The military said Monday it is mobilizing another 2,000 members of the California National Guard to respond to protests in Los Angeles, joining thousands of National Guard and hundreds of Marine Corps personnel already assigned to the city.
Pentagon chief spokesman Sean Parnell said on X late Monday the additional troops have been “called into federal service to support ICE & to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties.”
The move adds to 2,000 National Guard troops who were called up by President Trump late Saturday to protect federal personnel and property. The military also activated about 700 active-duty Marines on Monday to assist the Guard. Marines could start arriving in the Los Angeles area as soon as Tuesday, a defense official told CBS News
The move to effectively double the number of Guard personnel was immediately panned by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it “Reckless” and “Disrespectful to our troops.” The governor wrote on X that many of the initial 2,000 troops called up by the federal government over the weekend are still “sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders.”
“This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego,” Newsom said.
The military presence came after days of protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in the nation’s second-largest city. The federal government has accused local authorities of not doing enough to deal with violent clashes and protect ICE agents from being assaulted, which state and local officials deny.
Local officials have blasted the military deployments, calling them unnecessary and warning they could further inflame the situation in Los Angeles. The city is facing a fourth night of protests Monday.
The state of California sued the Trump administration over the National Guard deployments, calling them a “power grab” that illegally usurped Newsom’s authority over the Guard.