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Daniel Perry to face trial for deadly conduct after being pardoned for murder conviction

Daniel Perry to face trial for deadly conduct after being pardoned for murder conviction

Yahoo30-01-2025

A Travis County judge said he won't dismiss a deadly conduct charge against Daniel Perry, who was pardoned last year by Gov. Greg Abbott after Perry was convicted of murder in the Austin shooting death of a Black Lives Matter protester in 2020.
"I will be preparing legal findings of fact and conclusions of law which will explain the decision," County Court-at-Law No. 8 Judge Carlos Barrera said Thursday in an email to the American-Statesman. "The defense wants to submit proposed findings, and the state wants to respond; so I will wait to see those before I finish mine."
Defense lawyer Doug O'Connell declined to comment Thursday on the judge's decision. The Travis County attorney's office does not comment on pending cases, spokeswoman Diana Melendez said.
More: Judge delays decision on whether to dismiss deadly conduct charge against Daniel Perry
Barrera said he sent attorneys for both sides an email Tuesday about his decision not to dismiss the indictment.
O'Connell had argued during a hearing Jan. 24 that the indictment should be dismissed because of prosecutorial misconduct that happened both before and after grand jury hearings.
Former Austin police homicide Detective David Fugitt testified at the hearing that prosecutors told him he could not include evidence in his grand jury testimony that would prove Perry did not run a red light and did not intentionally drive into a group of Black Lives Matter protesters on Congress Avenue downtown in July 2020.
More: Daniel Perry released from Texas prison within an hour after Gov. Abbott's pardon
Fugitt also said police threatened him with an internal investigation if he didn't remove the exculpatory evidence from his presentation to the grand jury. Police threatened Fugitt after they received an angry phone call from District Attorney José Garza, O'Connell said.
Prosecutorial misconduct also occurred after the grand jury indicted Perry when Garza held a news conference saying Perry had declined to testify, O'Connell said during the hearing last week. What Garza said violated Perry's Fifth Amendment right to remain silent, O'Connell said.
Assistant County Attorney Alexandra Gauthier objected to most of what Fugitt said during the hearing, saying it violated rules about the secrecy of grand jury proceedings. The judge overruled most of her objections.
Gauthier also said that a district judge already had decided there was no prosecutorial misconduct regarding Fugitt's testimony. Fugitt didn't know what the other witnesses said at the grand jury hearing, she said. Prosecutors also are not required to present exculpatory evidence at a grand jury proceeding, the assistant county attorney said.
During the hearing, Gauthier also submitted a writ of mandamus to the 3rd Court of Appeals asking the appeals court to order Barrera to "reverse his ruling eliciting secret grand jury information during this evidentiary hearing." Barrera said in his email to the Statesman on Thursday that the state had withdrawn its request for a writ of mandamus.
O'Connell filed a court document Wednesday that said the county attorney's office in previous filings had offered Perry a plea bargain of six months in jail with no credit for the one year and one week Perry had spent in jail before being pardoned by the governor.
"This plea deal appears to be retaliating for the Defendant successfully exercising his legal rights to seek a pardon," the document said. "If true, this constitutes additional Prosecutorial Vindictiveness, yet another type of Prosecutorial Misconduct."
Perry was charged with the Class A misdemeanor of deadly conduct in 2021 at the same time he was charged with murder and aggravated assault in the death of Black Lives Matter protester Garrett Foster in July 2020. A jury in April 2023 convicted Perry of murder, but he was pardoned by the governor in May 2024 and released from prison. He was acquitted of the aggravated assault charge.
In announcing the pardon, Abbott pointed to the state's "Stand Your Ground" laws of self-defense and said that Garza "demonstrated unethical and biased misuse of his office in prosecuting Daniel Scott Perry."
Shortly after Abbott's announcement, a state district judge unsealed court records that contained Perry's previously unreleased messages and social media posts, which contained racist rhetoric. During Perry's murder trial, prosecutors argued that he had sought out confrontation.
The deadly conduct indictment said that Perry, who was an Uber driver at the time, placed a group of marchers walking on Congress Avenue on July 25, 2020, in danger of serious bodily injury by texting while driving and turning right at a red light without coming to a complete stop. It also said Perry turned into an intersection where pedestrians were visible in the crosswalk and in the intersection, and that he drove into a group of people in the street.
A Class A misdemeanor is punishable by up to one year in a county jail and a fine of up to $4,000.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Judge won't dismiss deadly conduct charge against Daniel Perry

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Trump announces $1,000 government-funded accounts for American babies
Trump announces $1,000 government-funded accounts for American babies

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Trump announces $1,000 government-funded accounts for American babies

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700 Marines heading to LA for riot assistance; Newsom calls move 'deranged fantasy' of Trump
700 Marines heading to LA for riot assistance; Newsom calls move 'deranged fantasy' of Trump

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700 Marines heading to LA for riot assistance; Newsom calls move 'deranged fantasy' of Trump

Editor's note: This page reflects the news from ICE protests in Los Angeles on Monday, June 9. For the latest news on the LA protests, read USA TODAY's live coverage for Tuesday, June 10. LOS ANGELES − A tense standoff between California and the federal government escalated Monday, with federal officials preparing to send in 700 Marines to assist the National Guard and state officials saying they will sue the Trump administration's decision to "trample over" Gov. Gavin Newsom's authority. Newsom shot back at Trump over the move to send in Marines: "U.S. Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy. They are heroes. They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President." The addition of active-duty troops marks a significant escalation. 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Five buses and six to 10 armed vehicles passed Park Boulevard near Joshua Tree while heading west on Highway 62 — the main route from Twentynine Palms to Los Angeles — shortly after 7 p.m. At the nearby crosswalk, about 20 protestors were gathered demonstrating against the recent immigrations raids. The movement of troops to the city comes just hours after Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced 700 Marines would be "deployed to Los Angeles to restore order." California state officials have fired back that federal troops are escalating the tension between law enforcement and protestors. Several crowds of demonstrators circled downtown Los Angeles, including City Hall and several federal buildings as helicopters paced the crowds from above. By 7 p.m. local time, the crowds numbered at least several hundred, snaking its way past cars and graffiti calling for ICE to be horns and sirens maintained a constant background symphony as protesters walked. 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The president pledged in a social media post to "liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots. Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free." In a social media post, Newsom blamed Trump for the increase in unrest after three days of protests, saying "we're suing him." 'Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic,' Newsom said in a statement. Police on Monday were urging businesses and residents to report any "vandalism, damage or looting" for documentation after some of the protests Sunday deteriorated into destructive clashes between officers and protesters. Some vehicles were set ablaze, protesters blocked the 101 Freeway, and a group of them converged on an overpass and threw objects down at police, video footage showed. Authorities declared several of the demonstrations Sunday "unlawful assemblies," sweeping in with flash-bangs and tear gas grenades to disperse hundreds of protesters. Police in riot gear were joined by hundreds of the California National Guard troops. More: National Guard deployed in Los Angeles during protest clashes California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that he would have an additional 800 state and local law enforcement officers deploy to Los Angeles. Newsom said the additional officers are being called in order to handle the protests stemming from the face-offs between protestors and national guardsmen that were sent in 'illegally,' according to the governor's office. 'Chaos is exactly what Trump wanted, now we are sending in hundreds more law enforcement to pick up the pieces,' Newsom said. 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Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump over the president's move to deploy members of the California National Guard without Newsom's consent. The process is called federalizing the National Guard. The Office of the California Attorney General shared a copy of the lawsuit with USA TODAY late Monday afternoon local time. 'One of the cornerstones of our Nation and our democracy is that our people are governed by civil, not military, rule,' the lawsuit says. Trump 'used a protest that local authorities had under control to make another unprecedented power grab, this time at the cost of the sovereignty of the State of California.' Trump authorized 2,000 National Guardsmen on June 7 to deploy to Los Angeles and on June 9 Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered another 2,000 to the city, according to the lawsuit. Officials at the Los Angeles Police Department announced that they had arrested 50 people over Saturday and Sunday in downtown areas that 'escalated into significant acts of violence, vandalism, and looting.' LAPD said 29 people were arrested Saturday evening for failing to follow orders to disperse. 21 people were arrested Sunday on charges from attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail to assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, LAPD said. Authorities 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. At least five 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.' LAPD said its Professional Standards Bureau will investigate excessive use of force allegations. An Australian journalist was shot with a rubber bullet by an officer while covering protests in Los Angeles over the weekend, according to her media outlet. Lauren Tomasi, a U.S. national correspondent for Australia's 9News, was shot in the leg by a rubber bullet while reporting on the immigration raids and ensuing protests in Los Angeles on Sunday, June 8, the network reported. Video captured by 9News shows a nearby armed police officer aiming a weapon at Tomasi before firing, striking the back of her left leg. Tomasi is heard yelling out in pain as the camera pans away. Tomasi is sore but otherwise unharmed from the incident, 9News reported. - Greta Cross Multiple Waymo self-driving robotaxis were set on fire in Los Angeles during the protests. 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"Tear gassed almost immediately at the very peaceful protest downtown ‒ they're inciting this," wrote the songwriter, an LA native. -Taijuan Moorman Bonta, the California attorney general, confirmed June 9 that the state plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its "unlawful" decision to deploy National Guard troops in Los Angeles against Newsom's wishes. Bonta said that by the time the first few hundred troops arrived in Los Angles "the protests had mostly dissipated and streets were mostly quiet and calm." After the troops were deployed, Bonta said the situation escalated and unrest grew, "causing highways to close and putting people in danger." The order violated the 10th Amendment and failed to meet the criteria required to invoke the law, according to the attorney general. Bonta said the move marks the first time a president has invoked this statute since President Richard Nixon ordered the National Guard to deliver mail during the 1970 Postal Service Strike. 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It was called by the Service Employees International Union, whose California president, David Huerta, was arrested Friday in the Los Angeles protests. Attendees were urged to wear their union colors. A second protest was scheduled to be held at San Francisco City Hall at 4 p.m. local time and was organized by multiple local progressive groups. Finally, at 6 p.m. a protest was scheduled to be held at the 24th street BART subway plaza in San Francisco's Mission District, which is the heart of the city's Hispanic community. The protests in San Francisco come as several Waymo self-driving taxis were attacked and burned in Los Angeles during protests on Saturday, June 7. The city in Northern California is home to the largest number of the self-driving cars, where they are a common sight on roadways. Waymo told USA TODAY while the company was still operating and serving riders in San Francisco, out of an abundance of caution it was limiting trips in certain areas where protesters may be gathering. - Elizabeth Weise While national attention focused on Los Angeles, it was business as usual for virtually everyone in the city. Outside the Home Depot in the Paramount neighborhood, a small group of day laborers in paint-stained pants sat on buckets waiting for work. Several said ICE had detained people across Alondra Boulevard on June 7, sparking unrest. They said that although they lacked papers to remain legally in the United States, they weren't worried about being deported if ICE agents returned. Mexican-born Jose Luis Valencia, 54, said if it's his time to go back to his home country, he'll go. 'We're not thieves,' he said. 'We're just looking for jobs.' Longtime LA resident Ira Long, 67, said the reporting of the unrest has been overblown. Long, a pastor at the Alondra Church of Christ in Compton, said he still remembers when the National Guard was called out in the wake of the 1992 Rodney King riots. 'That was a really, really terrible time. Right now I don't feel any of that tension or anxiety,' said Long, a retired special education teacher. 'But people are uneasy, and there's a real sense of loss because we have lost people who were a part of this community.' Speaking as church volunteers prepared to distribute food to community members about a half mile from where weekend protests erupted, Long said he wants the rest of the country to know Los Angeles is a good, safe city. 'This is a very loving community,' he said. 'It's never been totally out of control. It has its challenges, its issues. But there are also amazing and fantastic families who make this a great place to live. It's very peaceful. And right now it's pretty cool.' Dozens of protesters rallied outside the Justice Department's headquarters in Washington to criticize Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in Los Angeles, where Trump deployed the National Guard. 'Enough of these mass ICE raids who are sweeping up innocent people,' Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said June 9. 'Enough of the undermining of due process.' The Service Employees International Union organized the protest after the union's California president, David Huerta, was arrested in the Los Angeles protests. Bill Essayli, the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles, told KNBC, Huerta allegedly obstructed law enforcement vehicles from getting into a facility where they were conducting a search warrant, citing video of the arrest. 'They tried to move him and then he got into a physical altercation with one of our agents and he resisted and he had to be pepper sprayed and subdued,' Essayli said. Participants at the Justice Department protest held signs that said, 'Free David. End ICE Raids' and 'Justice for David Huerta Now.' The rally was one of more than a dozen scheduled in cities across the U.S. to demand Huerta's release and an end to workplace immigration raids, the Los Angeles Times reported. − Bart Jansen Amid the mounting legal clash between the federal government and the state of California, Trump suggested that his border czar Tom Homan should arrest Newsom. 'I would do it … I think it's great,' Trump said when asked if Homan should arrest the governor, who has challenged the administration's mobilization of National Guard troops to crack down on violent protests against immigration raids in Los Angeles. Arresting Newsom, who responded to Homan's threat by daring the feds to arrest him in a June 8 social media post, would represent a major escalation of the state's widening rift with the Trump administration. − Davis Winkie LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell called the outbreak of violence "disgusting" and said it had grown worse Saturday. He said he does not believe the same people who were genuinely protesting immigration policy were involved in the violence. Newsom warned that violent protesters would be arrested and prosecuted. He also kept up his social media attack on Trump, saying California "didn't have a problem until Trump got involved" and that unrest is "exactly" what Trump wanted. "Let's get this straight: 1) Local law enforcement didn't need help. 2) Trump sent troops anyway — to manufacture chaos and violence. 3) Trump succeeded," Newsom wrote. "4) Now things are destabilized and we need to send in more law enforcement just to clean up Trump's mess." Family members of several people detained last week in an ICE sweep pleaded for the release of their loved ones at a press conference Monday. Elaina Jung Hee Vermeulen, with the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, said she attempted on Sunday to meet with some of the detained warehouse workers. "Instead of allowing me to meet with community members, they jumped onto trucks in riot gear," she said. Vermeulen urged local leaders to protect the rights of working class immigrants and said ICE must be banned from entering workplaces. "Every single person who is here, who is figintg for a better life for their family, deserves to have their rights protected," she said. As South Dakota governor in February 2024, Kristi Noem threatened then-President Joe Biden when Democrats said he should federalize the National Guard in Texas to disrupt that state governor's anti-immigration efforts. If he did, Noem warned, Biden would be mounting a 'direct attack on states' rights,' and sparking a 'war' between Washington and Republican-led state governments, she said in a Feb. 6, 2024 interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity. On June 8, Noem − now Trump's Homeland Security secretary − cheered Trump for doing the same thing to the Democratic governor of the state of California. On CBS News' Face the Nation Sunday, Noem explained her reversal by saying, "Governor Newsom has proven that he makes bad decisions." Read more here. − Josh Meyer A California sheriff running for governor isn't pleased with former Vice President Kamala Harris' reaction to the explosive protests. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said in a June 8 post on X that Trump is "not out there lighting cars on fire, hurling projectiles at law enforcement or blocking freeways.' The sheriff, whose county is just north of San Diego and the fourth-most populous county in the state, was responding to Harris' earlier statement where she said the deployment of the National Guard was "meant to provoke chaos.' Harris, who is mulling a bid for California governor next year, put much of the blame on the Trump administration's ICE raids and a "cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division." Bianco, who is also running for governor in 2026, is a long-standing Trump supporter who gained a bit of attention in 2021 for vowing not to enforce COVID-19 vaccine mandates in his office. He said Sunday the former VP's comments were 'an embarrassment." 'The Democrats and their 'leaders' own this,' Bianco added. − Phillip M. Bailey Florida state Sen. Ileana Garcia, who co-founded the group Latinas for Trump, criticized his administration's recent immigration enforcement actions as 'unacceptable and inhumane' in a post on X. Her remarks come as federal agents have arrested immigrants in courthouses across the U.S., including Florida, stripping them of due process protections, as NBC News reported. 'I understand the importance of deporting criminal aliens, but what we are witnessing are arbitrary measures to hunt down people who are complying with their immigration hearings − in many cases, with credible fear of persecution claims − all driven by a Miller-like desire to satisfy a self-fabricated deportation goal,' she wrote in her post, referring to White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller. She said she stands with Florida Republican Rep. María Elvira Salazar, who wrote in a statement June 6 that 'anyone with a pending asylum case, status-adjustment petition, or similar claim deserves to go through the legal process.' − Sudiksha Kochi Trump border czar Tom Homan on Monday denied ever calling for the arrest of Newsom. Homan told Fox News that he was asked if Newsom or Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass could be arrested and Homan responded that, if they commit a crime, they could be arrested. 'There was no discussion about arresting Newsom,' Homan said. Newsom had addressed the issue on social media, saying that "Trump's border czar is threatening to arrest me for speaking out. Come and get me, tough guy. I don't give a damn. It won't stop me from standing up for California." At 8 p.m. local time on Sunday, authorities declared the protest to be an unlawful assembly and moved in aggressively with flash-bangs and tear gas grenades. That sent hundreds of people running, their eyes streaming with tears. Helicopters clattered overhead as protesters fled the area to the honking of car horns and periodic cheers. According to preliminary information, police said at least 10 people have been arrested and three officers were injured during protests on Sunday. California Highway Patrol arrested 17 people on the 101 Freeway, police said. On Saturday, police arrested 29 people. The protests began Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement sweeps in the area resulted in more than 40 arrests. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security, defended the raids and said those arrested by ICE included a Vietnamese man convicted of second-degree murder, an Ecuadoran man convicted of possession of five kilograms of cocaine, and a Filipino man convicted of sexual offenses. "These rioters in Los Angeles are fighting to keep rapists, murderers and other violent criminals loose on Los Angeles streets," McLaughlin said in a statement. "Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer." Protests against immigration enforcement policies were not limited to the Los Angeles area. In San Francisco, a demonstration that drew hundreds ended with violence and about 60 arrests, police said. "Individuals in the group became violent and began to commit crimes ranging from assault to felony vandalism and causing property damage," San Francisco police said in a statement. An unlawful assembly was declared and many left the scene while others vandalized buildings and police cars. Two officers suffered non-life-threatening injuries. "Individuals are always free to exercise their First Amendment rights in San Francisco but violence especially against SFPD officers - will never be tolerated," the statement said. Videos show Waymo cars on fire amid LA protests; service reportedly suspended Photos and videos show several Waymo self-driving cars being torched during the protests. The LAPD said one street had been closed indefinitely after "multiple autonomous vehicles" had been set on fire. Footage shared on social media captured several of Waymo driverless taxis engulfed in flames in the June 8 protests. Others were vandalized with messages against Trump and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, videos show. Waymo suspended service in downtown Los Angeles and "will not be serving any rides in the protest area until it is deemed safe," a company spokesperson told NBC News. − Melina Khan This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marines heading to LA; Newsom says move is Trump's 'deranged fantasy'

The Latest: Trump heads to Fort Bragg to celebrate 250th anniversary for US Army
The Latest: Trump heads to Fort Bragg to celebrate 250th anniversary for US Army

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The Latest: Trump heads to Fort Bragg to celebrate 250th anniversary for US Army

President Donald Trump plans to speak at Fort Bragg on Tuesday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army as he deploys the military in an attempt to quiet immigration protests in Los Angeles. Trump has promoted the Army's anniversary as a reason to hold a military parade in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, which is also his 79th birthday. Here's the latest: Trump's Tuesday schedule, according to the White House 12:25 p.m. — Trump will travel to Fort Bragg, North Carolina 2:40 p.m. — Once he arrives, Trump will observe a military demonstration 4:00 p.m. — Trump will deliver remarks to service members, veterans and their families 6:00 p.m. — Trump will travel back to the White House Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to face Congress for first time since Signal leaks He's expected to field sharp questions from members of Congress about his tumultuous start as Pentagon chief, including his sharing of sensitive military details over a Signal chat, in three separate Capitol Hill hearings beginning Tuesday. Lawmakers also have made it clear they're unhappy that Hegseth hasn't provided details on the administration's first proposed defense budget, which Trump has said would total $1 trillion, a significant increase over the current spending level of more than $800 billion. It will be lawmakers' first chance to ask Hegseth about a myriad of other controversial spending by the Pentagon, including plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on security upgrades to turn a Qatari jet into Air Force One and to pour as much as $45 million into a parade recently added to the Army's 250th birthday bash, which happens to coincide with Trump's birthday on Saturday. ▶ Read more about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth RFK Jr. ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory committee Kennedy on Monday removed every member of a scientific committee that advises the CDC on how to use vaccines and pledged to replace them with his own picks. Major physicians and public health groups criticized the move to oust all 17 members of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. Kennedy, who was one of the nation's leading anti-vaccine activists before becoming the nation's top health official, has not said who he would appoint to the panel, but said it would convene in just two weeks in Atlanta. Although it's typically not viewed as a partisan board, the entire current roster of committee members were Biden appointees. ▶ Read more about Kennedy's latest move Trump pushes ahead with his maximalist immigration campaign in face of LA protests Trump made no secret of his willingness to take a maximalist approach to enforcing immigration laws and keeping order as he campaigned to return to the White House. The fulfillment of that pledge is now on full display in Los Angeles. By overriding California's Gov. Gavin Newsom, Trump is already going beyond what he did to respond to Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, when he warned he could send troops to contain demonstrations that turned violent if governors in the states did not act to do so themselves. Trump said in September of that year that he 'can't call in the National Guard unless we're requested by a governor' and that 'we have to go by the laws.' But now, he's moving swiftly to test the bounds of his executive authority in order to deliver on his promise of mass deportations. What remains to be seen is whether Americans will stand by him once it's operationalized nationwide. For now, Trump is betting that they will. ▶ Read more about Trump's efforts to fulfill his immigration promises Trump heads to Fort Bragg while facing criticism for deploying military at Los Angeles protests Trump plans to speak at Fort Bragg on Tuesday to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army as he deploys the military in an attempt to quiet immigration protests in Los Angeles. Fort Bragg, located near Fayetteville, North Carolina, serves as headquarters for U.S. Army Special Operations Command. Highly trained units like the Green Berets and the Rangers are based there. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will also be at Tuesday's event, along with service members, veterans and their families. Trump has promoted the Army's anniversary as a reason to hold a military parade in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, which is also his 79th birthday. Trump, who sees the military as a critical tool for domestic goals, has used the recent protests in Los Angeles as an opportunity to deploy the National Guard and U.S. Marines to quell disturbances that began as protests over immigration raids. ▶ Read more about Trump's Fort Bragg trip

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