LA protest stay: Trump threatens to invoke Insurrection Act after deploying National Guard and Marines
Donald Trump flirted with invoking the Insurrection Act, which allows the domestic use of the military, in remarks on Tuesday in the Oval Office. The president has already deployed 4,000 federalized National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in response to protests over his administration’s immigration raids.
The total cost of the deployment to date has been disclosed as $134 million, with Trump claiming that without them, the city “would be burning to the ground right now.”
Mayor Karen Bass has dismissed those claims, given that the Guard is protecting two federal buildings and the local law enforcement has been quelling civil unrest spurred by the ICE raids and detentions. She has vowed to pursue vandals and looters to the fullest extent of the law. More stores were looted on Monday night.
California Governor Gavin Newsom sued the administration and separately asked a judge for an emergency injunction over the troop deployment, claiming it is “unlawful,” as well as “excessive and unnecessary.” The presence of troops in addition to federal immigration teams has exacerbated tensions, he says.
Democrats in Congress warned on Tuesday morning that the militarization of Los Angeles was a warning to other Americans.
What you need to know so far…
- Nearly 5,000 military personnel have been deployed to Los Angeles in response to ongoing protests against ICE raids.
- President Trump ordered the Pentagon to federalize an additional 2,000 California National Guard members, joining the existing 2,000, along with 700 Marines mobilized by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
- The deployment has cost $134 million to date, with Trump claiming the city “would be burning to the ground right now” without the troops.
- California Governor Gavin Newsom sued the administration over the initial Guard deployment, arguing it was illegal and exacerbated tensions; he has deployed additional law enforcement to manage the situation.
- White House adviser Stephen Miller is framing resistance from Los Angeles officials as “insurrection,” raising concerns that the administration may invoke the Insurrection Act.
- Texas Governor Greg Abbott warned protesters in his state against crossing the line into violence, while Florida Governor Ron DeSantis criticized California’s sanctuary policies and vowed to crack down on riots.
Doechii condemns Trump’s ‘ruthless’ military response to ICE protests in LA
The 26-year-old was presented with the award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, and said she wanted to use her time on stage to “address what’s happening right now outside of the building” at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles.
Kevin Perry reports from Los Angeles.
Speaker Johnson claims that Gavin Newsom ‘ought to be tarred and feathered’
The comments mark the latest escalation in a war of words between Newsom and the Republican party, as Josh Marcus reports.
Watch: Trump says National Guard will remain in LA until there no more danger
Trump pushes back after Newsom said he lied that they spoke on Monday…
…by showing a call log for 1:23 a.m. Saturday, June 7, in Washington, D.C. (10:23 p.m. Friday in Los Angeles).
So, not on Monday.
California GOP rep ‘concerned about ongoing ICE operations’ in state
Rep. David Valadao, a moderate Republican who represents much of the state’s San Joaquin Valley, urged for peaceful protest and said he was also concerned over how the Trump administration is conducting ICE raids in the Golden State.
“I support the First Amendment right to peacefully protest, but the violence and vandalism happening in Los Angeles is unacceptable and I stand with our law enforcement officers working to protect people and regain control over the situation,” Valadao wrote on social media.
“I remain concerned about ongoing ICE operations throughout CA and will continue my conversations with the administration—urging them to prioritize the removal of known criminals over the hardworking people who have lived peacefully in the Valley for years,” he added.
Newsom files emergency injunction to block LA troop deployments
California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed an emergency injunction with the United States District Court for the Northern District of California to block President Donald Trump’s deployment of Marines and National Guard troops in Los Angeles.
The governor wrote on X: “Trump is turning the U.S. military against American citizens.The courts must immediately block these illegal actions.”
The filing reads in part:
Through a June 7 Presidential Memorandum and subsequent implementing orders, Defendants have seized control of 4,000 members of the California National Guard over the express objection of California’s Governor and deployed them to Los Angeles, the largest county and second largest city in the country. Unsatisfied with this excessive and unnecessary show of force, Defendants have sent another 700 active-duty Marines into Los Angeles. All of this was unlawful.
The Marine Corps’ deployment for law enforcement purposes is likewise unlawful. For more than a century, the Posse Comitatus Act has expressly prohibited the use of the active duty armed forces and federalized national guard for civilian law enforcement. And the President and Secretary Hegseth have made clear—publicly and privately—that the Marines are not in Los Angeles to stand outside a federal building.
Instead, as established in the attached declarations, Defendants intend to use unlawfully federalized National Guard troops and Marines to accompany federal immigration enforcement officers on raids throughout Los Angeles. They will work in active concert with law enforcement, in support of a law enforcement mission, and will physically interact with or detain civilians.
These unlawful deployments have already proven to be a deeply inflammatory and unnecessary provocation, anathema to our laws limiting the use federal forces for law enforcement, rather than a means of restoring calm. Federal antagonization, through the presence of soldiers in the streets, has already caused real and irreparable damage to the City of Los Angeles, the people who live there, and the State of California. They must be stopped, immediately.
Trump claims he spoke with Newsom yesterday. Newsom says he didn’t.
In the Oval Office this lunchtime, President Donald Trump was asked when was the last time he spoke with California Governor Gavin Newsom about the unrest in Los Angeles.
The president replied: “A day ago. Called him up to tell him, got to do a better job, he’s doing a bad job. Causing a lot of death and potential death.”
[There have been no deaths from the unrest in the city]
The governor tweeted shortly after: “There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to.”
LA mayor says she will call Trump and tell him to stop ICE raids
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told a press conference that the solution to the violence gripping the city is that the “administration needs to stop the raids” and that she would personally ask President Donald Trump to stop them.
Immigration enforcement raids began late last week, leading to protests and then unrest on the streets of downtown LA and some other neighborhoods where the raids took place.
“We have heard the raids might take place for 30 days,” she told reporters.
“You just think about the disruption to families and to our local economy.”
Bass said: “It’s a sense of intimidation and fear that is just so unnecessary and so corrosive to our city.
Bass said she would try to call the president on Tuesday to tell him to stop the ICE raids and instead focus attention on the 2026 World Cup, which will include some matches in the city.
“I’m going to put out a call to him today,” the mayor said. “I want to tell him to stop the raids.”
Source: independent.co.uk
