LOS ANGELES (CNS) – For a fourth straight day, thousands of protesters amassed in downtown Los Angeles today in opposition to federal immigration raids in the area, while hundreds of U.S. Marines were deployed to the city to assist National Guard troops protecting federal facilities.
U.S. Northern Command confirmed Monday that about 700 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division in Twentynine Palms east of Los Angeles “will seamlessly integrate” with federalized National Guard troops that arrived Sunday to help protect federal facilities and personnel.
The Marine deployment will ensure there are “adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,” according to U.S. Northern Command.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, announced that hundreds of state and regional law enforcement officers were being shifted into the area to support the Los Angeles Police Department and the county Sheriff’s Department to quell potential unruly protests.
Protests raged in the Los Angeles area over the past three nights, sparked by a series of Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids in the area on Friday. Tensions appeared to heighten significantly over the weekend when President Donald Trump federalized as many as 2,000 California National Guard troops to deploy them to Los Angeles to protect federal facilities.
It was unclear when the hundreds of Marines activated Monday might actually arrive in the area.
Rep. Mike Levin, D-Los Angeles, issued a statement calling the Marine deployment “an astounding overreach of authoritarian power.”
Newsom also condemned the move, saying Marines “shouldn’t be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial president. This is un-American.”
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, meanwhile, said his agency had been given no formal notice about Marines being deployed to the city.
“However, the possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles — absent clear coordination — presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,
McDonnell said. “The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, has decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively. That said, our top priority is the safety of both the public and the officers on the ground. We are urging open and continuous lines of communication between all agencies to prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time.”
Monday began with a heightened police presence around the Civic Center area downtown, standing guard over businesses with shattered glass windows, looted shelves and copious amounts of graffiti — the results of the Sunday night protests.
According to the LAPD, 29 people were arrested during Saturday night’s protests for failure to disperse. On Sunday, the LAPD made 21 arrests for offenses including attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, looting and failure to disperse.
Police noted that officers were authorized to fire gas canisters to disperse protesters who were launching projectiles at officers near Spring and Temple streets. Officers also fired more than 600 rounds of less-than-lethal projectiles.