Troops Deployed to LA Have Done Precisely One Thing, Pentagon Says

Nearly 5,000 federal troops have been deployed to Los Angeles on the orders of President Donald Trump. They have done almost nothing, according to an official military spokesperson.
In total, the National Guard members and Marines operating in Southern California have carried out exactly one temporary detainment. That's it. The deployments, which began more than one week ago, are expected to cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
'It's … the unnecessary militarization of the United States using U.S. forces on U.S. soil against U.S. citizens.'
Troops were deployed in Los Angeles over the objections of local officials and California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Officials and experts decried the show of military force to counter overwhelmingly peaceful and relatively limited protests as a dangerous abuse of power and a misuse of federal funds.
'As of today, Title 10 forces have been involved in one temporary detainment until the individual could be safely transferred to federal law enforcement,' U.S. Army North public affairs told The Intercept on Sunday, referring to a provision within Title 10 of the U.S. Code on Armed Services that allows the federal deployment of National Guard forces if 'there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.'
'It's a complete waste of resources, but it's also the unnecessary militarization of the United States using U.S. forces on U.S. soil against U.S. citizens,' Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told The Intercept. 'There was no reason for this to be done when local law enforcement and the state were capable of addressing the issue.'
President Donald Trump initially called up more than 2,000 National Guard troops on June 7 to tamp down protests against his anti-immigrant campaign. In doing so, he exercised rarely used federal powers that bypassed Newsom's authority. Days later, Trump called up an additional 2,000 National Guard members.
On Monday, June 9, the Trump administration went further, as U.S. Northern Command activated 700 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine Division, assigned to Twentynine Palms, California, and sent them to LA.
'The deployment of military forces to Los Angeles is a threat to democracy and is likely illegal as well,' William Hartung, a senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, told The Intercept. 'Sending thousands of troops to Los Angeles over the objections of local and state officials undermines the autonomy of states in a federal system. The president's remark that Governor Newsom should be arrested and his pledge that demonstrators at his military parade would be met with force indicate that the concentration of power in the presidency has gotten completely out of hand.'
Last week, Department of Homeland Security assistant secretary for public affairs Tricia McLaughlin told The Intercept that DHS Secretary Kristi Noem called for a dramatic shift in protest response by bringing active-duty military personnel into law enforcement roles.
'As rioters have escalated their assaults on our DHS law enforcement and activists' behavior on the streets has become increasingly dangerous, Secretary Noem requested Secretary Hegseth direct the military on the ground in Los Angeles to arrest rioters to help restore law and order,' McLaughlin wrote in an email.
DHS soon walked this back, asking The Intercept to disregard its earlier statement and stating that the 'posture' of 'troops has not changed.'
The lone detention was reportedly conducted by Marines sent to guard the Wilshire Federal Building, a 17-story office building on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. Video of the incident shows Marines in full combat gear and automatic weapons zip-tying an unresisting man — clad in shorts, a T-shirt, and sunglasses — on the ground. At one point, the detainee, with his hands bound behind him, is surrounded by no fewer than six Marines and two other officials who appear to be federal security guards.
The man, Marcos Leao, was not involved in any protest. The former Army combat engineer, who gained U.S. citizenship through his military service, told Reuters that he was in a rush to get to an appointment in the Veterans Affairs office inside the Federal Building. When he crossed a strand of caution tape, he found an armed Marine sprinting toward him.
U.S. Army North did not respond for a request for additional information about the incident.
U.S. Army North reported no other involvement in police actions aside from the lone detention. 'Military members in a Title 10 duty status are not authorized to directly participate in law enforcement activities. They may temporarily detain an individual for protection purposes — to stop an assault of, to prevent harm to, or to prevent interference with federal personnel performing their duties,' according to their public affairs office. 'Any such detention would end as soon as the individuals could be safely transferred to appropriate civilian law enforcement custody.'
Since June 8, there have been 561 arrests related to protests across Los Angeles; 203, for failure to disperse, were made on the night of June 10, after Trump ordered in the National Guard and Marines.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the House Defense Appropriations subcommittee that he expected troops to stay in Los Angeles for 60 days to 'ensure that those rioters, looters and thugs on the other side assaulting our police officers know that we're not going anywhere.' The estimated cost of deploying the first 2,000 Guard members and 700 Marines was $134 million, according to the Pentagon's acting comptroller/CFO, Bryn Woollacott MacDonnell.
Northern Command Public Affairs directed The Intercept to the Office of the Secretary of Defense for an updated estimate of the rising costs of the deployment. 'We don't have anything to provide at this time,' the Pentagon replied by email.
Khanna said that the Trump administration's military overreach in California held lessons for other states and jurisdictions. 'Governors need to be on guard and vigilant about Trump's overreactions,' he told The Intercept. 'He's already said that he is going to target blue cities and blue states. So we need to be united in pushing back.'

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