The Latest: Trump authorizes the deployment of 2,000 additional National Guard to LA
Jun 10, 2025, 6:40 AM | Updated: 7:00 am
Another 2,000 National Guard troops, along with 700 Marines, are headed to Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump, escalating a military presence local officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom don’t want and the police chief says creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.
Here’s the latest:
Trump said his decision to “SEND IN THE TROOPS” to Los Angeles spared the city from burning to the ground like thousands of homes after wildfires this year.
He wrote on his social media site that people want to rebuild, and that the federal permitting process is “virtually complete on these houses.”
Trump claimed that “the easy and simple City and State Permits are disastrously bungled up and WAY BEHIND SCHEDULE!” and blamed California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
“People want to rebuild their houses. Call your incompetent Governor and Mayor, the Federal permitting is DONE!!!” he wrote.
The Pentagon was scrambling Monday to establish rules to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult prospect of using force against citizens on American soil, now that the Trump administration is deploying active duty troops to the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles.
The forces have been trained in deescalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force, Northern Command said.
But the use of the active duty forces still raises difficult questions.
The Marines are highly trained in combat and crisis response. But that is starkly different from the role they will face now: They could potentially be hit by protesters carrying gas canisters and have to quickly decide how to respond or face decisions about protecting an immigration enforcement agent from crowds.
According to a U.S. official, troops will be armed with their normal service weapons but will not be carrying tear gas. They also will have protective equipment such as helmets, shields and gas masks.
▶ Read more about the Pentagon’s guidelines for the Marines
This isn’t the image Los Angeles wanted projected around the globe.
Clouds of tear gas wafting over a throng of protesters on a blocked freeway. Federal immigration agents in tactical garb raiding businesses in search of immigrants without legal status. A messy war of words between Trump and Newsom. Photos captured several Waymo robotaxis set on fire and graffiti scrawled on a federal detention center building, while videos recorded the sounds of rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades hitting crowds.
In a city still reeling from January’s deadly wildfires — and with the World Cup soccer championships and the 2028 Olympics on the horizon — Mayor Karen Bass has been urging residents to come together to revitalize LA’s image by sprucing up streets, planting trees and painting murals so LA shows its best face to nations near and far.
“It’s about pride,” she’s said. “This is the city of dreams.”
▶ Read more about the impact of the protests
The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.
Protesters clasp hands in front of a line of California National Guard, Monday, June 9, 2025, at a Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo Jae Hong)
The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor’s permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
On Monday, thousands flooded the streets around City Hall for a union rally ahead of a hearing for arrested labor leader David Huerta, who was freed a few hours later on a $50,000 bond. Huerta’s arrest Friday while protesting immigration raids has become a rallying cry for people angry over the administration’s crackdown. He is the president of the Service Employees International Union California, which represents thousands of the state’s janitors, security officers and other workers.
Early protests had a calm and even joyful atmosphere at times, with people dancing to live music and buoyed by Huerta’s release.
Protesters linked hands in front of a line of police officers outside the downtown federal detention center where Huerta was being held. Religious leaders joined the protesters, working with organizers at times to de-escalate moments of tension.
There was a heavy law enforcement presence in the few square blocks, while most in the immense city of some 4 million people went about their normal business on peaceful streets.
Another 2,000 National Guard troops along with 700 Marines are headed to Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump, escalating a military presence local officials and Newsom don’t want and the police chief says creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.
An initial 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Trump started arriving Sunday, which saw the most violence during three days of protests.
Monday’s demonstrations were far less raucous, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids across the city.
Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth. They say he is putting public safety at risk by adding military personnel even though police say they don’t need the help.
Newsom called the deployments reckless and “disrespectful to our troops” in a post on the social platform X.
▶ Read more about the deployment of more National Guard members
