About half of the California National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles are being released, Trump administration officials said on Tuesday, signaling a significant scaling back of a military deployment that began last month to quell demonstrations over immigration raids and that has angered Democratic leaders in California.
The release of about 2,000 members of the Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat team came as California officials pushed for an end to what the White House had suggested would be a 60-day mobilization. The infantry team was federalized by President Trump and dispatched on June 7 in the wake of chaotic protests, over the objections of California’s governor, who normally controls the state’s National Guard troops.
The initial deployment grew to more than 4,000 members of the Guard, as Los Angeles officers dealt with nightly protests in the city’s downtown and Trump administration officials said military force was necessary to restore order. An additional contingent of more than 700 active-duty Marines was also deployed to the Los Angeles area.
The state has unsuccessfully attempted in federal court to end the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines, calling the operation unlawful and a misuse of military force. Many of the Guard troops deployed in June had just finished stints assisting local officials in the aftermath of Southern California’s devastating wildfires in January.
As the Trump administration and the state continue to fight the case in court, the Guard members have remained, drawing derision from protesters as they guarded federal buildings and accompanied federal agents on raids led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Border Patrol.
By June 17, nearly a month ago, Mayor Karen Bass lifted a curfew that she had imposed on a small area of downtown Los Angeles because most of the protest activity had ended. But National Guard troops have continued to be a local fixture, standing with rifles outside federal office buildings and inching through freeway traffic in armored military vehicles.