Trump Deploys National Guard And Marines To LA
BBC News
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US President Donald Trump is deploying more National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles as protests in the city continue
Monday's protests were generally calmer, our correspondent Peter Bowes writes, but the prospect of Marines on the streets has sent shivers through communities
California Governor Gavin Newsom says he will take legal action against the deployments, calling Trump "deranged" and "dictatorial"
Demonstrations in the city continued into a fourth day on Monday, with new rallies starting up across the US against immigration authorities
Rubber bullets, stun grenades and other non-lethal weapons have been used against the protesters
Have you witnessed any protests? Get in touch with us on WhatsApp: +44 7756 165803, external
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Watch: Police fire rubber bullets at Los Angeles protesters on Monday
Edited by Alex Smith and Adam Durbin
National Guard troops have already been deployed to Los Angeles
As we've been reporting today, US President Donald Trump has deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles following several days of protests in the city.
The Marines could start arriving as soon as today, a defence official told the BBC's US partner CBS News.
They will "seamlessly integrate with National Guard troops who are "protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area", according to a statement from the US Northern Command.
California Governor Gavin Newsom suggested on Monday that he might take legal action over the planned use of Marines, calling it "illegal" and a "blatant abuse of power".
Like the National Guard troops, Marines are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activity, such as making arrests.
Having the Marines deployed to protect federal buildings allows them to be used without invoking the Insurrection Act, according to US media reports citing US officials.
The Insurrection Act of 1807 allows the president to use active-duty military personnel to perform law-enforcement duties inside the US. But it's used very rarely.
One US official told CNN that Marines have not been mobilised within the US, like they are in California, since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
A Los Angeles City Council member tells BBC World Service's Newsday that US President Donald Trump's actions have been "truly despicable".
Hugo Soto-Martinez's constituency covers the Paramount area, where immigration officials carried out raids.
“Much of the escalation has been bought on by Trump’s tactics,” Soto-Martinez says.
He says he doesn’t buy claims that the National Guard and Marines have been bought in to keep law enforcement officials safe.
“We’ve had protests in the city, we know how to handle situations,” he says. “We didn’t feel overwhelmed…[Trump] is simply using this situation to bring terror and fear and division.”
Soto-Martinez adds that the Latino community in Paramount are terrified: “This is beyond the pale, I don’t even have words for his actions.”
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Los Angeles a "city of criminals", during an interview with Fox News on Monday night.
Noem said that immigration officials in LA have been going after "the worst of the worst", targeting those that have committed serious crimes.
She added that law enforcement agencies will look to double their efforts on Monday.
"We conducted more operations today than we did the day before. And tomorrow, we're going to double those efforts again," she said.
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A number of US cities joined Los Angeles in protests on Monday.
Protesters were filmed in cities including Boston, Houston and Philadelphia, as demonstrations entered their fourth day in LA.
Dozens of people have been arrested in Los Angeles after immigration raids in the city triggered four days of protests.
The demonstrations began on Friday after it emerged Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were carrying out raids in parts of LA with a large Latino population.
The BBC's US partner CBS News reported that operations took place in the Westlake district and in Paramount, south of LA, where the population is more than 82% Hispanic.
ICE later told CBS that 44 unauthorised immigrants were arrested in a single operation at a job site on Friday. Another 77 were also arrested in the greater LA area on the same day.
Demonstrations followed.
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On Sunday, the National Guard clashed with people protesting against immigration raids in Los Angeles
While they started out peaceful, five self-driving vehicles were set on fire, protesters shut down a major freeway, and there were reports of looting in parts of America's second largest city.
US President Donald Trump has since deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city.
“The political talking is not helpful at all,” Los Angeles district attorney Nathan Hochman tells BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
“We’re dealing with a situation where we have thousands of people who are legitimately going to voice their protest over the policies the federal government is involved with,” he says, “and that’s fine".
But, he goes on to say, there are “individuals who have gone beyond the lines of protected speech".
He tells the BBC that LA authorities “do not need the additional forces that the National Guard and Marines present,” and believes it hasn’t reached the point where the unrest is beyond the means of local law enforcement.
Hochman says he won't get involved in the debate between President Donald Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom but, he says, “we believe we have the resources right now to deal with the situation.”
With it now past midnight in Los Angeles, US media has been reporting the protests have largely died down for the night.
The Los Angeles Times says the protests had dispersed by 23:00 local time and, as we've been reporting, says Monday's protests were much calmer than those on the day before.
Meanwhile the New York Times reports around an hour ago that, while police are still seeing some flashpoints across the city, the protests have been much more subdued.
US President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of the National Guard – and now Marines – to Los Angeles, in response to the protests.
Let's take a look at the numbers:
Newsom said he would take legal action against the deployment of troops, and called Trump's activation of Marines in LA a "deranged fantasy".
Peter Bowes
North America correspondent in Los Angeles
It's generally been much calmer in Los Angeles compared to the weekend.
A growing number of people were on the streets on Monday as the day went on, but we didn't see the violence or the opportunistic vandals that we saw towards the end of the day on Sunday.
But there is still tension around the city, especially with the news that 700 active duty Marines are being deployed, possibly in the next few hours.
It seems the role of the Marines and the National Guard troops will be to protect federal property and personnel, such as the immigration agents involved in the raids on Friday that started all this.
This is an escalation.
The prospect of the Marines on the streets of Los Angeles, which is a highly unusual situation, has sent shivers through many communities across this sprawling city.
Demonstrations began in Los Angeles on Friday after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in the city.
ICE is the federal agency that identifies people in the US illegally and carries out arrests and deportations.
Donald Trump returned to power in January, promising mass deportations of undocumented immigrants. Since then, arrests have increased.
Data from CBS, the BBC's US partner, shows ICE arrests during Trump's second term have now passed 100,000.
On Monday, new rallies started up across the US against the immigration authorities – from Tampa, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts to Houston, Texas.
US President Donald Trump's "border tsar" Tom Homan says there are no plans to arrest California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Earlier, Homan had warned that any state official that hinders federal immigration enforcement could face obstruction of justice charges.
Newsom responded on social media, writing "Trump’s border czar is threatening to arrest me for speaking out. Come and get me, tough guy."
Asked on CNN on Monday night whether Newsom had done anything to warrant an arrest, Homan said "not at this time. Absolutely not."
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has urged officials to "stop the raids", in a post on X.
As a reminder, protests kicked off in LA on Friday after it emerged Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were carrying out raids across the city.
"There is a real fear in Los Angeles right now. Parents, workers, grandparents, young people scared to go about their daily lives," Bass writes.
"We are a city of immigrants. Washington is attacking our people, our neighbourhoods and our economy," she adds.
It's now 23:30 in Los Angeles on the fourth day of protests in the city.
Here are some pictures taken of the unrest this evening.
Thousands of protesters and police officers gathered in downtown LA as the unrest continued
Protesters were waving Mexican flags during protests sparked by immigration raids in Los Angeles
Rubber bullets, stun grenades and other non-lethal weapons have been used against the protesters, and some people were detained
A former National Guard officer has criticised Trump for deploying the force to Los Angeles.
The National Guards are "not needed" there, retired Lt Gen Russel Honoré tells the BBC's Newsday.
Honoré calls this "an escalation that's being perpetrated by the White House to be able to deploy federal troops anytime, anywhere in America."
"There are 10 million people in LA County and we're talking about two small areas with maybe at best a few thousand protesters in each area.
"We get more, bigger protests or civil activities when the Dodgers win the World Series," he adds.
Tiffanie Turnbull
BBC News, Sydney
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Footage showing a police officer turning their gun towards a news camera and firing, striking an Australian reporter with a rubber bullet, has been making headlines here.
Channel Nine's Lauren Tomasi was hit in the leg while reporting on the unrest in Los Angeles on Sunday.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has called the footage "horrific" and said there was "no ambiguity" that Tomasi was a journalist.
"We have already raised these issues with the US administration. We don't find it acceptable that it occurred," he said in a speech on Tuesday.
He added that he had spoken with Tomasi, who has told local media she is sore and bruised.
"She's going OK. She's pretty resilient," Albanese said.
A British news photographer underwent emergency surgery after he was also shot in the leg with a non-lethal bullet on Sunday.
Throughout the day, President Trump and California Governor Gavin Newsom have been exchanging jabs through their social media accounts.
Here's a breakdown of the things they've said to and about each other:
Trump calls Newsom 'incompetent'
In a post to his Truth Social account, Trump says LA would be "obliterated" without him.
"The very incompetent 'Governor,' Gavin Newscum, and 'Mayor,' Karen Bass, should be saying, 'THANK YOU, PRESIDENT TRUMP, YOU ARE SO WONDERFUL. WE WOULD BE NOTHING WITHOUT YOU, SIR.'"
Newsom hits back after Trump calls for his arrest
Trump told reporters he thought it would be “great” if Newsom was arrested.
Newsom responded on social media, calling it an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism”.
Earlier, when Trump border czar Tom Homan threatened the same thing, Newsom didn't mince his words: “Arrest me,” he said. “Let’s get it over, tough guy.”
'If they spit, we will hit'
Trump accused Newsom of inspiring the riots and spitting in the faces of the National Guard.
"I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before," he said in a Truth Social post.
Newsom says Trump is acting like a dictator
In a post on X, Newsom says Trump's activation of Marines in LA is a "deranged fantasy".
He continued by saying Trump is a "dictatorial president. This is un-American."
Newsom tells Trump to 'grow up'
Newsom used the words to caption an interview clip in which he said Trump should, "Arrest me. Get it over with".
On Saturday, Trump's border tsar, Tom Homan, threatened to arrest individuals who obstruct the immigration enforcement effort.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has said he "will sue" over the deployment of US Marines to LA.
Newsom and California's Attorney General Rob Bonta have already sued the Trump administration for deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles without Newsom's authorisation.
Newsom wrote on social media earlier, urging people to "WAKE UP!"
"US Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country – defending democracy. They are not political pawns.
"The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend. It’s a blatant abuse of power. We will sue to stop this," Newsom wrote. 
Barbara Tasch
Live reporter
The situation is continuing to be tense in California as demonstrations continue into a fourth day.
US President Donald Trump is deploying another 2,000 National Guard troops and is activating 700 Marines in the Los Angeles area to help the federal response to protests against immigration raids, the Pentagon confirms.
Demonstrations began outside in downtown LA on Friday after it emerged Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were carrying out raids across the city.
Police moved in on protesters on Monday, firing rubber bullets at crowds, which were seen dispersing through LA streets.
It is highly unusual for US military troops to be involved in domestic law enforcement – and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has taken the Trump administration to court for deploying National Guard troops without his authorisation, is now threatening to do the same over the deployment of US Marines.
Protests against immigration raids and mass deportations have also started in other cities across the US – with marches in Tampa, Florida, Boston, Massachusetts and Houston, Texas.
It's now approaching 23:00 in Los Angeles and our team in California is continuing to report on the situation on the ground. Stay with us as we bring you the latest news and analysis.
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