Trump orders thousands more troops to Los Angeles despite police warnings

Irish Examiner

2 days ago

Another 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines are heading to Los Angeles on orders from President Donald Trump.
The moves escalates a military presence that local officials and California governor Gavin Newsom do not want and the police chief says creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.
An initial 2,000 Guard troops ordered by Mr Trump started arriving on Sunday, which saw the most violence during three days of protests driven by anger over the Republican's stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are breaking apart migrant families.
Los Angeles police officers arrest a protester (Jae Hong/AP)
Monday's demonstrations were far less raucous, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention centre where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids across the city.
Mr Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Mayor Karen Bass and Mr Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth. They say he is putting public safety at risk by adding military personnel even though police say they do not need the help.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement he was confident in the police department's ability to handle large-scale demonstrations and that the Marines' arrival without coordinating with the police department would present a 'significant logistical and operational challenge' for them.
Mr Newsom called the deployments reckless and 'disrespectful to our troops' in a post on the social platform X.
'This isn't about public safety,' Mr Newsom said. 'It's about stroking a dangerous President's ego.'
The protests began on Friday in downtown Los Angeles after federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people across the city.
The smell of smoke hung in the air downtown on Monday, one day after crowds blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.
Additional protests against immigration raids continued into the evening on Monday in several other cities including San Francisco and Santa Ana in California and Dallas and Austin in Texas.
In Austin, Texas Governor Greg Abbott said in a post on X that more than a dozen protesters were arrested, while in Santa Ana, a spokesperson for the city's police department said the National Guard had arrived in the city to secure federal buildings.
California attorney general Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit over the use of National Guard troops following the first deployment, telling reporters in his announcement that Mr Trump had 'trampled' the state's sovereignty.
'We don't take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilising California National Guard troops,' Mr Bonta said. He sought a court order declaring Mr Trump's use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment.
US officials said the Marine troops were deployed to protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents.
Mr Trump's Monday order put more National Guard members on active duty, but one US official warned that the order was just signed and it could take a day or two to get troops moving. T
Despite their presence, there has been limited engagement so far between the Guard and protesters while local law enforcement implements crowd control.
Ms Bass criticised the deployment of National Guard troops and Marines as a 'deliberate attempt' by the Trump administration to 'create disorder and chaos in our city'.
She made a plea to the federal government: 'Stop the raids.'
On Monday, thousands flooded the streets around City Hall for a union rally ahead of a hearing for arrested labour leader David Huerta, who was freed a few hours later on a 50,000 dollar bond.
Mr Huerta's arrest on Friday while protesting agaisnt immigration raids has become a rallying cry for people angry over the administration's crackdown. He is the president of the Service Employees International Union California, which represents thousands of the state's janitors, security officers and other workers.
Early protests had a calm and even joyful atmosphere at times, with people dancing to live music and buoyed by Huerta's release.
Protesters linked hands in front of a line of police officers outside the downtown federal detention centre where Mr Huerta was being held. Religious leaders joined the protesters, working with organisers at times to de-escalate moments of tension.
There was a heavy law enforcement presence in the few square blocks including the federal detention facility, while most in the immense city of some 4 million people went about their normal business on peaceful streets.
Chanting against a line of National Guard troops with Homeland Security officers behind them surrounding the federal buildings ramped up in the afternoon as people yelled, 'Free them all!' and 'National Guard go away'.