Pentagon draws up rules on possible use of force by Marines deployed to LA protests
WASHINGTON — The Pentagon was scrambling Monday to establish rules to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult prospect of using force against citizens on American soil, now that the Trump administration is deploying active duty troops to the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles.
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USA Today
10 minutes ago
- USA Today
50 arrests, 600 non-lethal rounds fired: LAPD says they can handle the protests
50 arrests, 600 non-lethal rounds fired: LAPD says they can handle the protests LAPD says they have made 50 arrests and fired over non-lethal rounds to quell fraught protests. Charges against demonstrators include attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail. Show Caption Hide Caption Active-duty marines deployed for Los Angeles anti-ICE protests President Donald Trump is sending in active-duty Marines to assist law enforcement with immigration protests in Los Angeles, California. Officials at the Los Angeles Police Department said Monday that despite violent demonstrations, local police can handle whatever protesters throw at them and that additional federal help is unnecessary and could become a hindrance. 'The possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles - absent clear coordination - presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,' Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement. 'The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, have decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively.' McDonnell's statement comes amid the administration of President Donald Trump saying that the city is out of control. 'Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marines . . . are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order,' Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said in a post on X. 'We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers - even if Gavin Newsom will not,' Hegseth said of the California governor. In addition to the 700 Marines, a Pentagon spokesperson said 2,000 National Guardsmen were ordered to Los Angeles. Trump already ordered 2,000 guardsmen to the city. LAPD has admitted that things have gotten hectic. Officers have fired over 600 non-lethal bullets and made 50 arrests. On Saturday, LAPD said 29 people were arrested for failing to follow orders to disperse. 21 people were arrested Sunday. Charges against them included attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail and assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, LAPD said. Police said officers used tear gas on the 'hostile crowd' as well as over 600 rounds of non-lethal bullets. Among those hit was an Australian journalist covering the protests. But the office of Governor Gavin Newsom has said that Trump's move to put National Guardsmen and Marines in Los Angeles has provoked the worst of the unrest. Newsome announced Monday that an additional 800 state and local police officers would be deployed to Los Angeles to handle confrontations between protestors and national guardsmen that were sent in 'illegally,' according to the governor's office. Karen Bass, LA's mayor, backed Newsom: 'While Washington choreographed these chaotic events, the LAPD and local law enforcement continue to effectively respond.' At least five Los Angeles Police officers received minor injuries, according to LAPD. Five police horses also 'were targeted and sustained minor injuries.' Police said protest groups used handheld radios 'to coordinate and evade law enforcement.'
Boston Globe
15 minutes ago
- Boston Globe
Hegseth faces Congress for first time since Signal leaks and Marine deployment to Los Angeles
Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Lawmakers may quiz Hegseth on the latest searing images coming out of the immigration raid protests in Los Angeles. Hegseth has deployed about 700 active-duty Marines to assist more than 4,100 National Guard troops in protecting federal buildings and personnel. But there are questions about what the troops will have to do and how much it will all cost. Advertisement Under the Posse Comitatus Act, troops are prohibited from policing U.S. citizens on American soil. Invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows troops to do that, is incredibly rare, and it's not clear if Trump plans to do it. The commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric Smith, will be on Capitol Hill testifying at a separate budget hearing at the same time as Hegseth and is likely to face similar questions. Advertisement What Hegseth has focused on so far Hegseth has spent vast amounts of time during his first five months in office promoting the social changes he's making at the Pentagon. He's been far less visible in the administration's more critical international security crises and negotiations involving Russia, Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Iran. Most recently, Hegseth directed the renaming of a Navy ship that had honored Harvey Milk, a slain gay rights activist who served as a sailor during the Korean War. His spokesman, Sean Parnell, said the renaming was needed to ensure 'the names attached to all DOD installations and assets are reflective of the commander-in-chief's priorities, our nation's history, and the warrior ethos.' Hegseth has posted numerous videos of his morning workouts with troops or of himself signing directives to purge diversity and equity programs and online content from the military. He has boasted of removing transgender service members from the force and firing so-called woke generals, many of whom were women. He was on the international stage about a week ago, addressing an annual national security conference in Asia about threats from China. But a trip to NATO headquarters last week was quick and quiet, and he deliberately skipped a gathering of about 50 allies and partners where they discussed ongoing support for Ukraine. His use of the Signal messaging app Hegseth's hearing Tuesday before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee will be his first public appearance on Capitol Hill since he squeaked through his Senate confirmation with a tie-breaking vote. It was the closest vote of any Cabinet member. While he has talked a lot about making the military more lethal, it was his use of the unclassified, unsecured Signal messaging app that quickly caught public attention. Advertisement Set up by then-national security adviser Mike Waltz, a group chat included Hegseth and other senior administration leaders and was used to share information about upcoming military strikes in Yemen. The chat became a public embarrassment because the editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, Jeffrey Goldberg, was inadvertently added to it. Waltz took responsibility for the gaffe, but Hegseth was roundly criticized for sharing details about the military strikes in this chat and in another one that included his wife and brother. Multiple investigations are looking into his use of Signal. The Defense Department's acting inspector general has been looking into the initial chat at the request of the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Armed Services Committee. The Pentagon's watchdog also is reviewing whether any of Hegseth's aides were asked to delete any Signal messages. Controversial Pentagon spending While any number of those issues could come up at the House Armed Services Committee hearing Thursday, money issues are more likely to be the focus of the hearings Tuesday in the House and Wednesday before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee. Already defense leaders have been grilled in other hearings on the plans to retrofit the Qatari jet and the costs of the military parade. Trump has long wanted a parade, and Army leaders defended it as a good way to attract new recruits. Other questions may involve the costs of expanding the use of military forces to secure the southern border, the plans for the Golden Dome missile defense program, and how the department intends to fund modernization programs for drones and other critical weapons systems. Advertisement
Yahoo
15 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Bondi says violent LA protesters will face federal charges
At least nine people are facing federal charges for their involvement in protests against immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday. Demonstrators face charges for attacking police with Molotov cocktails, looting and spitting on law enforcement, Bondi said in a TV interview. 'We are going to prosecute them federally,' she said in an interview on Fox News. 'If California won't protect their law enforcement, we will protect the LAPD and the sheriff's office out there.' Sporadic but at times raucous protests broke out in several parts of the Los Angeles area in recent days, prompting President Donald Trump to deploy National Guard troops and Marines despite the fact that Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the additional forces were not needed. Bondi said the Trump administration planned to take a hard line against demonstrators. 'You spit on a federal law enforcement officer no more,' she said. 'As President Trump said, you spit. we hit. Get ready. If you spit on a federal law enforcement officer, we are going to charge you with a crime federally. You are looking at up to five years maximum in prison.' Those charged already include David Huerta, president of the Service Employees International Union California, who was injured and arrested while protesting the arrest of workers in downtown Los Angeles. He was released Monday from federal custody on a $50,000 bond. The Trump administration's decisive treatment of demonstrators — and the president's focus on punishing those who assault police officers — stands in contrast to his sweeping pardons for roughly 1,500 people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to overturn the election. Trump has deployed up to 4,000 soldiers from the California National Guard to help quell the demonstrations over the protests of Newsom and Bass — who say the moves are worsening tensions. The state has sued to reverse the deployments. The White House also ordered 700 Marines to join the National Guard, though it's unclear exactly what role they will play. The San Francisco Chronicle reported on Monday evening that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to direct military forces to arrest 'lawbreakers.' DHS did not immediately respond to request for comment from POLITICO, and the Department of Defense declined to comment on the story. 'You can run, you can't hide,' Bondi told Fox. 'We are coming after you federally. If you assault a police officer, if you rob a store, if you loot, if you spit on a police officer, we are coming after you.'
