Latest news with #GregoryGuillot
Fox News
01-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Pentagon releases 150 National Guard troops from security mission deployment in LA as wildfire threats mount
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has approved the release of 150 California National Guard troops from a federal security mission in Los Angeles, freeing them up for wildfire duty just as the state enters peak fire season. The decision came at the recommendation of Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of U.S. Northern Command, who oversees the mission. In a statement provided to Fox News, a USNORTHCOM spokesperson said, "Task Force 51 will release approximately 150 members of the California National Guard from the Federal Protection mission today," adding that the force remains "appropriately sourced." The move comes days after Guillot reportedly requested the return of 200 troops to help with wildfire containment, The Associated Press reported. The National Guard's elite Joint Task Force Rattlesnake has been stretched thin since President Donald Trump deployed roughly 4,000 California National Guard troops and 800 Marines to Los Angeles in early June in response to violent protests over immigration enforcement actions. The deployment sparked controversy among state political leaders, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, who criticized the move for pulling essential firefighting resources during one of the driest years on record. But the Pentagon held firm, until now. Task Force 51 (TF-51), led by Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman, is tasked with protecting federal personnel and property. According to the U.S. Army North, TF-51 "provides a rapidly deployable capability" to assist in homeland defense operations. Sherman, a decorated combat veteran and longtime National Guard leader, also serves as deputy commanding general of the U.S. Army North. Despite debate over the scope of the mission during Los Angeles' anti-ICE protests, Hegseth has stood behind it. With 150 troops released, roughly 3,850 troops remain based on the originally deployed 4,000. Newsom's office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
CNN
25-06-2025
- Politics
- CNN
US military expected to announce two new zones where service members can detain migrants on southern border, officials say
The US Departments of the Navy and Air Force are expected to announce the establishment of two additional military zones along the US southern border this week, three US officials told CNN. The zones, which are known as National Defense Areas, will be attached to Joint Base San Antonio, Texas, and Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, the officials said. The NDA around Joint Base San Antonio will include roughly 250 miles of the Rio Grande River, two of the officials added. The NDA near MCAS Yuma will extend over 100 miles along the border, the third official said. The new zones will bring the total count up to four, after the establishment of the Texas National Defense Area attached to Fort Bliss, Texas, in May, and the New Mexico National Defense Area attached to Fort Huachuca, Arizona, in April. 'The establishment of a second National Defense Area increases our operational reach and effectiveness in denying illegal activity along the southern border,' US Northern Command commander Gen. Gregory Guillot said after the establishment of the Texas National Defense Area. 'This is the second area in which Joint Task Force – Southern Border service members who are already detecting and monitoring through stationary positions and mobile patrols nearby can now temporarily detain trespassers until they are transferred to an appropriate law enforcement entity.' US troops are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activities by the Posse Comitatus Act. But the defense areas are treated as extensions of military installations, allowing service members to temporarily detain migrants who are trespassing before handing them off to law enforcement, conduct cursory searches of trespassers, and conduct crowd-control measures. Democratic lawmakers have criticized the defense areas as a way to side-step the act. Sen. Jack Reed, the ranking member of the Senates Armed Services Committee, said last month that the NDAs 'evade the long-standing protections of the Posse Comitatus Act by allowing military forces to act as de facto border police, detaining migrants until they can be transferred to Customs and Border Protection.' 'In the Administration's telling, this approach permits military involvement in immigration control without invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807,' Reed said. 'This is both unprecedented and a legal fiction. Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico also raised concerns to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth last month that the Trump administration is 'bypassing due process for individuals who either intentionally or unintentionally enter this newly restricted area.' Service members began directly detaining migrants in June. The Department of Justice only just got its first convictions related to trespassing in the NDAs this month. According to the Justice Department, two individuals pleaded guilty to charges including trespassing into the New Mexico National Defense Area. In both cases, the individuals were apprehended by Border Patrol agents. Dozens of national security charges against migrants were dropped by a judge in New Mexico earlier this month after they found little evidence that the migrants knew about the defense areas. The establishment of the new defense areas comes as over 4,000 National Guard troops and roughly 700 active duty Marines are currently mobilized in the Los Angeles area, in response to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions.
Al Jazeera
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
California senator handcuffed during Trump administration news conference
Democratic lawmakers have expressed outrage after United States Senator Alex Padilla of California was roughly removed from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) news conference, then forced to the ground and handcuffed. A video of the incident shows Padilla appearing to interrupt a Thursday news conference in Los Angeles held by DHS chief Kristi Noem. 'I am Senator Alex Padilla,' he said, stepping forward as Noem spoke. 'I have a question for the secretary.' But he never got a chance to ask the question. Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had already surrounded Padilla and were pushing him out of the conference room. A mobile phone video shot by a member of Padilla's staff showed the senator yelling, 'Hands off,' as he was escorted into an adjacent hallway. Agents ultimately forced him to the ground, as Padilla protested he could not keep his hands behind his back as requested and lay his body flat at the same time. One FBI agent then stood in front of the camera and ordered the staffer to stop recording. The senator's office has said Padilla is currently not detained. In a statement, it explained that Padilla had hoped to question Noem and General Gregory Guillot about the US military deployment against protesters in Los Angeles. 'Senator Padilla is currently in Los Angeles exercising his duty to perform Congressional oversight of the federal government's operations in Los Angeles and across California,' his office said in a statement. 'He was in the federal building to receive a briefing with General Guillot and was listening to Secretary Noem's press conference. He tried to ask the Secretary a question, and was forcibly removed by federal agents.' What just happened to @SenAlexPadilla is absolutely abhorrent and outrageous. He is a sitting United States Senator. This administration's violent attacks on our city must — Mayor Karen Bass (@MayorOfLA) June 12, 2025Padilla himself held a news conference afterwards, where he drew a parallel between his rough treatment and the immigration raids happening under the administration of President Donald Trump. 'If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question, I can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day labourers out in the Los Angeles community and throughout California and throughout the country,' Padilla told reporters. The recent protests in Los Angeles came in response to the Trump administration's aggressive deportation campaign, which has targeted undocumented workers at places such as the Home Depot hardware store chain. Trump has since responded to those protests by deploying nearly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 US Marines to southern California, in what critics have called an illegal use of military power against civilians. On Thursday, Padilla's Democratic colleagues in the Senate rushed to voice their support after the incident. 'I just saw something that sickened my stomach — the manhandling of a United States senator,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said. 'We need immediate answers to what the hell went on.' Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida later shot a video showing Democrats walking to Senate Majority Leader John Thune's office to call for action. 'There must be accountability for the detainment of a Senator. This is not normal,' Frost wrote. On social media, however, DHS accused Padilla of engaging in 'disrespectful political theatre'. It argued that the senator had not identified himself as he 'lunged' towards Noem, something that appears to be contradicted by video of the incident. DHS said Noem met Padilla after the news conference for 15 minutes. California officials have accused Trump of provoking tensions in the state by sending the military to crack down on the protests, some of which turned violent but have already started to ease. The last time a president deployed the National Guard in a state over the objections of a governor was in 1965, to protect civil rights protesters from violence in segregated Alabama. Governor Gavin Newsom has since sued the Trump administration to block the use of US military might outside of federal sites, calling it a step towards 'authoritarianism'. Earlier this week, Padilla said that Trump's immigration raids were 'terrorising communities, breaking apart families and putting American citizens in harm's way'. Trump has suggested that he could have California Governor Gavin Newsom arrested and mused that he could declare martial law if the protests continue. He also described the protesters as 'animals' and 'a foreign enemy', framing them as part of a wider 'invasion' that justifies emergency powers. 'If they can handcuff a US Senator for asking a question, imagine what they will do to you,' Newsom said in a social media post that showed a picture of Padilla being held on the ground by three agents.
Miami Herald
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
Ukraine Crisis Could Spark ‘Direct' Russia-US Confrontation-NORAD Commander
The war in Ukraine could escalate into a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russia, according to the Pentagon. General Gregory Guillot, the head of the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) issued the warning to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. In a written statement to U.S. lawmakers, Guillot said that more than three years on from the start of Russia's full-scale invasion there are "several plausible pathways" in the which the war could escalate into a direct military conflict with the United States. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment. The specter of escalation has hung over the war in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022, especially given the repeated nuclear threats issued by Moscow. Guillot also referred to other adversaries such as Iran and North Korea, highlighting the security and defense issues for the Trump administration as it seeks to end the war in Ukraine and combat countries seeking to challenge the U.S. military in the future. Guillot addressed lawmakers from the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. In a written statement presented to the committee, Guillot said the probability of a direct conflict between the U.S. and one of its key rivals is increasing. The statement said that while China, Russia, North Korea and Iran seek to avoid armed conflict with the U.S., they might try to capitalize on the perception of a Western decline to challenge American power, which could risk miscalculation. Guillot then said that in the fourth year of Russia's invasion of Ukraine there are several ways that the war could escalate into a direct military conflict with the United States. The U.S. general also referred to other conflicts that threaten to involve the U.S. such as the war in the Middle East sparked by Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that threatens to embroil the U.S. in a direct conflict with Iran and its proxies. Guillot said tensions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea carry a constant risk of escalation into armed conflict between China and the United States, with "consequences that could span a generation." He said strategic cooperation between and among the U.S.'s four main adversaries had grown substantially since the beginning of the Ukraine War, increasing the risk that war with one could quickly expand into war with an enemy coalition. General Gregory Guillot: "As Russia's brutal and misguided invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year, there remain several plausible pathways by which the war could escalate into a direct military conflict with the United States." Russian media outlets reported Guillot's comments, which come amid anticipation over negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, whose president Volodymr Zelensky has said he would be in Turkey on Thursday ready for direct talks with Putin, who has not committed to attending. Related Articles Russia Parcel Bomb Plot Uncovered in NATO StateBrazil's Lula Tells Putin: 'Go to Istanbul and Negotiate, Dammit'Russian Award Ceremony Sparks Outrage Among ChristiansRussia Deploys FSB's 'Presidential Regiment' to Key Ukraine Fortress Town 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Newsweek
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Ukraine Crisis Could Spark 'Direct' Russia-US Confrontation—NORAD Commander
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. The war in Ukraine could escalate into a direct confrontation between the U.S. and Russia, according to the Pentagon. General Gregory Guillot, the head of the U.S. Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) issued the warning to the U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee. In a written statement to U.S. lawmakers, Guillot said that more than three years on from the start of Russia's full-scale invasion there are "several plausible pathways" in the which the war could escalate into a direct military conflict with the United States. Newsweek has contacted the Kremlin for comment. General Gregory Guillot is seen during a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 26, 2023. General Gregory Guillot is seen during a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on July 26, It Matters The specter of escalation has hung over the war in Ukraine since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale invasion in February 2022, especially given the repeated nuclear threats issued by Moscow. Guillot also referred to other adversaries such as Iran and North Korea, highlighting the security and defense issues for the Trump administration as it seeks to end the war in Ukraine and combat countries seeking to challenge the U.S. military in the future. What To Know Guillot addressed lawmakers from the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday. In a written statement presented to the committee, Guillot said the probability of a direct conflict between the U.S. and one of its key rivals is increasing. The statement said that while China, Russia, North Korea and Iran seek to avoid armed conflict with the U.S., they might try to capitalize on the perception of a Western decline to challenge American power, which could risk miscalculation. Guillot then said that in the fourth year of Russia's invasion of Ukraine there are several ways that the war could escalate into a direct military conflict with the United States. The U.S. general also referred to other conflicts that threaten to involve the U.S. such as the war in the Middle East sparked by Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel that threatens to embroil the U.S. in a direct conflict with Iran and its proxies. Guillot said tensions in the Taiwan Strait and South China Sea carry a constant risk of escalation into armed conflict between China and the United States, with "consequences that could span a generation." He said strategic cooperation between and among the U.S.'s four main adversaries had grown substantially since the beginning of the Ukraine War, increasing the risk that war with one could quickly expand into war with an enemy coalition. What People Are Saying General Gregory Guillot: "As Russia's brutal and misguided invasion of Ukraine enters its fourth year, there remain several plausible pathways by which the war could escalate into a direct military conflict with the United States." What Happens Next Russian media outlets reported Guillot's comments, which come amid anticipation over negotiations to end the war in Ukraine, whose president Volodymr Zelensky has said he would be in Turkey on Thursday ready for direct talks with Putin, who has not committed to attending.
