Photos show how National Guard troops are being deployed in L.A.

San Francisco Chronicle​

a day ago

LOS ANGELES — California National Guard troops wielded M4 rifles, pistols, riot sticks and shields as they stared down demonstrators here Wednesday, under orders to protect federal personnel and buildings as protests continued in Southern California against immigration enforcement operations.
Clad in camo fatigues, American flag patches on their right shoulders and with many obscured by masks and sunglasses, a half dozen stood in front of the entrance of the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles, down from dozens a day earlier. The windows and exterior areas of the building, which houses Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other offices, were covered with 'F— ICE' and other graffiti opposing the Trump Administration's immigration policies. Protesters have descended on the building in recent days, as well as the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building and a jail operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons.
The presence of thousands of armed military troops on U.S. soil deployed to impose order throughout Los Angeles stood in stark contrast to the relatively small number of local residents clad in short-sleeved shirts, shorts and baseball caps, waving American and Mexican flags.
As of early Wednesday afternoon the protests at the Federal Building remained peaceful, with troops standing watch but otherwise unoccupied.
The scene was a small part of an otherwise placid section of the city, with restaurants and business open just two blocks away.
'This is inflammatory and stupid,' said Ellen Carpenter, 64. 'There are 100 protesters, probably 200 members of the press, and 80 guys with batons and guns. The reason there is a crowd here is because they are standing here. If they weren't here, there wouldn't be any crowds.'
But the protests had been unruly over the previous days, with arrests and vandalism left in their wake.
On Wednesday, graffiti-cleanup crews were seen throughout the streets, washing off many of the tags protesters sprayed on businesses and the federal building complex in downtown Los Angeles.
While thousands of protesters had gathered Tuesday night, just a few dozen were visible around the complex Wednesday afternoon although that number was expected to grow later in the day.
Among them was Lynn Sturgis, who described the federal deployment as 'very unnecessary.'
'It's scary,' she said. 'I am a 66 year-old woman here with my water bottle and some sunscreen. They are here with flashbang grenades and batons, there's no need for that. '
Sturgis had brought a homemade sign for the federal troops, with one side that said,'I'm so sorry that you are being used as PAWNS by your despotic commander and chief. BLINK if you are PISSED at him.'
'I understand they are stuck between a rock and a hard place,' she said as she waved the sign. 'I am hoping some don't want to be here.'
A block away, a 39-year-old man who identified himself only by his first name, Albert, said it was his third day of protesting. Born in California, the son of Mexican immigrants, Albert said he was appalled by the presence of the National Guard.
'They're not supposed to be here. It hurts,' he said. 'Trump is making us look like we're animals and saying we are here to destroy things. Have people been destructive? Yes. Have they been provoked? Yes.'
His friend, who identified himself as Chris, said the presence of federal troops and the National Guard seemed like an attempt by Trump 'to put fear in people's hearts so they won't protest.'
It had the opposite reaction for him, he said.
'I think more people should come now that they are here,' he said. Another protester, 24 year-old William, said he thought deploying federal troops was a 'stupid thing to do,' and the presence of the National Guard was clearly intended to intimidate, describing them as 'armed state thugs.'
'Ninety-nine percent of the people out here are peaceful,' he said. 'You see people with guns, with live ammunition, not rubber bullets, it makes things way more aggravated.'
Another protester, named Viviana, said that the presence of the Guard was a 'recipe for disaster,' and setting residents on edge.
'In combination with the ICE raids, it feeds into that hysteria, people are getting that sense of 'when am I next?''
While immigration raids have sparked unruly protests across the country, prompting arrests and the use of pepper spray and rubber bullets for crowd control, the Trump administration has so far only sought to subdue demonstrations in Southern California.
As of Wednesday, protests in San Francisco, Oakland, Denver, Chicago, Dallas, New York, Detroit, Pittsburgh had been left to local law enforcement. In Texas, the governor said he will deploy the National Guard ahead of planned protests this weekend.
Trump officials hinted that the deployment of military troops this week could become commonplace, with the federal armed forces deployed in Los Angeles for at least two months.
'I think we're entering another phase, especially under President Trump with his focus on the homeland, where the National Guard and Reserves become a critical component of how we secure that homeland,' Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday during a Congressional subcommittee hearing.
A minimum 60-day deployment of the Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles was expected to cost $134 million, according to Pentagon comptroller Bryn MacDonnell during the Tuesday hearing.
'We stated very publicly that it's 60 days because we want to ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere,' Hegseth told federal lawmakers.
As of Wednesday morning in Los Angeles, 2,000 National Guard troops were deployed in the region, with another 2,000 expected to arrive by 3 p.m. Thursday, said commanding officer U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman.
Another 700 Marines were expected to follow after a two-day civil disturbance training at the Naval Weapons Station at Seal Beach, which included extensive work on crowd control and rules of engagement, Sherman said.
Their job, the two-star general said, was to protect federal facilities and to federal workers doing their jobs. That included accompanying federal immigration officers on raids, actions targeted by protesters across the country.
The military troops were not allowed to do search and seizure or arrest anyone, Sherman said. They could, however, detain individuals and then wait for law enforcement to arrest them.
'They're in the lead,' he said, referring to immigration agents. 'We're supporting them.'
Rarely in recent history has the National Guard been requested to provide assistance to local law enforcement, and typically only in the wake of natural disasters or briefly at the request of governors in the midst of significant unrest. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush deployed the National Guard at the request of then-Gov. Pete Wilson amid the 4,000 fires, 30 deaths and hundreds of injuries during the riots over the Rodney King verdict.
The National Guard was deployed then for six days.
The recent protests in Los Angeles have included some vandalism and violence, much of it quelled by local law enforcement with arrests as well as a one-night curfew, which was lifted Wednesday morning.
More protests, however, are planned in the coming days as immigration raids are expected to continue across the country.