Washington: In one of the most significant domestic military deployments in recent memory, the US military will temporarily send about 700 Marines to Los Angeles on Monday as violent protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement policies enter their fourth day.
The Pentagon, however, has held off invoking the Insurrection Act, which would authorize direct military action against civilians — a legal threshold officials say they are trying to avoid for now.
“A battalion will be sent, but for now, the Insurrection Act is not expected to be invoked,” a defense official confirmed anonymously, adding that the volatile situation remains fluid.
Meanwhile, the Trump administration has ordered an additional 2,000 National Guard troops to be dispatched, which would push the total force presence to over 4,000 by midweek. But California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the move, claiming that only a fraction of those troops — about 300 — have been actively deployed, with the rest “sitting in federal buildings without orders.”
“This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous president’s ego. This is reckless, pointless, and disrespectful to our troops,” Newsom tweeted.
Protests have swelled across Los Angeles in response to large-scale immigration raids, fast-track deportation orders, and intensified federal crackdowns on undocumented immigrants. Tensions between demonstrators and security forces have escalated, with some areas witnessing violent clashes.
In a significant legal challenge, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the state is suing the Trump administration over what he called an “unlawful abuse of power” in mobilizing state National Guard troops without proper state consent. “We don’t take lightly to the president abusing his authority,” Bonta said in a press briefing.
Defending the decision, President Trump claimed the city would have been “completely obliterated” without federal intervention. “This was necessary to maintain order and protect American citizens,” he asserted.
As tensions mount, the deployment marks one of the largest military responses to civilian unrest in the US in decades — reviving intense debates over federal authority, state rights, and the militarization of domestic law enforcement
