Hundreds of US Marines stationed at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms have been mobilized to Los Angeles, according to CNN.
It is said to be a “significant escalation” by CNN, but between 500 and 700 Marines are reportedly being revitalized to respond to the Los Angeles area after anti-ice protests became violent Sunday night.
CNN reports that hundreds of Marines have been mobilized to support federal agents in Los Angeles, citing three sources.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Natasha Bertrand described the move as “a serious escalation of the president’s use of the military as a pretense of power over these protesters.”
Several cars are on fire on North Los Angeles Street in downtown Los Angeles, California during a collision between protesters and police on June 8, 2025. (Photo: Jim Vondruska/Getty Images)
Bertrand said it is unclear what role the Marines will play when they arrive in Los Angeles.
“We are said to have rules for involvement still fixed. Pentagon lawyers are looking at the rules of engagement that these Marines have when they meet protesters on the streets of Los Angeles,” Bertrand said.
The decision to deploy Marines to LA is to envisage city and state leaders repeatedly push the federal government back and manage military operations within the city without consulting them.
California Governor Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass both called the National Guard deployed into the city as unnecessary escalation and political theatre acts.
The bus held a press conference on Sunday night, accusing her of unnecessary increase in tension in the city as protesters went to the streets to protest immigration enforcement activities taking place in various parts of Los Angeles.
“What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is the disruption caused by the administration,” Bus said at a press conference on Sunday. “This is about another agenda and not about public safety.”
On Monday, Newsom’s office filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration seeking the return of California State Guard command.
Also on Monday, Trump expressed his support for the California governor to be arrested, but the charges were not immediately clear.
“I think his main crime is running for the governor, because he does a very bad job.”
KTLA is currently working to independently validate this report.
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