US President Donald Trump stated that National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles would ensure “very strong law and order” while suggesting that additional soldiers could be sent to other cities if needed, reports RTE.
“You have violent people, and we are not going to let them get away with it,” Trump told reporters regarding protests against immigration raids in California. He added, “I think you’re going to see some very strong law and order.”
Trump made these comments while speaking to the press at Morristown Airport before boarding Air Force One en route to Camp David, reports RTE.
Minutes before his remarks, National Guard troops had used tear gas and pushed back a small group of protesters outside a detention center in Los Angeles. Footage showed about a dozen National Guard members lining up at a federal building in Los Angeles, where detainees from recent immigration raids were being held, sparking protests that continued into the following day.
The facility is near Los Angeles City Hall, where another protest was planned for that afternoon, reports RTE.
US Northern Command confirmed that National Guard troops had begun deploying, with some already stationed on the ground.
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard, accusing him of seeking “a spectacle,” reports RTE.
National Guard troops were also spotted in Paramount, southeast Los Angeles, near a hardware store, where clashes between protesters and police had occurred the day before.
A planned demonstration in Boyle Heights, an eastern Los Angeles neighborhood, drew around 200 protesters by midday, though no law enforcement officers were present, according to a Reuters witness, reports RTE.
Trump responded to the protests on his Truth Social platform, saying, “These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED.”
Video footage showed several military-style vehicles and riot shields at the federal building where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) claimed around “1,000 rioters” had protested on Friday. However, Reuters could not independently verify this claim, reports RTE.
Law enforcement engaged with protesters in Paramount and downtown Los Angeles, with federal officers using gas canisters to disperse crowds, according to Reuters witnesses.
In Paramount, several hundred protesters gathered, and tensions escalated the previous day, while about 100 demonstrators assembled in downtown Los Angeles, reports RTE.
The Los Angeles Police Department arrested 27 people for failure to disperse at the downtown protest, police spokesperson Norma Eisenman confirmed. She did not comment on whether the LAPD used “less lethal” force, a term for crowd control methods such as pepper balls.
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The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department arrested three people for allegedly assaulting an officer, and three deputies suffered minor injuries. Deputies did use “less lethal force” in Paramount, although spokesperson Brenda Serna could not specify which tactics were used, reports RTE.
The protests have placed Democratic-run Los Angeles, where a significant portion of the population is Hispanic and foreign-born, in opposition to Trump’s Republican administration, which has made a crackdown on immigration a central issue in his second term.
US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilize active-duty troops “if violence continues” in Los Angeles, claiming marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were “on high alert,” reports RTE.
Hegseth stated, “There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and marines if needed, stand with ICE.”
California Democratic Congresswoman Nanette Barragan criticized Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard, arguing that local law enforcement already had sufficient resources to manage the situation. “We don’t need the help. This is him escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It’s only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement,” she told CNN, reports RTE.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem assured CBS that the National Guard would provide protection for buildings, peaceful protesters, and law enforcement officers.
ICE operations in Los Angeles on Friday led to at least 44 arrests for alleged immigration violations. Trump has vowed to deport record numbers of undocumented migrants and secure the US-Mexico border, setting a goal for ICE to arrest at least 3,000 people per day, reports RTE.
However, the sweeping immigration crackdown has also targeted people with legal residency, sparking legal challenges.
The National Guard was last deployed in response to unrest during the 1992 Los Angeles riots, at the request of the California governor. Trump’s justification for the current deployment cited a provision in Title 10 of the US Code, which governs the Armed Forces, reports RTE.
Title 10 also specifies that such orders should be issued through state governors, raising questions about whether Trump had the legal authority to send National Guard troops to California without Governor Newsom’s consent.
Title 10 allows federal deployment of the National Guard in cases of “rebellion or danger of rebellion” against the US government, but troops are restricted to specific roles and cannot engage in routine law enforcement duties, reports RTE.
Trump’s memo indicated that the National Guard’s role would be to “temporarily protect ICE and other US government personnel performing federal functions” and safeguard federal property at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or expected, reports RTE.
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