Guardsmen sent to LA are 130 miles east of the city doing drug busts
California National Guard soldiers operating under federal orders helped the Drug Enforcement Agency and other federal personnel carry out a raid on a large marijuana growth operation in the eastern Coachella Valley last week, 130 miles from downtown Los Angeles.
It's unclear how many National Guard troops participated in the operation, but the force totalled roughly 500 people. According to the DEA, other agencies included Customs and Border Patrol, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration and Custom Enforcement and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The search warrant targeted the area around Thermal, a small town in the eastern Coachella Valley. CBS first reported on the raid.
In a statement, the DEA Los Angeles Field Division said that it was the lead agency looking into three large marijuana growth operations in the area. Executing a federal search warrant from the U.S. Attorney's Office of the Central District of California, they searched 787 acres of land and arrested 70 to 75 people, the DEA said, most being described as undocumented immigrants and at least one being an American citizen. It also appears to be the farthest east that federalized National Guard troops have operated since being deployed.
The National Guardsmen involved in the operation were soldiers with the 143rd Military Police Battalion and the 670th Military Police Company, part of the California National Guard's 49th Military Police Brigade. They're serving under Task Force 51, the organization created by U.S. Northern Command for troops operating under Title 10 status. Images posted by the military to the Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (or DVIDS), show the soldiers carrying riot shields creating security perimeters next to their Humvees in Thermal and the nearby unincorporated community of Mecca, close to the Salton Sea.
Coachella city Mayor Steven Hernandez, who spoke with Task & Purpose on Monday, said that the troops and agents passed through or were active in several towns and unincorporated communities in the eastern Coachella Valley, including Coachella. He said that the city government started hearing from activists and immigrant rights groups that federal personnel were 'knocking on doors' in the area.
'It was obviously a really big mobilization and strategy in terms of how many sites that would physically have some kind of presence,' he said.
The operation was one of the largest to involve troops in California since the Trump administration federalized National Guard soldiers and deployed them and Marines under Title 10 on June 7. It also shows the sheer geographical scope of that deployment. As U.S. Northern Command announced on June 8, the California National Guard soldiers were 'placed under federal command and control in a Title 10 status to support the protection of federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.' The unincorporated areas of Thermal and Mecca, near the Salton Sea, are approximately 100 miles east of the Los Angeles County line, and even farther from the City of Los Angeles and the downtown Los Angeles federal plaza where the National Guard has been most visible this month.
Task & Purpose contacted Task Force 51 regarding the presence of National Guardsmen so far east of Los Angeles County.
'At the direction of the President of the United States and as ordered by the Secretary of Defense, the Department of Defense mobilized National Guard forces in a Title 10 status and active-duty Marines to protect the safety and security of federal functions, personnel, and property. The catalyst of this order was related to events occurring in Los Angeles; however, the president's order and NORTHCOM's mission is not constrained by the geography of Southern California. Recently, Title 10 forces supported a Drug Enforcement Agency operation a few hours outside of Los Angeles. Title 10 forces protect federal personnel who are performing federal law enforcement functions,' a NORTHCOM Spokesperson said in a statement to Task & Purpose on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump's June 7 order federalizing National Guard troops did not specify a specific geographic location or boundary.
In a statement sent to Task & Purpose, the DEA said that '[d]ue to the magnitude and topography of this operation, DEA has requested support from multiple federal partners.' A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Field Division said that the soldiers on the scene created a perimeter around the area.
The area raided by federal agents and National Guard soldiers is part of California's Inland Empire. The region, comprising Riverside and San Bernardino counties, is generally considered to make up the greater Los Angeles area, along with the Los Angeles metropolitan area and the Oxnard–Thousand Oaks–Ventura metropolitan area. That total land area stretches from the coast all the way to the California-Nevada border, even with the significant distance from the City of Los Angeles proper. The U.S. Census Bureau's combied statistical area matches that, showing a nearly 34,000 square miles area.
Since arriving in the Los Angeles area more than two weeks ago, California National Guard troops have primarily focused on guarding federal buildings in Los Angeles County, including in downtown Los Angeles and the Wilshire area. They have, for the most part, stayed entirely on the federal grounds themselves. During large protests in downtown Los Angeles over ongoing ICE and Department of Homeland Security raids in the area they have not engaged, often staying back while local law enforcement blocked or clashed with demonstrators. Images shared by federal officials have shown some National Guard troops accompanying ICE agents on immigration raids to protect the often heavily armored and armed federal personnel, but the federal government has stressed that they are not performing law enforcement duties.
Roughly 700 Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment that were deployed from Twentynine Palms, California, have been tasked with protecting federal buildings. So far, the Marines have spent most of their time standing in front of protesters that gathered at the Wilshire federal building near Westwood, 13 miles west of the Downtown federal plaza. They did briefly detain an Army veteran on June 13 after he crossed onto federal grounds on his way to the nearby West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs campus.
The Inland Empire operations involved the soldiers operating in the field and receiving briefings at the March Air Reserve Base in Riverside County, per information published to DVIDS. Hernandez, the mayor of Coachella, said that the area had experienced DEA raids before.
'We're not anti-DEA operations, we're about community here,' he said. 'But there's a lot of fear here, I saw that over the weekend.'
He added that the amount of personnel brought in the raid was shocking. 'To me, if their motive is to put fear and shock everybody, then mission accomplished. This isn't supposed to be the new normal,' he said.
This article was updated with a new statement from U.S. Northern Command regarding Task Force 51.
Correction: 6/24/2025; This article initially referred National Guard soldiers as belonging to the 143rd Military Police Company. They are with the 143rd Military Police Battalion.
The latest on Task & Purpose
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNN
9 minutes ago
- CNN
Takeaways from New York City's mayoral primary: Mamdani triggers a political earthquake – and Republicans rejoice too
Zohran Mamdani delivered a political earthquake Tuesday in New York City's Democratic mayoral primary, riding progressive demands for change in a city facing an affordability crisis to the brink of a stunning victory. Democratic voters rejected a scandal-plagued icon of the party's past, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Instead, they backed a 33-year-old democratic socialist who energized young voters and progressives with a campaign that could come to represent the first draft of a new playbook. 'I will fight for a city that works for you, that is affordable for you, that is safe for you,' Mamdani said in his celebratory speech just after midnight. 'We can be free and we can be fed. We can demand what we deserve,' he said. Mamdani's viral, go-anywhere, talk-to-anyone style of campaigning could send shockwaves through the Democratic Party nationally as its leaders and incumbents face calls from frustrated voters for authenticity and aggressiveness. Republicans, meanwhile, moved immediately to elevate Mamdani, seeing an opportunity to campaign against ideas they see as unpopular with swing voters nationally. The formal outcome won't be known until at least July 1, when New York City releases the initial ranked-choice results. But Mamdani held a clear lead Tuesday night, and Cuomo told supporters he had called Mamdani and conceded the primary. 'Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won,' Cuomo said. Mamdani's upstart campaign had a lot to overcome — Cuomo's universal name recognition, massive financial backing, endorsements from party leaders and unions — and he acted like it. Some of his Democratic rivals portrayed his positions as pie-in-the-sky and impossible to pay for. Mamdani, though, sold his ideas as making life in the city easier to afford, building his campaign around an issue that ranks among the biggest reasons Democrats lost in the 2024 election. He sat for interviews with people that disagreed with him. He engaged in cross-endorsements with rivals, encouraging supporters to rank them highly as well on their ranked-choice ballots. He campaigned aggressively, including walking the length of Manhattan on Friday. 'New Yorkers deserve a Mayor they can see, hear, even yell at. The city is in the streets,' Mamdani said on X. Dan Pfeiffer, a former top aide to President Barack Obama, said on X that Democrats 'have a lot to learn' from Mamdani. 'What's happening in NYC is a blaringly loud message to those in the Dem establishment who still cling to old politics, recite focus-grouped talking points, and are too afraid to say what needs to be said,' he said. Republicans were also thrilled with Mamdani's performance. The House GOP's campaign arm, the National Republican Congressional Committee, issued a press release declaring Mamdani 'the new face' of the Democratic Party. 'Every vulnerable House Democrat will own him, and every Democrat running in a primary will fear him,' NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella said. Mamdani faced attacks from pro-Cuomo forces in the primary over what his opponents described as antisemitic comments, flagging Mamdani's sharp criticism of Israel and his defense of the phrase 'globalize the intifada.' He also ran on progressive positions — including freezing rents, offering free public transit, launching city-run grocery stores and more — that Republicans are certain to use to portray Democrats as extreme, much like they have with previous progressive proposals like the 'Green New Deal.' Those attacks are unlikely to help the GOP in the mayoral race in New York City, where registered Democrats outnumber Republicans almost by about a six-to-one margin. But New York is home to a number of competitive House seats where the GOP could seek to put Democratic nominees on the defensive over Mamdani's positions. It's too soon to sort through everything Mamdani's performance means for the Democratic Party. But it did offer a glimpse at where the party is on some key issues and who within it holds sway with voters. Mamdani, who would become the city's first Muslim mayor if he wins in November, was a vocal critic of Israel's war in Gaza and didn't back down despite being criticized as antisemitic, a charge he repeatedly denied. He defended his views in an interview with CBS' Stephen Colbert in which he also acknowledged the fears Jewish people have faced since Hamas' October 7, 2023, terrorist attack in Israel. 'There's no room for violence in this city, in this country, in this world. And what I have found also, for many New Yorkers, is an ability to navigate disagreement,' he told Colbert. He also demonstrated the influence of progressive New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Mamdani. Other New York Democratic leaders, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and its two senators, Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer, remained publicly neutral. The results similarly laid bare the ineffectiveness of Cuomo's effort — one backed by establishment Democratic forces that blanketed television airwaves but couldn't match the organic groundswell of a state assemblyman who started the race with little public profile. 'Billionaires and lobbyists poured millions against you and our public finance system,' Ocasio-Cortez said of Mamdani on X. 'And you won.' Cuomo had wanted a second act. The 67-year-old scion of one of New York's most prominent political families was forced out of the governor's office in 2021 amid a cloud of scandal — faced with allegations of sexual harassment that he denied and a report that his administration had covered up nursing home deaths during the coronavirus pandemic. The governor and the state's two senators stayed on the sidelines. But Cuomo's campaign was backed by many prominent New York Democrats and groups, including unions and elected officials who had criticized him four years ago but — seeing his lead in the polls — issued devil-we-know statements this year endorsing him. Though ranked-choice ballots need to be counted next week, Cuomo acknowledged the reality he faced on stage Tuesday, telling supporters he had called and congratulated Mamdani. 'Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani's night, and he put together a great campaign. And he touched young people, and inspired them, and moved them, and got them to come out and vote. And he really ran a highly impactful campaign. I called him, I congratulated him. I applaud him sincerely for his effort, and let's give him a round of applause and thank him for his campaign,' Cuomo said. His former political rivals, meanwhile, gloated over Cuomo's apparent failure. 'Zohran ran a positive campaign talking about affordability. Cuomo ran a very negative, fear-based campaign. That just made a huge difference,' former Mayor Bill de Blasio said on CNN. In overwhelmingly Democratic New York City, a victorious Mamdani would ordinarily become the clear front-runner in November's general election. But he instead faces a competitive race with much different contours. First-term Mayor Eric Adams, who was elected as a Democrat four years ago, is seeking reelection as an independent. Adams' break from the party came as he faced backlash after President Donald Trump's Justice Department dropped its corruption charges against Adams, and Adams has cooperated with federal authorities to enforce Trump's mass deportation efforts. 'What NYC deserves is a mayor who's proud to run on his record – not one who ran from his record, or one who has no record,' Adams posted on X Tuesday night. 'We deserve a mayor who will keep driving down crime, support our police, fight antisemitism, and stand up for working-class New Yorkers.' Republican Curtis Silwa was unopposed in the primary and will be the GOP nominee. And neither Cuomo nor Mamdani had ruled out the possibility of running in November on another party's ballot line if they lost the Democratic contest — Cuomo as the nominee of the newly created Fight and Deliver Party, or Mamdani as the nominee of the Working Families Party.
New York Times
22 minutes ago
- New York Times
5 Things to Know About Zohran Mamdani
When he first declared his candidacy for mayor last fall, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani was a state legislator with a thin résumé who was unknown to most New Yorkers. Months later, he appears poised to become the Democratic Party's nominee for mayor, having bested a far better known and more experienced cast of candidates who had deep relationships with voters across New York City. Mr. Mamdani's campaign focused intensely on the plight of working-class New Yorkers who were struggling with New York City's affordability crisis, most notably the skyrocketing costs of housing and child care. Here is a look at his record and some important things to know about New York City's Democratic mayoral nominee: A Fresh Voice, a Short Track Record Mr. Mamdani beat a four-term incumbent in a close State Assembly primary in 2020. He joined a small group of lawmakers in Albany who were part of the Democratic Socialists of America's New York chapter. His agenda in Albany mirrored his campaign priorities, but of the 20-odd bills Mr. Mamdani has introduced in more than four years in Albany, just three relatively minor items have become law. During the campaign, he talked extensively about a program to begin making city buses free that he had helped start. The pilot program lasted one year and was not renewed. Still, colleagues said his ideas had helped to move the ideological center of the Assembly to the left. In Albany, he was one of the Legislature's youngest members. If elected mayor, he would be, at 34, the city's youngest leader since 1917, when John Purroy Mitchel, a reformer known as the 'Boy Mayor,' was elected and served one term. Mr. Mamdani's youth and fresh vision attracted a broad swath of progressive voters, even as his opponents focused on his relative lack of experience. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
26 minutes ago
- New York Times
Can a New Star Help Guide the Democratic Party Out of the Darkness?
The national Democratic establishment on Tuesday night struggled to absorb the startling ascent of a democratic socialist in New York City who embraced a progressive economic agenda and diverged from the party's dominant position on the Middle East. As elections go, Tuesday's party primary for mayor was a thunderbolt: New York voters turned away from a well-funded familiar face and famous name, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and in doing so made a generational and ideological break with the party's mainstream. They turned to a 33-year-old, three-term state assemblyman, Zohran Mamdani, who ran on an optimistic message about affordability and the rising cost of living that has eluded many national Democrats. What became vividly clear on Tuesday, as votes were counted across the racially and economically diverse neighborhoods of New York, was that Mr. Mamdani had generated excitement among some — though not all — of the traditional pillars of winning Democratic voter coalitions. Democratic leaders badly want to win over young voters and minority groups in the coming 2026 and 2028 elections — two groups they have struggled to mobilize since the Obama era — but they also need moderate Democrats and independents who often recoil from far-left positions. 'It really represents the excitement that I saw on the streets all throughout the City of New York,' said Letitia James, the New York attorney general. 'I haven't seen this since Barack Obama ran for president of these United States.' That Mr. Mamdani had such success while running on a far-left agenda, including positions that once were politically risky in New York — like describing Israel's actions in Gaza as genocide and calling for new taxes on business — may challenge the boundaries of party orthodoxy and unnerve national Democratic leaders. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
