2 days ago
Marines tasked with LA mission have not yet completed use of force and nonlethal training
The roughly 700 Marines recently ordered to deploy to Los Angeles have not yet completed training on less-than-lethal weapons and training on the Standing Rules for Use of Force, which governs the use of force for military personnel within the United States, said a spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command, or NORTHCOM.
It is not yet clear when the Marines will complete the training, or when they will join NORTHCOM's Task Force 51, which is overseeing U.S. troops responding to the ongoing immigration protests in Los Angeles, the spokesperson said.
When U.S. troops operate domestically, they are bound by the Standing Rules for the Use of Force — which are more restrictive than wartime rules of engagement — and they must follow the same law and rules under the 4th Amendment as police, said retired Air Force Lt. Col. Rachel VanLandingham, a former military attorney.
NORTHCOM announced on Sunday that the Marines with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines based at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California, had been told to be ready to deploy to Los Angeles to supplement National Guardsmen responding to immigration protests there.
The Marines began receiving Standing Rules for Use of Force training from an operational law attorney with I Marine Expeditionary Force before deploying to Los Angeles, a Marine Corps official told Task & Purpose.
Since the immigration protests began on June 7, President Donald Trump has federalized about 4,000 members of the National Guard to protect federal personnel and buildings. The Marines were ordered to deploy to Los Angeles on Monday.
Typically, states activate their National Guard troops to conduct disaster relief or law enforcement missions when their governors deem it necessary, VanLandingham told Task & Purpose for a previous story.
The Posse Comitatus Act of 1878 prohibits federal U.S. troops from enforcing U.S. laws on American soil unless the president invokes the Insurrection Act.
Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act, and he has only directed the federalized National Guard troops to protect federal personnel and buildings, VanLandingham said.
Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, head of NORTHCOM, recently told the Los Angeles Times that the Marines do not have the authority to arrest people.
'They are not law enforcement officers, and they do not have the authority to make arrests,' Guillot told the newspaper. 'There are very unique situations where they could detain someone if detaining was necessary to defend, but they could only detain that person long enough to hand it off to a proper law enforcement official.'
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