Days after protests erupted in Los Angeles over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of nearly 5,000 troops, including 700 active-duty Marines and 4,000 California National Guard members under federal Title 10 authority, to the city. The move, aimed at protecting federal personnel and property, marks a significant show of force despite the absence of an invocation of the Insurrection Act, which is required for military law enforcement on U.S. soil.
“You have violent people, and we’re not going to let them get away with it,” Trump told reporters on Sunday, June 8, 2025, while noting the unrest did not yet constitute an “insurrection.” Protests appeared to subside by Monday night.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, addressing the House Appropriations Committee on Tuesday, June 10, 2025, stated the 700 Marines from Camp Pendleton were deployed to “restore order” and bolster security for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers. “ICE has the right to safely conduct operations in any jurisdiction,” Hegseth said, posting on X on Monday.
The mission, termed “defense support of civil authorities,” assigns troops to safeguard federal buildings and personnel in downtown Los Angeles and surrounding areas, not to directly manage protests. Experts, however, note this distinction may be nominal, as the presence of nearly 5,000 troops could deter both peaceful and violent demonstrations. “This is a technique for getting around some legal restrictions,” said Lindsay Cohn, a civil-military relations expert at the Naval War College, speaking independently.
Without the Insurrection Act, U.S. forces are barred from searches, seizures, arrests, or using force except in self-defense. Congressional Democrats, including Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), criticized the move, calling the National Guard deployment “premature” and the addition of Marines “downright escalatory.” McCollum stressed that active-duty troops lack training for domestic law enforcement.
California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit on Monday, June 9, 2025, to block the deployments, labeling them “morally reprehensible” on X. The last federal troop deployment without state consent occurred in 1965 to protect civil rights marchers in Alabama. In 1992, Marines aided in quelling Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King verdict, seen then as a neutral force, per Carrie Lee of the German Marshall Fund.
Troops are likely receiving just-in-time briefings on their authority and tasks, a former defense official noted anonymously. The executive order allows deployments to cities where protests are ongoing or “likely to occur,” potentially expanding the mission. However, tasking troops to support ICE, the protest target, risks perceptions of partisanship, Lee cautioned.
