Latest news with #U.S.NorthernCommand
NBC News
3 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
2,000 more National Guard troops on duty in L.A. as legal battle over deployment continues
The United States government will activate an extra 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, the military confirmed in a statement Tuesday night, as a legal battle continues over the deployment. Protests against federal immigration policies that exploded in Los Angeles and across the country in recent weeks have since died down, and a nighttime curfew has been lifted as businesses return to normality. Nevertheless, the U.S. Northern Command said the reinforcements were needed to "support the protection of federal functions, personnel, and property in the greater Los Angeles area." The 2,000 troops are deployed at the direction of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, using Title 10, which allows the president to call in the National Guard when the country is at risk of invasion or rebellion. That means at least 4,100 National Guard troops and 700 Marines have been deployed to the streets of L.A. after 2,100 were sent there on June 9. Tuesday's statement confirms a statement from last Monday on the troop increase. The soldiers cannot participate in civilian policing, leading city leaders to attack the deployments as political theater. "The soldiers are completing training on de-escalation, crowd control, and use of the standing rules for the use of force in advance of joining the federal protection mission," the military statement said. Gov. Gavin Newsom condemned the move and said the troops would be "twiddling their thumbs." "This isn't a new deployment — it's the same group of soldiers who have been diverted from critical wildfire work and work at the border, now twiddling their thumbs for Donald Trump's political theater," Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson from Newsom's office, said. Newsom said last week that the deployment of an extra 2,000 personnel would be "reckless, pointless and disrespectful to our troops." L.A. Mayor Karen Bass has called the deployment a "chaotic escalation." The confirmation of the extra personnel came hours after the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals heard arguments on whether the federal government can deploy troops to American cities, or should turn over their command to Californian officials. The court heard an appeal and ruled last week that President Donald Trump can retain command of the troops, pausing a ruling from District Court Judge Charles Breyer that said the deployment was unlawful. Tuesday's hearing considered whether the most recent order can stand as the case proceeds through the courts. The three-judge panel seemed unlikely to be interested in lifting the pause that was imposed by the Appeals Court. That court is expected to make a decision in the coming days, ahead of a Friday hearing before Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco federal court. The Appeals Court's decision — and any potential Supreme Court involvement — could have huge ramifications for the political executive's powers and activities in Washington and whether troops can be sent to other cities.
Politico
6 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Sen. Padilla denies clash at news conference was a ploy for attention
California Sen. Alex Padilla is pushing back against claims he was deliberately trying to make a scene when he was forcibly removed from a Department of Homeland Security press conference with Kristi Noem last Thursday. 'Nothing could be further from the truth. Again, what are the odds?' the Democrat told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday on 'State of the Union.' Padilla told Bash he was in a room at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles for a scheduled briefing from U.S. Northern Command when he learned Noem was giving a press conference 'a couple doors down.' The senator said he asked the FBI agents escorting him around the building if he could listen in. 'When I heard the secretary, not for the first time in that press conference, talk about the needing to liberate the people of Los Angeles from their duly elected mayor and governor, it was at that moment that I chose to try to ask a question,' Padilla said. He was then forced out of the room by officials, pushed to the ground in a hallway just outside and, despite previously identifying himself as a U.S. senator, handcuffed with his hands behind his back. For over a week, Los Angeles has been rocked by protests around President Donald Trump's expansive deportation and immigration agenda. Trump's decision to federalize the California National Guard — and the White House push to send active-duty Marines to the city — despite forceful opposition from Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom — has only escalated tensions, critics charge. An appeals court last week temporarily blocked a judge's order that Trump's call-up of the National Guard was unconstitutional. Republicans — the White House chief among them — framed the confrontation involving Padilla as a ploy for attention. 'Padilla didn't want answers; he wanted attention,' White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement Thursday. House Speaker Mike Johnson said the incident warranted a censure. 'Perhaps he wanted the scene,' Noem told Fox News. But Democrats raised alarms — both at the treatment of California's senior senator and at the administration's heavy-handed tactics in Los Angeles. Fellow California Sen. Adam Schiff told NBC's Kristen Welker that asking questions at press conferences like Noem's on Thursday is a part of Padilla's oversight responsibilities. 'This is not some rabble-rouser,' Schiff said on 'Meet the Press.' 'And to see him mistreated that way and tackled to the ground and shackled that way and in the midst of what we're seeing more broadly in Los Angeles is just atrocious. And I think all of us that work with him reacted with that kind of revulsion.'
The Hill
14-06-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Marines detain first civilian in LA amid immigration raid protests
U.S. Marines deployed to Los Angeles on Friday for the first time detained a civilian as part of a protest against federal immigration raids, U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) confirmed to The Hill. The Marines 'temporarily detained a civilian earlier today,' Northcom said in a statement, adding that forces may temporarily detain an individual in specific circumstances under Title 10. 'The temporary detention ends immediately when the individual(s) can be safely transferred to the custody of appropriate civilian law enforcement personnel,' the statement noted. The incident reportedly took place at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles, where Marines earlier on Friday were charged with protecting the building. Images circulated on social media showed Marines apprehending a man with his hands zip-tied behind his back Reuters reported that the man, identified as Marcos Leao, 27, was handed over to civilians from the Department of Homeland Security. Marcos, an Army veteran, told reporters that he was on his way to an office of the Department of Veterans Affairs when he crossed a yellow tape boundary and was asked to stop. Around 200 Marines armed with rifles, riot control equipment and gas masks have been deployed to the streets of Los Angeles to join the more than 2,000 California National Guard troops already there. The service members, tasked with protecting federal property and personnel, will be joined by an additional 500 Marines and 2,000 Guard soldiers meant to accompany ICE agents on raids, according to officials. While the troops are authorized to detain people, they are not allowed to arrest them, as the Posse Comitatus Act largely forbids the U.S. military from taking part in civilian law enforcement.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘Political pawns': Morale among California National Guard and Marines deployed in LA is underwater, report claims
The 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 US Marines sent to Los Angeles in response to the ongoing anti-immigration raid protests are reportedly suffering from low morale, according to members of the veterans community, amid allegations of a chaotic initial deployment and widespread concerns of the military being drafted into domestic law enforcement. 'Among all that I spoke with, the feeling was that the Marines are being used as political pawns, and it strains the perception that Marines are apolitical,' Marine Corps veteran Janessa Goldbeck, who runs the Vet Voice Foundation, told The Guardian. 'Some were concerned that the Marines were being set up for failure. The overall perception was that the situation was nowhere at the level where Marines were necessary.' 'The sentiment across the board right now is that deploying military force against our own communities isn't the kind of national security we signed up for,' added Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative in an interview with the outlet. Controversy has followed the deployment since President Trump first federalized the California National Guard and ordered the state troops into Los Angeles on Saturday and a battalion of Marines was activated two days later. California has sued the Trump administration over deploying the Guard, alleging the decision has 'caused real and irreparable damage' to both Los Angeles and the state's larger sovereignty. Governor Gavin Newsom has also accused the White House of sending in thousands of troops without adequate provisions or training, sharing photos obtained by The San Francisco Chronicle of guardsmen sleeping head-to-foot on bare floors. 'You sent your troops here without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep,' he wrote on X. 'Here they are — being forced to sleep on the floor, piled on top of one another.' 'This is what happens when the president and (Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth) demand the National Guard state assets deploy immediately with no plan in place … (and) no federal funding available for food, water, fuel and lodging,' a source involved in the deployment told the Chronicle of conditions during the early stages. 'This is really the failure of the federal government. If you're going to federalize these troops, then take care of them.' U.S. Northern Command later said the photo showed soldiers who weren't current on a mission in what were only temporary accommodations due a 'fluid security situation.' When asked for comment, a spokesperson for U.S. Northern Command pointed to a website for Task Force 51, which is coordinating the protection mission in Los Angeles. 'The Soldiers and Marines have contracting for billeting, latrines, showers, handwashing stations, food service, full laundry service, bulk ice, and bulk fuel,' the website reads, in regards to troop conditions. 'While awaiting fulfillment of the contract, Soldiers and Marines have adequate shelter, food, and water.' Federal officials say the military members in Los Angeles will not be formally arresting protesters, though they might temporarily detain individuals to stop threats or interference against federal agents, and they have authorization to provide security to federal buildings and operations. U.S. Northern Command shared a photo Thursday showing Marines training in non-lethal tactics with riot shields, and the military has said the troops could deploy within the next 48 hours. President Trump has faced larger criticisms for allegedly politicizing the military in response to the protests, including upset over a campaign-rally style speech about the crisis in front of jeering troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Base officials reportedly screened the crowd for those who disagreed with Trump and asked them to alert their superiors so others could be put in their place during the speech.
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrat who served in Afghanistan raises concerns about Marines in LA
Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-Mass.), who commanded a Marine platoon in Afghanistan, is raising concerns about President Trump's deployment of Marines to Los Angeles amid immigration protests in the city. 'As a Marine, did you ever expect to see active-duty members of the military, active-duty Marines deployed on U.S. soil in the capacity that they are now?' CNN's John Berman asked Auchincloss on 'Anderson Cooper 360' in an interview highlighted by Mediaite. 'No, John, because in this scenario, as in almost every scenario imaginable, it is unnecessary, it's illegal and it's deeply unfair to these Marines,' Auchincloss responded. The 700 Marines mobilized to the Los Angeles area on Monday hadn't completed pre-mission training as of Wednesday morning, a U.S. Northern Command official confirmed to The Hill. The Marines were 'still conducting pre-mission training and they have not been employed by Task Force 51, the DoD command element in Los Angeles,' a statement from a Northcom spokesperson said. 'These Marines signed up to sweat and bleed in defense of their country, not to be a political prop for a president who's sagging in the approval ratings,' Auchincloss said Wednesday. Tensions between Democrats and Trump have flared amid the situation in Los Angeles, with the president recently deciding to mobilize thousands of California National Guard Troops and the active-duty Marines to quell immigration protests in L.A. Trump has sparred with California officials over the deployment, chiefly Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), who is challenging Trump's moves in court. Earlier this week, Trump backed arresting Newsom after the governor dared the White House border czar to do so amid their clash over the immigration protests. 'The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor,' Newsom fired back in a post on social platform X. 'This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don't care if you're a Democrat or a Republican, this is a line we cannot cross as a nation — this is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
