President Donald Trump has reportedly ordered the U.S. Marines into Los Angeles to protect federal properties as protests against immigration enforcement entered the fourth day.
ABC News said U.S. officials confirmed that 700 California Marines “have been ordered to assist in Los Angeles and they’re expected to arrive over the next 24 hours.”
“The Marines are from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, whom U.S. Northern Command had said Sunday were on a ‘prepared to deploy status’ if the Defense Department needed them,” the news outlet added.
Northern Command said in a Sunday news release that the Marines would be deployed “should they be necessary to augment and support the DoD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts.”
Politico reported, “The Marines will not participate in law enforcement activities unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act, which would allow them to suppress violence, according to two defense officials, granted anonymity to discuss internal operations.”
The Marines have multiple installations in southern California, compared to the active duty U.S. Army, which has a lesser presence.
PRESS RELEASE: USNORTHCOM statement regarding protection of federal property and personnel in the LA Area.
Approx. 2,000 @TheCalGuard soldiers have been placed under in a Title 10 status.
Read more: https://t.co/Hew1buGKyN pic.twitter.com/9Cwj08cYK5— U.S. Northern Command (@USNorthernCmd) June 9, 2025
Additionally, about 2,000 California National Guard personnel have been placed under federal control to respond to the rioting.
As of Sunday, “approximately 300 members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team deployed at the following locations in the greater Los Angeles area: Los Angeles, Paramount, and Compton, California,” the Northern Command news release said.
When asked whether he planned to deploy the Marines earlier Monday, Trump told an ABC News correspondent, “We’ll see what happens.”
“I mean, I think we have it very well under control,” he added. “I think it would have been a very bad situation. It was heading in the wrong direction. It’s now heading in the right direction.”
Reporter: “Are you going to deploy Marines in California?”
Trump: “We’ll see what happens.” pic.twitter.com/qGQNuoMq4J
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) June 9, 2025
“We hope to have the support of [California Gov. Gavin Newsom], because Gavin is the big beneficiary as we straighten out his problems,” Trump said.
Newsom opposed the president’s decision to federalize the California Guard to respond to the riots and is suing the Trump administration over the move.
Republican U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt of Texas responded to CNN reporting that sending Marines in would be a major escalation by the president.
“Let’s be clear: the real escalation was when Gavin Newsom and Democrat leaders stood down and watched Los Angeles burn. Restoring law and order is not escalation — it’s leadership,” the West Point graduate and combat veteran posted on X.
CNN calls the activation of U.S. Marines a “significant escalation.”
Let’s be clear: the real escalation was when Gavin Newsom and Democrat leaders stood down and watched Los Angeles burn.
Restoring law and order is not escalation—it’s leadership.
It’s what happens when… pic.twitter.com/cLTxzxslxa
— Wesley Hunt (@WesleyHuntTX) June 9, 2025
“It’s what happens when elected officials fail, and chaos takes hold. The American people deserve peace, not permissive lawlessness.”
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