Approximately 200 Marines arrived in Los Angeles to begin an assignment to guard the Wilshire Federal Building on Friday, according to an Army general, marking a rare occasion where military forces will be deployed on U.S. soil.
President Trump last weekend federalized and deployed more than 2,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to L.A. after protests erupted in the light of immigration enforcement operations throughout the city and nearby areas. The move to send military has been described as “authoritarian” by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, while Mr. Trump said Friday morning that the “city would be burning to the ground right now” had he not activated the troops.
Newsom has challenged the decision in a lawsuit. A federal judge sided with Newsom and blocked Mr. Trump from sending troops on Thursday night, but an appeals court temporarily halted the order later that evening. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit scheduled another hearing on the case for June 17. The troops are allowed to stay in L.A. at least until that date.
US Marines walk on the parking lot of the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, California, on June 13, 2025. A judge has ordered Donald Trump to return control of the California National Guard to the state, saying the president’s decision to deploy them to protest-hit Los Angeles over Governor Gavin Newsom’s objections was “illegal.” Protests against Trump’s harsh immigration policies spread on June 11 across the United States despite a military-backed crackdown in Los Angeles and threats by the hard-right Republican president to use “heavy force.”
During a news conference Friday morning, Maj. Gen. Scott M. Sherman said the Marines arrived in L.A. Thursday night. They began their assignment in Westwood around noon on Friday.
Marines temporarily detained someone Friday outside the Wilshire Federal Building, a spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command confirmed to CBS News in a statement.
“Title 10 forces may temporarily detain an individual in specific circumstances,” the spokesperson said. “As one of the photo shows, any temporary detention ends immediately when the individual(s) can be safely transferred to the custody of appropriate civilian law enforcement personnel.”
The incident was captured by news photographers. According to Reuters, the detained man identified himself as 27-year-old Marcos Leao, an immigrant and U.S. Army veteran. Leao told reporters he was detained while on his way to the office of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Leao told reporters the Marines mistook him for a protester, but eventually released him.
“They treated me very fairly,” said Leao, per Reuters, adding that he was told, “Understand, this is a whole stressful situation for everybody, and we all have a job.”
U.S. Marines detain Marcos Leao, a 27 year-old veteran, outside the Wilshire Federal Building after Marines were deployed to Los Angeles, as protests against federal immigration sweeps continue, in Los Angeles, California. June 13, 2025.
Sherman said that the sole mission of the deployed Marines is to protect federal property and personnel, like the Federal Building. The Marines will be armed with weapons and wearing crowd control gear such as a riot shield, baton and gas masks.
“I would like to emphasize that the soldiers will not participate in law enforcement activities,” Sherman said. “Rather, they’ll be focused on protecting federal law enforcement personnel.”
Sherman confirmed that the National Guard soldiers who have been deployed since Sunday have also not participated in law enforcement activity. No troops have been injured since arriving in L.A.
“They have watched federal law enforcement arrest personnel as they were protecting,” Sherman said. “They have not had to detain anyone at this point.”
It’s not yet clear what assignments the other 500 deployed Marines will receive in L.A. Sherman said he couldn’t speculate on future operations, but recent training has centered around defending federal property.
“That’s the mission we’ve really focused on them to do,” he said. “They’ve already started with the Wilshire [Federal] Building today, and we will progress from there.”
As of Friday morning, there were 56,300 individuals in ICE detention centers across the country, a record for the agency, according to internal government data obtained by CBS News.
On Thursday and Wednesday, ICE recorded 1,400 and 1,600 nationwide immigration arrests, respectively, the statistics indicate.
ICE arrests have increased by more than 100% since President Trump’s first 100 days in office, but they remain well below the 3,000 daily arrest rate demanded by the White House.