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LOS ANGELES= -- The deployment of National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles volition outgo astatine slightest $134 cardinal and past astatine slightest the adjacent 60 days, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and a elder defence authoritative told lawmakers Tuesday.
The Marines that deployed to Los Angeles connected orders from President Donald Trump person not yet been called to respond to the city's migration protests and are determination lone to support national property, the Marine Corps commandant said Tuesday.
The 700 Marines and different 2,000 National Guard troops were sent to LA connected Monday, escalating a subject beingness section officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom bash not privation and that the constabulary main says makes it harder to grip the protests safely.
A protester waves a National Flag of El Salvador successful beforehand of a enactment of California National Guard successful beforehand of Federal Building connected Monday, June 9, 2025, successful downtown Los Angeles.
AP Photo/Eric Thayer
"We stated precise publically that it's 60 days due to the fact that we privation to guarantee that those rioters, looters and thugs connected the different broadside assaulting our constabulary officers cognize that we're not going anywhere," Hegseth told members of the House appropriations defence subcommittee.
After persistent questioning from members of Congress, Hegseth turned to his acting comptroller, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell, who provided the full and said this "is mostly conscionable the outgo of travel, lodging and food."
She said the wealth volition travel from operations and attraction accounts.
Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith told a fund proceeding connected Capitol Hill that the battalion has not yet been sent to immoderate protests. The Marines were trained for assemblage power but person nary apprehension authorization and are determination to support authorities spot and national personnel, helium said.
Trump doubled the fig of Guard troops being deployed soon aft the archetypal question of 2,000 began arriving Sunday pursuing days of protests driven by choler implicit the president's stepped-up enforcement of migration laws that critics accidental are breaking isolated migrant families.
The demonstrations continued Monday but were acold little raucous, with thousands of radical peacefully attending a rally astatine City Hall and hundreds much protesting extracurricular a national analyzable that includes a detention halfway wherever immoderate immigrants are being held pursuing workplace raids crossed the city.
The protests successful Los Angeles, a metropolis of 4 cardinal people, person mostly been centered successful respective blocks of downtown. At daybreak Tuesday, defender troops were stationed extracurricular the detention center, but determination was nary motion of the Marines.
Trump has described Los Angeles successful dire presumption that Mayor Karen Bass and Newsom accidental are obscurity adjacent to the truth. They accidental helium is putting nationalist information astatine hazard by adding subject unit adjacent though constabulary accidental they don't request the help.
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said successful a connection that helium was assured successful the constabulary department's quality to grip large-scale demonstrations and that the Marines' accomplishment without coordinating with the constabulary section would contiguous a "significant logistical and operational challenge."
Newsom called the deployments reckless and "disrespectful to our troops" successful a station connected the societal level X.
"This isn't astir nationalist safety," the politician said. "It's astir stroking a unsafe President's ego."
The protests began Friday aft national migration authorities arrested much than 40 radical crossed the city. The odor of fume hung successful the aerial downtown Monday, a time aft crowds blocked a large freeway and acceptable self-driving cars connected occurrence arsenic constabulary responded with teardrop gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.
Protests against the migration raids dispersed Monday to different cities nationwide, including San Francisco and Santa Ana, California, arsenic good arsenic Dallas and Austin, Texas. Authorities successful Austin appeared to usage chemic irritants to disperse a assemblage that gathered adjacent the authorities Capitol. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott posted connected societal media that much than a twelve protesters were arrested.
California pushes backmost against beingness of national troops
California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a suit implicit the usage of National Guard troops pursuing the archetypal deployment, telling reporters that Trump had "trampled" the state's sovereignty.
"We don't instrumentality lightly to the president abusing his authorization and unlawfully mobilizing California National Guard troops," Bonta said. He sought a tribunal bid declaring Trump's usage of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining bid to halt the deployment.
Trump said the metropolis would person been "completely obliterated" if helium had not deployed the Guard.
U.S. officials said the Marines were needed to support national buildings and personnel, including migration agents. A convoy of buses with blacked-out windows and escorted by sheriff's vehicles, near the basal astatine Twentynine Palms successful the godforsaken eastbound of Los Angeles precocious Monday and headed toward the city, stopping overnight astatine Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, southbound of LA.
Despite their presence, determination has been constricted engagement truthful acold betwixt the Guard and protesters portion section instrumentality enforcement implements assemblage control.
Protests remained peaceful Monday
Thousands flooded the streets astir City Hall for a national rally Monday earlier a proceeding for arrested labour person David Huerta, who was freed a fewer hours aboriginal connected a $50,000 bond. Huerta's apprehension Friday portion protesting migration raids became a rallying outcry for radical aggravated implicit the crackdown. He is the president of the Service Employees International Union California, which represents thousands of the state's janitors, information officers and different workers.
Protesters danced and linked hands successful beforehand of a enactment of constabulary officers extracurricular the downtown national detention halfway wherever Huerta was being held. Religious leaders joined the protesters, moving with organizers astatine times to de-escalate moments of tension.
As the assemblage thinned, constabulary began pushing protesters distant from the area, firing crowd-control munitions arsenic radical chanted, "Peaceful protest." Officers became much assertive successful their tactics successful the evening, occasionally surging guardant to apprehension protesters that got excessively close. At slightest a twelve radical were surrounded by constabulary and detained.
Outside a covering warehouse successful LA County, relatives of detained workers demanded astatine a quality league that their loved ones beryllium released.
The household of Jacob Vasquez, 35, who was detained Friday astatine the warehouse, wherever helium worked, said they had yet to person immoderate accusation astir him.
"Jacob is simply a household antheral and the sole breadwinner of his household," Vasquez's brother, Gabriel, told the crowd. He asked that his past sanction not beryllium used, fearing being targeted by authorities.
Several twelve radical were arrested passim the play protests. Authorities accidental 1 was detained Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail astatine constabulary and different for ramming a motorcycle into a enactment of officers.
Guard deployment is simply a astir unprecedented escalation
The deployment appeared to beryllium the archetypal clip successful decades that a state's National Guard was activated without a petition from its governor, a important escalation against those who person sought to hinder the administration's wide deportation efforts.
The past clip the National Guard was activated without a governor's support was successful 1965, erstwhile President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to support a civilian rights march successful Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a ineligible proviso allowing him to deploy national work members erstwhile determination is "a rebellion oregon information of a rebellion against the authorization of the Government of the United States."
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Sullivan reported from Minneapolis and Baldor reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Dorany Pineda successful Los Angeles, Amy Taxin successful Orange County, California, Hallie Golden successful Seattle, Stefanie Dazio successful Berlin, Jake Offenhartz successful New York, and Greg Bull successful Seal Beach, California contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2025 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
