Los Angeles latest: 700 marines to be deployed - as thousands of troops 'given no food or water'

Sky News

2 days ago

We're pausing our live coverage
That's all our live coverage of the protests in Los Angeles for now.
Before we go, here is a recap of the key moments from the past day... The fourth day of demonstrations were more peaceful, with thousands attending a rally at City Hall;
Hundreds also protested outside a detention centre where suspected illegal immigrants are being held after federal raids;
California governor Gavin Newsom said he would sue the Trump administration after National Guard troops were deployed in the state;
Donald Trump later claimed LA would have been "completely obliterated" if he hadn't sent in the Guard;
He then said Newsom should be arrested and claimed "professional agitators" were behind the unrest;
The US president also ordered the deployment of another 2,000 additional National Guard troops;
Around 700 marines will also join the Guard in LA, a US official told news agencies;
And the head of the LA Police Department said their deployment "creates logistical challenges and risks".
Watch below: Martha Kelner reports from LA
Newsom and Trump escalate war of words
While much of the focus has been on the streets of LA, running parallel to the disorder is a bitter political row.
Donald Trump's decision to send in the National Guard came over the heads of state Democratic leaders.
It pitched a Republican White House against a firmly Democratic state.
Things have become so tense that Trump even suggested his border czar should have arrested Californian governor Gavin Newsom.
Meanwhile, Newsom himself has characterised Trump's actions as an invasion of his state - flipping Trump's usual rhetoric on undocumented immigration.
Similarly, many of their outriders and allies have repeated these messages across social media and TV.
'We've taken Trump to court 23 times, we'll do it again'
Some more to bring you from California's attorney general.
He told a news conference on Monday that his state will continue to battle Donald Trump in the courts, after announcing his intention to sue the administration.
This, he said, marks California's 24th lawsuit against the federal government in 19 weeks.
We reported earlier on the attorney general's announcement that California was set to sue the Trump administration.
Rob Bonta said the deployment of National Guard troops "stokes the flames, it's inflammatory, it's provocative, it's unhelpful".
He went on: "It's not normal to have a president who violates the law so blatantly, but if that's his course, our response ... is to take him to court.
"We will take him to court every time he breaks the law and hurts Californians."
The goal of the lawsuit, he said, is to secure a court declaration that Trump's National Guard deployment is unlawful.
Watch: Violence and vandalism in LA
US correspondent Martha Kelner reports from Los Angeles, where protests have continued for a fourth day.
'What do we do?' Protester tells Sky News why they took to the streets
Protesters have been telling Sky News why they took to the streets.
Our US correspondent Martha Kelner has been reporting from Los Angeles where protests and unrest have flared up in recent days.
"A lot of my people are getting taken away, we've lived here all our lives. How are you going to send us back to a place that we don't even know?" one said.
"What do we do from here?"
Another protester, clearly carrying scrapes and bruises, detailed her experience with law enforcement to Sky News.
"They shot me in the leg with a rubber bullet, they hit me in the head, there's bruising."
In pictures: Marines prepare for departure to Los Angeles
Marines were preparing to depart for the greater Los Angeles area on Monday from the Marine Corps Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, according to a post on X from the US Northern Command.
The 700 soldiers "will seamlessly integrate" with the National Guard troops protecting federal personnel and property in LA, the Northern Command said.
'False invitations' led to immigration arrests
We heard from David Cruz, communications director at the League of United Latin American Citizens.
He told Sky News that people in Los Angeles received what he described as "false invitations" for an immigration hearing at the federal building.
But, since then, they were "never seen again".
He said: "What was more concerning were the false invitations that were being sent out to immigrants, some of whom had been here more than 10 years.
"They arrived at their immigration hearing at the federal building in downtown Los Angeles, never to be seen again.
"We found out about it 72 hours later when 200 detainees were being shipped to points unknown around the nation and beyond.
"That's what this reaction from our community."
Sky News has approached ICE for comment.
National Guard deployment to 'our city is actually a test case', LA mayor says
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass spoke at a news conference about Donald Trump sending National Guard troops to Los Angeles.
She said: "It makes me feel like our city is actually a test case for what happens when the federal government moves in and takes the authority away from the state or away from local government.
"I don't think that our city should be used for an experiment to see what happens in the nation's second-largest city [and whether they] can do this to other cities."
Bass, a Democrat, previously accused Trump of "creating a crisis" in LA - see our 20.37 post for Bass and fellow Democrat Gavin Newsom taking aim at the US president.
Deployment of marines 'creates logistical challenges and risks', LAPD chief says
Jim McDonnell, leading the Los Angeles Police Department, said at a news conference that deploying the Marines to LA "without direct coordination creates logistical challenges and risks confusion during critical incidents".
"We urge full transparency and communication across all levels of government," he added.
McDonnell highlighted that the LAPD's priority was to "simply keep both the public and law enforcement officers and to maintain order".
This comes after McDonnell said on X that the LAPD had not "received any formal notification that the Marines will be arriving in Los Angeles".
In pictures: Fourth day of protests hit LA
Here are some of the latest pictures from a fourth day of protests in Los Angeles.
Unlike previous days, there seem to be fewer clashes between protesters and authorities so far.