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Donald Trump has authorised the deployment of 2,000 more National Guard members to Los Angeles, raising the total to over 4,100 amid escalating immigration protests.
Demonstrators holding signs and a combination US and Mexican flag face California National Guard members in Los Angeles (Photo: AFP)
Amid the violent protests in Los Angeles, US President Donald Trump has authorised the deployment of an additional 2,000 National Guard members to respond to immigration demonstrations.
The latest order brings the total number of Guard put on federal orders for the protests to more than 4,100.
The news comes hours after the Pentagon deployed about 700 Marines to the protests in the city, which will be used to protect federal property and personnel, including immigration agents, and are prohibited from performing law enforcement duties under the Posse Comitatus Act.
“At the order of the President, the Department of Defense is mobilizing an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support ICE & to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell posted on X.
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The extraordinary mobilisation of 700 full-time professional military personnel and thousands of National Guard troops looked likely to stoke tensions in a city with a huge Latino population, AFP reported.
Meanwhile, California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the move as “deranged.”
“US Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy,” Newsom posted on X.
“They shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American,” he added.
The deployment came after demonstrators took over streets in Downtown LA on Sunday, torching cars and looting stores in ugly scenes that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets.
The people “causing the problems are professional agitators and insurrectionists,” Trump told reporters in Washington.
LOS ANGELES PROTESTS
A fourth day of protest triggered by dozens of arrests of what authorities said were illegal migrants and gang members unfolded peacefully on Monday.
AFP quoted Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell as saying that local authorities could control the city.
Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, which included the torching of several Waymo cars on Sunday, officials and local law enforcement stressed that the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful.
Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged.
At least 56 people were arrested over two days, and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests in San Francisco.
ALSO READ | Donald Trump Defends LA National Guard Deployment, Mocks Mayor: ‘Incompetent Gavin Newscum’
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
Vani Mehrotra is the Deputy News Editor at News18.com. She has nearly 10 years of experience in both national and international news and has previously worked on multiple desks.
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