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Approximately 700 Marines have been mobilized from a base in the desert east of Los Angeles, and to support members of the National Guard at LA.NBC News, the Secretary of Defense reported that the Marines will be mobilized to Camp Pendleton, near San Diego. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s press conference office calls mobilization “a totally unfair.” Sources who spoke with NBCNews said the Marines operate under three forces.
About 700 Marines were mobilized after weekend protests and violence.
Details about the Marines’ role in Los Angeles were not immediately available if protests against immigration enforcement work were violent over the weekend and could be deployed on federal property. Service members will come from the 2nd Battalion of the 7th Marines, based in Twentin Palms, California, according to the US Northern Command.
“The US Northern Command has revitalized a Marine Infantry Battalion, which was on alert over the weekend,” the agency said Monday afternoon.
The military base is located in the desert about 140 miles east of Los Angeles. The video showed what appeared to be a military vehicle moving west on the 62 highway Monday afternoon.
NBC News reported that the Marines will be mobilized to Camp Pendleton, near San Diego, about 90 miles south of Los Angeles.
Mobilization, which may involve various phases, involves preparation and assembly of the military for duties, and can ultimately lead to deployment. Mobilization is temporary until more California National Guard members arrive.
Sources who spoke with NBC News say the Marines operate under three rules of force: self-defense, federal property defense, and federal employee defense.
These are the same rules of force for the National Guard in Los Angeles.
LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell responded to the possibility of a Marine Corps deployment in Los Angeles on Monday afternoon.
“The arrival of federal forces in Los Angeles – no clear coordination – presents important logistics and operational challenges for us who are responsible for protecting the city,” McDonnell said in a statement. “The Los Angeles Police Department, along with its mutual aid partner, has decades of experience managing large public demonstrations and remains confident in its ability to do so professionally and effectively. Our top priority is the safety of both ground police officers.
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Press Office called mobilization “completely unfair.”
“The level of escalation is completely unfair, unprecedented, unprecedented – mobilizing the best class branches of the US military against their citizens,” Gavin Newsom’s Press Office said in X.
In a rare move on Saturday, Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles without requests from state or local officials. About 300 units arrived in downtown Los Angeles early Sunday morning.
The decision soon became a flash point between Trump and the state and local officials, requiring the White House to return the security guards to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
California is seeking a court order declaring Trump’s use of the National Guard is illegal. Bonta is seeking a restraining order to stop the deployment that began Sunday with about 300 troops arriving in downtown Los Angeles. There is a possibility that more troops will be deployed this week.
On Monday, state Attorney General Rob Bonta said it was “abuse of presidential authority” to make the California State Guard federal without the demands of state and local leaders. He said the state’s sovereignty was “trampled down” by the move. The White House announced Saturday after protests against recent immigration enforcement efforts in Southern California became violent.
He generally accused President Trump of trying to create a spectacle rather than acting on “legitimate needs.” The governor said on Sunday he officially requested that the Trump administration retract the illegal deployment of the military in Los Angeles County and return it to his orders.
It appears to be the first time in decades that a state National Guard has been revitalized without demand from the governor. Trump’s order approved the deployment of 2,000 National Guard members over 60 days.
Trump cited legal provisions that allow him to mobilize service members of the federal government if there is “a risk of rebellion or rebellion against the authority of the US government.”
Dozens of arrests were reported over the weekend and some protesters blocked traffic by walking down the 101 highway in downtown Los Angeles. The demonstrations began late last week after the recent immigration enforcement raid in Los Angeles.
In a post on his social media site Monday, President Trump said Los Angeles would have been “completely wiped out” otherwise. He said Newsom and Mayor Karen Bass should be grateful to him.
Local law enforcement responded to weekend violence, primarily in downtown Los Angeles, which led to dozens of arrests. National Guard members were stationed at federal property in Los Angeles, including a federal detention center in the downtown area.
Riot Act and related laws were used during the civil rights era to protect activists and students separating schools. President Dwight Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to Little Rock, Arkansas, protecting black students who integrated Central High School after the governor of that state revitalised the National Guard and kept students out.
George H.W. Bush responded to the riots in 1992 after being acquitted by a white police officer who beat the black driver Rodney King in 1992.
National Guards are deployed for a variety of emergencies, including the Covid pandemic, hurricanes and other natural disasters. However, these deployments generally take place along with the agreements of the governor of the corresponding state.
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