Hundreds of National Guard troops took up positions in Los Angeles on Sunday (June 8, 2025) on the orders of U.S. President Donald Trump, a uncommon deployment over the pinnacle of the state Governor, after unruly protests in opposition to immigration raids.
The U.S. army mentioned 300 troopers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had been sent to 3 separate areas within the higher Los Angeles space, and had been “conducting safety and protection of federal property & personnel.”
Helmeted troops in camouflage gear and carrying weapons might be seen in entrance of a federal advanced — together with a detention centre — with the phrase “Our City” spray-painted on it in downtown Los Angeles.
The deployment overrode the protests of native officers, a unprecedented transfer not seen in a long time that California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed as “purposefully inflammatory.”
It got here forward of extra deliberate protests within the metropolis, which has a big Latino inhabitants, together with a name by organisers for a “mass mobilisation” at City Hall at 2:00 p.m. native time (2100 GMT).
A separate Pride parade in help of LGBTQ rights — additionally underneath assault by the Trump administration — additionally started Sunday (June 8, 2025) in Hollywood, with organisers posting on Instagram that they had been working with native regulation enforcement to maintain the celebrations protected.
“Trump is sending 2,000 National Guard troops into LA County — not to meet an unmet need, but to manufacture a crisis,” Mr Newsom posted on X Sunday (June 8, 2025).
“He’s hoping for chaos so he can justify more crackdowns, more fear, more control. Stay calm. Never use violence. Stay peaceful.”
Mr Newsom’s warning got here after Los Angeles was rocked by two days of confrontations that noticed federal brokers firing flash-bang grenades and tear fuel towards crowds offended on the arrests of dozens of migrants.
On Sunday (June 8, 2025) pepper spray hung within the air from in a single day, AFP reporters mentioned.
‘Escalation’
Republicans lined up behind Mr Trump to dismiss the pushback by Mr Newsom and different native officers in opposition to the National Guard deployment.
“I have no concern about that at all,” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson informed ABC‘s “This Week”, accusing Mr Newsom of “an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary”.
As for threats by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Saturday (June 7, 2025) to ship in active-duty Marines on high of the Guard troops, Mr Johnson mentioned he didn’t see that as “heavy-handed.”
“We have to be prepared to do what is necessary,” he argued.
Demonstrators that AFP spoke to mentioned troops had been probably not being sent in to maintain order.
“I think it’s an intimidation tactic,” mentioned Thomas Henning. “These protests have been peaceful. There’s no one trying to do any sort of damage right now and yet you have the National Guard with loaded magazines and large guns standing around trying to intimidate Americans from exercising our first amendment rights.”
Estrella Corral mentioned demonstrators had been offended that hard-working migrants who’ve executed nothing mistaken had been being snatched by masked immigration brokers.
“This is our community, and we want to feel safe,” she informed AFP. “Trump deploying the National Guard is ridiculous. I think he’s escalating, he’s trying to make a show for his agenda.”
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders mentioned the transfer demonstrated “Trump’s authoritarianism in real time.”
“Conduct massive illegal raids. Provoke a counter-response. Declare a state of emergency. Call in the troops,” he wrote on social media, including: “Unacceptable.”
‘Unacceptable’
The National Guard — a reserve army — is steadily utilized in pure disasters, and infrequently in cases of civil unrest, however nearly at all times with the consent of native authorities.
It is the primary time since 1965 {that a} President has deployed a National Guard with out a request by a state Governor, the previous head of Human Rights Watch, U.S. activist Kenneth Roth, posted on X.
Mr Trump has delivered on a promise to crack down laborious on undocumented migrants — who he has likened to “monsters” and “animals” — since taking workplace in January.
Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) company in different U.S. cities have triggered small-scale protests in current months, however the Los Angeles unrest is the largest and most sustained in opposition to Mr Trump’s immigration insurance policies to date.
A CBS News ballot taken earlier than the Los Angeles protests confirmed a slight majority of Americans nonetheless accepted of the immigration crackdown.
Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum on Sunday (June 8, 2025) defended migrants residing in north of the border.
“Mexicans living in the United States are good men and women, honest people who went to the United States to seek a better life for themselves and to support their families. They are not criminals! They are good men and women!” she mentioned.
Published – June 09, 2025 01:19 am IST
