Latest news with #TaskForce51
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Straits Times
Explainer-What are US troops doing in Los Angeles?
FILE PHOTO: California National Guard troops stand guard as people attend a rally against federal immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 9, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder/File Photo Explainer-What are US troops doing in Los Angeles? WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has said it is going to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to help protect federal property and personnel during the ongoing protests in the city. Here is everything we know about the U.S. troops that are being deployed to Los Angeles: WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF TROOPS SENT TO LA? National guard troops usually belong to individual states and personnel in many cases are trained to help with emergencies that those states have to deal with, such as natural disasters. Since they are the reserve force of the U.S. military, National Guard troops are usually part time, meaning that they have other jobs as well. U.S. Marines on the other hand are active duty troops - it is a full time job. Marines are trained for conflicts around the world - from the Middle East to Africa - and are used for rapid global deployments in case of emergencies, such as threats to U.S. embassies. All those troops will come under a task force, known as Task Force 51. HOW CAN TROOPS LEGALLY BE DEPLOYED WITHIN THE UNITED STATES? Trump cited Title 10 of the U.S. Code, a federal law that outlines the role of the U.S. Armed Forces, in his June 7 order to call members of the California National Guard into federal service. A provision of Title 10 - Section 12406- allows the president to deploy National Guard units into federal service if the U.S. is invaded, there is a "rebellion or danger of rebellion" or the president is "unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States." The president also has the authority to deploy active duty troops, like the Marines, within the United States in limited cases. WHERE ARE THE TROOPS COMING FROM? Many of the 4,000 National Guard troops are coming from the California National Guard. So far, 2,100 soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a unit of the California National Guard, are on the ground. The Marines being deployed are from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. They are based out of Twentynine Palms, close to Los Angeles. WHAT CAN TROOPS DO AND WHAT CAN THEY NOT DO? Both National Guard troops and Marines will be carrying out the same tasks, according to U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who is commanding the troops. They are tasked with protecting federal property and federal personnel. This means that they will accompany ICE agents on raids, officials have said. The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them. Military officials are not allowed to carry out arrests themselves. The Posse Comitatus Act, generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. Trump could take a more far-reaching step by invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement. WHAT TRAINING WILL THE TROOPS RECEIVE? Troops receive varying levels of training in dealing with riots and crowd control. Since National Guard troops are used domestically in many cases, they receive extensive training when it comes to crowd control and civil unrest. While Marines may receive a basic level of crowd control training, it is not their expertise in domestic situations. The 700 Marines will receive two days of training focused on civil disturbance, crowd control and protection of facilities, before they are deployed to the streets of Los Angeles. The Marines will also have added "legal and law enforcement expertise," the military said. WHAT WILL TROOPS BE ARMED WITH? National Guard troops have been seen carrying shields, batons and rifles, along with regular protective equipment. The Marines will also be armed with riot shields and batons, and Sherman said they will not have ammunition in their rifles, but they will carry it. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Politics
- Reuters
Explainer: What are US troops doing in Los Angeles?
WASHINGTON, June 11 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration has said it is going to deploy 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles to help protect federal property and personnel during the ongoing protests in the city. Here is everything we know about the U.S. troops that are being deployed to Los Angeles: National guard troops usually belong to individual states and personnel in many cases are trained to help with emergencies that those states have to deal with, such as natural disasters. Since they are the reserve force of the U.S. military, National Guard troops are usually part time, meaning that they have other jobs as well. U.S. Marines on the other hand are active duty troops - it is a full time job. Marines are trained for conflicts around the world - from the Middle East to Africa - and are used for rapid global deployments in case of emergencies, such as threats to U.S. embassies. All those troops will come under a task force, known as Task Force 51. Trump cited Title 10 of the U.S. Code, a federal law that outlines the role of the U.S. Armed Forces, in his June 7 order to call members of the California National Guard into federal service. A provision of Title 10 - Section 12406- allows the president to deploy National Guard units into federal service if the U.S. is invaded, there is a "rebellion or danger of rebellion" or the president is "unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States." The president also has the authority to deploy active duty troops, like the Marines, within the United States in limited cases. Many of the 4,000 National Guard troops are coming from the California National Guard. So far, 2,100 soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, a unit of the California National Guard, are on the ground. The Marines being deployed are from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division. They are based out of Twentynine Palms, close to Los Angeles. Both National Guard troops and Marines will be carrying out the same tasks, according to U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who is commanding the troops. They are tasked with protecting federal property and federal personnel. This means that they will accompany ICE agents on raids, officials have said. The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them. Military officials are not allowed to carry out arrests themselves. The Posse Comitatus Act, generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. Trump could take a more far-reaching step by invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement. Troops receive varying levels of training in dealing with riots and crowd control. Since National Guard troops are used domestically in many cases, they receive extensive training when it comes to crowd control and civil unrest. While Marines may receive a basic level of crowd control training, it is not their expertise in domestic situations. The 700 Marines will receive two days of training focused on civil disturbance, crowd control and protection of facilities, before they are deployed to the streets of Los Angeles. The Marines will also have added "legal and law enforcement expertise," the military said. National Guard troops have been seen carrying shields, batons and rifles, along with regular protective equipment. The Marines will also be armed with riot shields and batons, and Sherman said they will not have ammunition in their rifles, but they will carry it.
Fox News
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Fox News
National Guard troops detain anti-ICE protesters in Los Angeles under Trump's orders
National Guard troops in Los Angeles have already detained protesters boycotting operations by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), though they were quickly turned over to local law enforcement, according to officials. Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman told the Associated Press on Wednesday that about 500 National Guard Troops have been trained so far to help agents carry out immigration operations. Immigration officials have already circulated photos of soldiers from the National Guard providing security for Department of Homeland Security agents. While riots have calmed down in Los Angeles, Sherman said he expected things to escalate once again. "We are expecting a ramp-up," he said, adding that officials are discussing protests across the U.S. "I'm focused right here in L.A., what's going on right here. But you know, I think we're, we're very concerned." Sherman commands Task Force 51, which oversees the more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines who were deployed to Los Angeles in response to the protests that erupted on Friday as ICE agents conducted illegal immigration operations in the area. He told the AP that over the past few days, National Guard soldiers have temporarily detained anti-ICE protesters, though there have not been many as of late because things have calmed down. Sherman also said the soldiers did not participate in the arrests or law enforcement activities. Instead, he added, they let the agitators go once police take them into custody. The troops being deployed to the protests all go through several days of training on civil unrest. Those troops providing security during raids also go through additional instruction, legal training and rehearsals with the agents conducting the enforcement operations. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had a public war of words with Trump administration officials, accusing the president of having "commandeered" 2,000 of the state's National Guard members "illegally, for no reason" without consulting with California's law enforcement leaders. The Trump administration, meanwhile, said its ICE operations are aiming to get "criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, gangbangers, drug dealers, human traffickers and domestic abusers off the streets."
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Wednesday's Mini-Report, 6.11.25
Today's edition of quick hits. * In L.A.: 'Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and several other L.A.-area mayors condemned the ICE raids happening in their region, saying residents are living in fear. ... Bass slammed the Trump administration for trying to cause 'fear and panic,' adding that deploying military and National Guard troops was a 'drastic and chaotic escalation and completely unnecessary.'' * In related news: 'A defense official said 700 Marines are mobilized and in the Los Angeles area but are not on city streets as part of Task Force 51. The official said some Marines could be sent out as early as today, but there are no orders to do so at this point. The Marines are still going through some basic training about the standard rules of force.' * Donald Trump declared that a trade deal with China is 'done,' but that wasn't true: 'While Mr. Trump described the agreement as a 'deal,' officials did not announce progress on any other trade issues, beyond rolling back the tit-for-tat measures taken against each other after Mr. Trump ratcheted up tariffs on Chinese products in early April. * Similarly, the American president also claimed online that a federal appeals court ruled that his administration can 'use tariffs to protect itself against other countries.' That wasn't true, either. * I'm not an attorney, but I'm hard-pressed to imagine how this could be legal: 'U.S. military troops deployed to Los Angeles are allowed to temporarily detain individuals until law enforcement agents arrive to arrest them, a senior U.S. military official said on Wednesday.' * Raise your hand if you saw this coming: 'A reunion of the world's richest man and its most powerful may not be imminent, but at least one of them has expressed his regrets as their relationship lies in ruins. Elon Musk said on X in the early hours of Wednesday that he 'regrets' some of the barbs he posted as he and President Donald Trump traded insults on social media, saying 'they went too far.'' * Sometimes, politically inconvenient images are real: 'In the hours after the [San Francisco] Chronicle published two exclusive photos of California National Guard troops sleeping on the concrete floor of a Los Angeles federal building, a torrent of false claims and outright misinformation about the authenticity of the images hit social media.' * Wait, you mean the Argentinian justices didn't conclude that the country's former president was above the law? 'Argentina's highest court upheld a six-year prison sentence for former President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner in a ruling Tuesday that permanently banned her from public office over the corruption conviction that found she had directed state contracts to a friend while she was the first lady and president.' * The right's campaign against marriage equality is intensifying, not weakening: 'The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to call for the overturning of the Supreme Court ruling that legalized same-sex marriage, with strategists citing the successful effort that overturned the right to legal abortions as a possible blueprint for the new fight.' * Harvard is not without allies: 'Twenty four universities, including five Ivy League schools, and more than 12,000 alumni took measures to back Harvard University in its legal battle against the Trump administration, which has threatened it with slashing billions of dollars in grants.' * Following up on a story from earlier in the week: 'Journalist Terry Moran is out at ABC News after he called top White House official Stephen Miller a 'world-class hater' whose 'hatreds are his spiritual nourishment' on social media. ABC News said Tuesday that it was not renewing Moran's contract because of the post.' See you tomorrow. This article was originally published on
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Prank calls, harassment, and doxxing fears drove the Marine unit sent to LA to pull down its website
Marines took down their website to avoid harassment amid LA deployment backlash. The unit was deployed to support law enforcement during immigration protests in Los Angeles. Military trust is waning, highlighting a civil-military divide and potential misunderstandings. The Marine Corps unit sent to Los Angeles amid local unrest and anti-ICE protests opted to take down its website to shield its members from being bombarded by angry calls, targeted by prank callers, harassment, and doxxing. The Secretary of Defense tasked the unit, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, also known as "2/7," days ago to deploy to LA in response to the protests and in support of federal law enforcement. Around 2,000 US Army National Guard soldiers were tasked to the city prior to the announcement that roughly 700 Marines would be heading that way. The Marines haven't yet been put to work for the US Northern Command-led mission known as Task Force 51, NORTHCOM spokesperson Capt. Mayrem Morales told Business Insider, adding that they've spent recent days receiving training for crowd control and de-escalation— missions for which Marines are not typically trained. The order has put the Marines in the middle of national political divisions, with some Americans upset enough to spam government phone numbers. "We received initial reporting from the unit that there were prank calls to all the numbers listed on the website for the Command Duty Officer and other numbers listed on the website," 1st Marine Division spokesman Lt. Col. Lucas Burke wrote in an email to Business Insider. A "command duty officer" is a service member appointed to stand watch over a unit for a 24-hour period. Such postings are routine for leaders and can quickly become critical. The phone line is often the first to receive urgent news regarding unit member emergencies, meaning that prank calls to such numbers could stop information from reaching those in charge. Concerns extended to Marines' families, contributing to the decision to remove the website. "Once the mission is complete and the Marines safely return home, we will immediately restore the website," he said. "This was done trying to protect members of the unit from being doxxed or harassed," Burke said on a phone call, explaining that the website's removal was only temporary and done out of safety concerns. Such unease is uncommon for active-duty units, often too busy with training to rile up such sentiments. The military has enjoyed high public trust for decades, though research indicates such trust has waned in recent years, becoming increasingly fragile. Outsiders harassing military personnel could be symptomatic of the growing civil-military divide, the growing chasm between those who serve and those who don't. Members of the armed forces are often, though not always, confined to remote bases like Twentynine Palms, California, over two hours east of Los Angeles. Military recruitment continues to rely heavily on families who already have histories of service, and the US veteran population is on the decline. Many Americans may only see uniformed service members at airports, fostering fundamental misunderstandings about the people who serve and who is calling the shots. Protestors met Marines departing their base and arriving at Los Angeles, despite the Marine leaders having little choice in the matter. Missions, normally coordinated with state and local leaders, originate from much higher levels — in this case, from the Secretary of Defense. Read the original article on Business Insider
