Marines to protect L.A. federal building amid protests, commander says
About 200 U.S. Marines have moved into Los Angeles and are expected to protect a federal building there, a military commander said Friday, after a week of protests over the Trump administration’s immigration raids in the city and as related demonstrations ramp up around the country.
Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, the commander of Task Force 51 who oversees the 4,700 troops mobilized for Los Angeles, told reporters that the active-duty Marines have now completed civil disturbance training and would take over duties from National Guard soldiers, who will instead focus on protecting federal law enforcement personnel.
The move comes as a legal battle continues between the Trump administration and California about who had the power to deploy the state’s National Guard. An appeals court late Thursday blocked an order from a federal judge ordering President Donald Trump to relinquish control of those troops to Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), allowing Trump to keep the forces deployed for now.
Meanwhile, governors in Texas and Missouri have activated their National Guard troops. More protests across the country are planned this weekend, with anti-Trump “No Kings” demonstrations set to happen Saturday in more than 2,000 cities across the nation as the U.S. Army prepares to conduct a massive military parade in the nation’s capital.
Where the Marines, National Guard are deployed in L.A.
Sherman said the Marines would relieve the National Guard troops at noon local time Friday to guard the Wilshire Federal Building in the city’s tony Westwood neighborhood.
“I would like to emphasize that the soldiers will not participate in law enforcement activities,” he added.
Military personnel under federal control by law can only temporarily detain people until police arrive to make an arrest. The first known incident occurred Friday, when Marines detained someone before handing them off to law enforcement officers, a defense official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss ongoing operations. The incident was first reported by Reuters.
About 500 National Guard troops have trained to accompany U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while they conduct immigration raids, officials have said, and have provided security for immigration-related arrests this week. The growing scope of military support to federal partners could be a harbinger of activity nationwide, as the White House looks to use the National Guard for more immigration enforcement.
The Marines – infantrymen not versed in domestic missions – spent a few days on a crash course on handling unrest. The instruction included techniques on de-escalation and military attorneys providing guidance on use of force, Sherman said. Troops have been issued their assigned weapons, helmets, face shields, batons and gas masks, he said.
As of late morning Friday, the National Guard was still outside the federal building in downtown L.A. They were also stationed outside the Metropolitan Detention Center.
The latest on protests in L.A. and elsewhere
Protests against the sweeping immigration raids in Los Angeles have stretched for more than a week.
Roughly a one-square-mile section of downtown remains under a nightly 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew after demonstrations included a mix of peaceful marches and a smaller segment of protesters hurling objects at police, setting cars on fire and breaking into local businesses. More than 400 people have been arrested for failure to disperse since Saturday, according to Los Angeles police. Dozens of others are charged with a range of violations, including breaking curfew, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer and attempted murder with a molotov cocktail.
The unrest has been concentrated to a few blocks, while other protests have unfurled in nearby towns in Los Angeles County. Across the country, anti-ICE protests have drawn hundreds to the streets in cities including Boston, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Antonio and Seattle.
Legal battles over control of troops in California
A federal appeals court is allowing Trump to keep California National Guard members deployed in Los Angeles over the objections of Newsom for now, blocking a lower-court ruling from earlier Thursday that ordered the president to return control of the guard to the governor.
U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer wrote in the lower court order that Trump acted improperly, “both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.” The appellate court quickly granted the Trump administration a stay of Breyer’s ruling and scheduled a hearing on the issue for Tuesday.
Sherman said his operations have been unaffected by recent court decisions, including the rulings on Thursday. “We’re continuing on with the mission until we receive orders from higher on how to continue,” he said.
‘No Kings’ protests are planned this weekend
Nationwide demonstrations are scheduled Saturday as part of a widespread “No Kings” protest of what organizers with the liberal advocacy group Indivisible called the Trump administration’s creeping authoritarianism. Rallies and marches are planned in major population centers like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, as well as small towns and midsize cities. Indivisible organizers said that their protests are expected to be peaceful First Amendment exercises and that they have trained volunteers in de-escalation and crowd safety.
A chaotic scene at a Newark ICE facility
Four detainees escaped Thursday from Delaney Hall, a privately run immigrant detention center in Newark where local officials and advocates have protested conditions. It was also the scene of a disturbance Thursday as demonstrators faced off with law enforcement officers, according to an immigration advocate present who provided a video of the scene to the Washington Post. DHS said “additional law enforcement partners” were helping search for the detainees.
María Luisa Paúl, Maegan Vazquez, Gaya Gupta and Jonathan Baran contributed to this report.