In an unprecedented move in modern U.S. history, the U.S. Northern Command announced Monday that the U.S. military will temporarily move approximately 700 Marines to Los Angeles, the second-largest city in the United States. This reinforces the military presence in the city after the Trump administration ordered the deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops there over the weekend, a significant overreach of the governor's authority.
According to a statement from Northern Command, the command activated a Marine battalion ordered by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and in accordance with the directives of the Commander-in-Chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, President Donald Trump, and prepared to deploy over the weekend amid ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.
Northern Command announced that approximately 700 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, based in Twentynine Palms, California, will "seamlessly integrate" with National Guard troops already deployed in Los Angeles to protect federal personnel and assets.
The command noted that the Marines "received training in de-escalation, crowd control, and the permanent rules for the use of force."
Hegseth later referred to the deployment in a post on X, citing increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings.
"Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton (near San Diego, Southern California) are being deployed to Los Angeles to restore order," he wrote before launching a scathing attack on California Governor Gavin Newsom.
"We have an obligation to defend federal law enforcement officers—even if Gavin Newsom doesn't," he concluded.
It is not clear whether the Marines will actually be deployed on the ground or remain on standby, although Newsom's press office said it was their understanding that service members are not being deployed, as there is a difference between that and mobilization.
In a statement posted on the X website, Newsom's press office also criticized the Marines' movement, describing it as "mobilizing and deploying the finest branch of the American military against its own citizens."
The office added that "the level of escalation is completely unjustified and unprecedented."
The move is likely to further inflame tensions between California officials and the Trump administration, who have differed over how to respond to protests in Los Angeles and surrounding suburbs against federal immigration raids.
President Trump insisted that the deployment of National Guard troops—only the second time in the past 60 years that a U.S. president has mobilized a state's National Guard without the governor's approval—was necessary to stop protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
"The people causing the problem are professional agitators. They are insurrectionists. They are bad people. They should be in jail," Trump told reporters on Monday.
Trump also said Monday he would support Newsom's arrest.
But Newson accused the Pentagon of "lying to the American people" in justifying the deployment of service members to the state, asserting that the situation only worsened when the US military deployed its forces. Newsom formally called on the Trump administration to withdraw National Guard troops from the streets, and California has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over what its officials say is an "illegal" deployment.
شارك برأيك
In a first, Trump deploys 700 Marines to Los Angeles.