrests on Tuesday night, saying some demonstrators defied the curfew order. While most protests remained peaceful, officials said the presence of federal troops inflamed tensions.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation,” said Newsom, a Democrat widely seen as a potential presidential contender in 2028. He filed a lawsuit on Monday to block the troop deployment, which Trump has defended as necessary to maintain order.
MILITARY ROLE UNDER SCRUTINY
The 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops mobilised by Trump do not have arrest authority but are tasked with protecting government personnel and property. The Pentagon confirmed they would also be used to safeguard US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents during immigration raids.
Photos posted by ICE on Tuesday showed National Guard troops standing armed while ICE officers arrested individuals in Los Angeles. California Attorney General Rob Bonta warned the operation could violate the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military in civilian law enforcement.
Sherman said the troops are authorised to detain individuals temporarily until law enforcement can intervene, if required to protect federal staff.
The last comparable deployment occurred in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots after the acquittal of police officers in the beating of Rodney King.
