National Guard troops arrive in Los Angeles amid anti-ICE protests
US National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)
LOS ANGELES – National Guard troops arrived in downtown Los Angeles Sunday after President Donald Trump ordered their deployment in response to two days of occasionally violent protests over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids.
Over strenuous objection from local Democratic officials, troops arrived at downtown’s Federal Building around 4 a.m. Sunday.
“@TheCalGuard 79th IBCT has deployed approximately 300 soldiers to 3 separate locations in the greater Los Angeles area. They are conducting safety and protection of federal property & personnel,” the U.S. Northern Command posted at 9:07 a.m. Sunday.
U.S. National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)
“The National Guard is present and actively protecting federal assets in Los Angeles,” U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli posted on X. “Anyone thinking about showing up to damage federal property or to assault our agents, think again.”
Video posted by the Los Angeles Times showed a line of armed National Guard members protecting the Federal Building on Sunday morning, which was heavily defaced with graffiti.
U.S. National Guard are deployed around downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following an immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
The Presidential Memorandum posted Saturday on the White House website ordered the deployment of the Guard in light of “numerous incidents of violence and disorder [which] … threaten to continue in response to the enforcement of Federal law by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions and supporting the faithful execution of Federal immigration laws.”
The order states, in part that “The members and units of the National Guard called into Federal service shall be at least 2,000 National Guard personnel and the duration of duty shall be for 60 days or at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.
“In addition, the Secretary of Defense may employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion.”
U.S. National Guard are deployed around downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following an immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said he has placed US Marines at Camp Pendleton in San Diego on “high alert” to be deployed if needed.
The chaos began with a series of immigration enforcement raids Friday that sparked demonstrations featuring dozens of arrests and profane and threatening graffiti left on government buildings, and continued Saturday with violent protests in Paramount during the day and in downtown Los Angeles on Saturday evening.
Despite the unruly crowds, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said federal reinforcements were not needed.
“I’m very disappointed that he chose to do this, because it’s just not necessary,” Bass told KTLA5 Sunday morning.
“There was protests last night in Los Angeles — my understanding is that there were about 120 protesters. Several of them did commit acts of vandalism, but there was nothing that was happening in downtown Los Angeles that the Los Angeles Police Department could not manage to deal with, so to me, this is completelyunnecessary, I think it’s the administration just posturing. To have 100 troops in Westwood, where nothing had happened at all, and 100 downtown is just overreach.”
Gov. Gavin Newsom, who typically only deploys the California National Guard upon request from local law enforcement, accused Trump of trying to create a “spectacle” rather than acting on a “legitimate need.”
“The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers,” Newsom posted on social media.
“That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions.
“L.A. authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment’s notice. We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need. This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust.”
The LAPD announced that multiple people had been detained overnight after they “reentered the area of the Unlawful Assembly and against the Dispersal Order” following Saturday skirmishes on Alameda Street — between Aliso and Temple streets — which led to the demonstration being shutdown.
Also Saturday, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department said it arrested two people for an alleged assault on a peace officer. An unidentified source told the Los Angeles Times the arrests were made after three deputies were struck and sustained minor injuries from a thrown Molotov cocktail.
Saturday’s protest in Paramount, near the Home Depot at 6400 Alondra Blvd., escalated throughout the day, with many in the crowd turning over shopping carts and other objects that were left in the street, while federal authorities in riot gear stood by. The street filled with smoke from tear gas canisters, and at least one protester could be seen on the ground bleeding in news footage, though the nature of the apparent injury wasn’t clear.
The Los Angeles Times reported that one protester set fire to a United States flag, a Fox11 reported posted video showing one of the station’s news vehicles with slashed tires and smashed windows, and one man in a yellow helmet was seen in video footage throwing large rocks at vehicles driving through the area.
At one point, a Blackhawk helicopter landed on a Paramount street and was unloaded with what appeared to be large amounts of weapons and ammunition.
Video from ABC7 showed the resupply effort near a Department of Homeland Security office at 6321 Alondra Blvd. at 5:45 p.m. Saturday. The office reportedly was being used as a staging area for immigration raids.
Trump addressed the situation in a social media post at 11:41 p.m. Saturday.
“Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest,” Trump posted at 11:41 p.m. Saturday “We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to to handle the task.
“These Radical Left protests, by instigators and often paid troublemakers, will NOT BE TOLERATED. Also, from now on, MASKS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED to be worn at protests. What do these people have to hide, and why??? Again, thank you to the National Guard for a job well done!”
ICE officials posted photos of some of the aftermath of the protests Saturday, which they claimed showed “death threats and profane language spray painted on taxpayer-owned property and walkways littered with objects that had been hurled at federal law enforcement.”
“ … Despite what you may be hearing, the record checks show that we arrested illegal aliens with criminal histories including: child cruelty, domestic violence, drug trafficking, assault, robbery and human smuggling,” the agency added. (CNS)
