Topline
President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Los Angeles “would be burning” if he opted not to deploy the National Guard to the city, a move challenged by California officials, as hundreds of troops are reportedly expected to arrive in the area soon in response to anti-immigration protests.
Police officers clear people off a street as protests continue in Los Angeles following three days ... More
In a Truth Social post, Trump claimed Los Angeles “would be burning to the ground right now” if he didn’t deploy the National Guard to the city and appeared to reference wildfires that destroyed thousands of homes earlier this year, suggesting city and state permits are “disastrously bungled up and WAY BEHIND SCHEDULE” to rebuild.
About 700 active-duty Marines could start arriving in the Los Angeles area as soon as Tuesday, defense officials told CBS and the BBC, after a spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command told the New York Times the troops would arrive in the city overnight.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth will participate in the first of a series of congressional hearings he is scheduled to face this week, where he is expected to be grilled about the deployment of the Marines in Los Angeles—he will appear before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense on Tuesday.
Hegseth was the first Trump administration official to suggest the deployment of active duty Marines to tackle the protests in an X post.
The Prime Minister of Australia, Anthony Albanese, on Tuesday addressed the incident involving Australian news reporter Lauren Tomasi, who was struck on her leg by a rubber bullet while covering the protests on Sunday, saying the incident was “horrific” and claimed footage showed that police had “targeted” the journalist.
Albanese said he has raised the matter with the Trump administration, and added: “We don't find it acceptable that it occurred, and we think that the role of the media is particularly important.”
The San Francisco Police Department issued a statement about the demonstrations taking place in the city in support of the Los Angeles protests and said: “Thousands of people participated in today's demonstrations, which were overwhelmingly peaceful.”
However, the police arrested “multiple individuals” at the end of the night “two small groups broke off” and allegedly “committed vandalism and other criminal acts.”
According to the U.S. Northern Command, the 700 Marines being deployed in Los Angeles are from the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Marines Regiment, 1st Marine Division, and they will “seamlessly integrate” with the 1700 California National guard unit deployed to protect “federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.”
The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote a letter to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth on Sunday, asking him to order the military to detain or arrest “lawbreakers” in Los Angeles.
Legal experts cited by the report said Noem’s letter may be attempting to circumvent federal laws, which prevent the military from participating in domestic law enforcement, by invoking the Insurrection Act.
In an interview with CNN, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan defended the troop deployment plan and when asked about the role the Marines will play, he said: “It all depends on the activities of these protesters – I mean, they make the decisions.”
“We don’t know what’s going to happen tonight – it seems like at night, the crowds get bigger, the violence peaks...We’ll be well prepared for the military here to protect government property and protect officers’ lives,” Homan added.
Earlier on Monday, LAPD chief Jim McDonnell said “The possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles — absent clear coordination — presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us tasked with safeguarding this city.”
Newsom criticized the move to deploy Marines, saying the “The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend.”
The governor said the state would sue to stop what he described “a blatant abuse of power,” as he urged Courts and Congress to “act.”
Up to 700 Marines from a battalion based out of Twentynine Palms, California, were mobilizing to respond to the protests, according to ABC News, and are expected to deploy to the city within 24 hours.
The Marines will aid the more than 2,000 members of the National Guard Trump deployed to Los Angeles, according to CNN.
Bonta announced he is filing a lawsuit against Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, alleging Trump’s order to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles was “trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends” while federalizing the National Guard “is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law.”
Bonta claims the deployment deprived California of emergency response resources, infringed on Newsom’s authority and violates the state’s “sovereign right to control and have available” the National Guard.
Trump, when asked about Newsom daring Homan to arrest him, said he “would do it if I were Tom—I think it’s great,” claiming Newsom is “grossly incompetent.”
Earlier on Monday, Homan told Fox News that while “no one’s above the law,” there was “no discussion” about arresting Newsom.
Waymo removed vehicles from the downtown Los Angeles area and suspended service “out of an abundance of caution” following guidance from the Los Angeles Police Department, though the robotaxi firm noted it was still operating in the greater Los Angeles region.
At least six Waymo vehicles set ablaze Sunday and the company was in touch with the Los Angeles Police Department for an investigation, Waymo spokesperson Chris Bonelli told Forbes, as law enforcement warned burning lithium-ion batteries used in the cars release toxic gases, posing possible health risks, and to avoid the area.
Newsom signaled he would sue Trump over his decision to send the National Guard into the state, alleging Trump “flamed the fires and illegally acted.”
At least 60 people were arrested in San Francisco after police reportedly clashed with a group of protestors who gathered to show solidarity with the Los Angeles protestors and oppose the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and deployment of national guard troops to quell protests.
In a post on his Truth Social platform Trump mentioned the LAPD’s comments from the press conference about reassessing the situation about bring in the national guard, and wrote “He should, RIGHT NOW!!! Don’t let these thugs get away with this.”
In follow up posts Trump wrote: “Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS,” and “ARREST THE PEOPLE IN FACE MASKS, NOW!”
The LAPD told reporters at a late night press conference that it had arrested 10 people on Sunday, bring the day’s total tally to 27 after adding to the California Highway Patrol’s 17 arrests.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell told reporters that he was aware of the “deep fear and anxiety” among the immigrant community, and said the department is “committed to transparency, accountability, and treating every Angeleno with respect, regardless of their immigration status.”
When asked about the need for National Guard presence, McDonnell told reporters, “tonight this thing has gotten out of control” but he would have to know more about their intended role before making that determination and added: “we got to make a reassessment.”
Los Angeles Police Department said an “UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY” declaration has been issued “for the area of the Civic Center part of Los Angeles” and said people with with “Cell Phones in the area...have received the alert.”
According to the New York Times, a man tried to aim his van at protesters near a gas station in downtown Los Angeles, but it is unclear if any people were harmed.
The LAPD later told the Times that it had detained the van driver, and noted “multiple charges to follow.”
The Los Angeles Police Department has announced that gatherings at Downtown Los Angeles have “been declared as an UNLAWFUL ASSEMBLY,” as it ordered people to “leave the Downtown Area immediately.”
In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom dared the Trump administration to come and arrest him in response to earlier comments by the president’s border czar Tom Homan threatened to go after any official who interferes the immigration crackdown.
Newsom told MSNBC, “Come after me, arrest me, let’s just get it over with, tough guy...I don’t give a damn, but I care about my community.”
In his interview, Newsom once again accused Trump of “putting fuel on the fire,” with his actions and confirmed that his state will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Monday.
California’s Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis told CNN that she expects state officials to file a federal lawsuit on Monday against the Trump administration’s move to federalize and deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles.
Kounalakis said the lawsuit will say that the president did not have the “authority to call in the National Guard for 400 people protesting in a way that local law enforcement could clearly handle it.”
Earlier in the evening, Newsom said he had made a formal request to the White House to “rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,”
The governor said: “This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.”
When asked by reporters whether he would invoke the Insurrection Act, the law that gives presidents the authority to deploy the military domestically, Trump said, “Depends on whether or not there’s an insurrection,” adding he does not think the Los Angeles protests are an insurrection, though he said there are “violent people, and we’re not going to let them get away with it.”
Trump said he called Newsom and told him he had to “take care” of the protests, otherwise he would “send in the troops,” and he told a reporter who asked whether California officials who obstruct deportations would face federal charges: “If officials stand in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges.”
About 300 members of the National Guard have been stationed across Los Angeles so far, The New York Times reported, the first soldiers as part of the 2,000 Trump has promised to station across the city as more protests are expected to take place this afternoon.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told the Los Angeles Times said she tried to talk to the Trump administration to “tell them that there was absolutely no need to have troops on the ground here in Los Angeles,” stating the protests on Saturday were “relatively minor” and “peaceful,” with about 100 protesters.
Bass appeared to rebuff Trump’s claim the National Guard did a “great job” in the city, stating in a post on X that the National Guard had not yet been deployed at that time in Los Angeles, while praising Newsom and local law enforcement.
Trump said in a late-night Truth Social post the National Guard did a “great job” in Los Angeles, while slamming Newsom and Bass and the “Radical Left” protesters and stating protesters will no longer be allowed to wear masks: “What do these people have to hide, and why???”
Newsom slammed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for “threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens” as “deranged behavior.”
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said it had arrested two people Saturday evening for alleged assault on a police officer, stating multiple officers had been injured by a Molotov cocktail, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Protesters exhibited “violent behavior” toward federal agents and local law enforcement, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement, while clarifying it is not involved in federal law enforcement response and is instead focused on crowd and traffic control.
In a post on X, Newsom said the federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying soldiers in Los Angeles solely to create a “spectacle.”
Hegseth announced in a post on X the Department of Defense is “mobilizing the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles,” stating Marines are standing by for deployment in case of violence.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt announced Trump would deploy 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to address “lawlessness,” citing protests targeting immigration officers.
National Guard troops deployed in Los Angeles. (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) ... More
Members of the National Guard stand guard outside the Metropolitan Detention Center, MDC in downtown ... More
Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., speaks to reporters near where the National Guard troops are ... More
A woman carries a Mexican flag in front of National Guard troops in Los Angeles. (Photo by Spencer ... More
Trump and Hegseth will travel to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, on Tuesday to celebrate the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary, the Defense Department said. Trump is expected to address troops at the base.
Protests broke out Friday and Saturday in Paramount and Compton, cities adjacent to Los Angeles, over immigration raids conducted by ICE, during which the agency detained 44 immigrants Friday and 118 immigrants Saturday, the Associated Press reported. Police and protesters clashed over the weekend, according to local reports and videos on social media, with law enforcement using tear gas and flash grenades to break up the crowds while some protesters threw rocks and lit vehicles on fire.
Glendale, California, announced Sunday the city had terminated an agreement with Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement that allowed the agencies to house federal detainees at the city’s police facility. Glendale officials said the move was “a local decision and was not made lightly,” as the city “recognizes that public perception of the ICE contract—no matter how limited or carefully managed, no matter the good—has become divisive.” Glendale’s city manager opted to end the contract after “careful evaluation of legal, operational and community considerations,” the city said, noting the decision was not “politically driven.”
Trump reportedly said in a memo he is invoking Title 10 of the U.S. Code on Armed Services, which allows the federal government to deploy the National Guard if the United States is “invaded or is in danger of invasion by a foreign nation,” or if there is a “rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.” Vice President JD Vance said in a post on X on Saturday night the influx of immigrants, which he called “Biden’s border crisis,” amounts to an “invasion,” rebuffing critics who have questioned whether Trump had the authority to deploy troops. Trump’s move has faced some pushback from constitutional scholars. “For the federal government to take over the California National Guard, without the request of the governor, to put down protests is truly chilling,” Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, told the Los Angeles Times.
The legal issues raised by Trump sending the National Guard to L.A. (Los Angeles Times)