The Trump administration is mobilizing hundreds of Marines to the Los Angeles area, where thousands of National Guard troops are already on the ground responding to protests over immigration enforcement, according to multiple reports.
The mobilization of an active-duty military unit, first reported Monday by CNN, is the latest step in an escalating dispute between California and President Donald Trump, who over the weekend made the decision to activate the state’s National Guard over the concerns of local leaders.
In a post on X, California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office explained the situation as “moving Marines from one base to another base.”
“At this time, the information we have is that Marines are not being deployed (there is a difference between that and being mobilized),” the statement continued. “The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented — mobilizing the best in class branch of the U.S. military against its own citizens.”
Administration officials told The Wall Street Journal that the Marines, which were stationed in Twentynine Palms, California, and fall under the jurisdiction of U.S. Northern Command, would not engage with protesters, though it remains unclear what their role in the response will be. They are set to arrive in Los Angeles as soon as Monday night.
Rep. Jimmy Panetta told NOTUS on Monday that the decision to involve the Marines is “all about retribution and provocation and distraction.”
“They basically want to be able to frame this on their own terms,” Panetta said. “Having this type of violence that’s there on the highways, on the streets of Los Angeles, that then basically allows them to prove their point that this type of suppression is needed.”
Newsom called the entire situation a “manufactured crisis” shortly before his state filed a lawsuit against the administration Monday.
“Make no mistake. There was no risk of rebellion, no threat of foreign invasion,” California Attorney General Rob Bonta added during a press conference Monday. “It is the president that needs to put a mirror up to himself … the unlawful actor is him and his administration.”
The protests began taking shape early Saturday morning after Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across Los Angeles resulted in over 100 arrests. While mostly peaceful, some protesters were seen throwing rocks at law enforcement and multiple cars were set ablaze.
The incidents were seemingly what prompted Trump to override local officials in deploying 2,000 National Guard troops. In a statement announcing the controversial decision, Trump said that any action to impede immigration authorities would be treated as an “act of rebellion” against the United States.
Soon after, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth made his own announcement that he had placed active duty Marine units on “high alert” for potential deployment to Los Angeles to support the response.
Republicans on the round of Sunday talk shows didn’t sway from Trump’s message, blaming Newsom for failing to keep order. House Speaker Mike Johnson endorsed the saber-rattling, telling ABC’s Jonathan Karl, “One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength. We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well.”
“I don’t think that’s heavy handed,” he added of the threat of U.S. Marines being used on domestic protesters. “The notice might have a deterring effect.”
Newsom called the idea “deranged” in a subsequent social media post. On Monday, he attacked Trump for sending the National Guard units to Los Angeles without securing proper accommodations for them.
“You sent your troops here without fuel, food, water or a place to sleep,” he wrote in a post on X that included a pair of photos showing dozens of service members sleeping on the floor of a municipal building. “Here they are — being forced to sleep on the floor, piled on top of one another. If anyone is treating our troops disrespectfully, it is you @realDonaldTrump.”
—
Amelia Benavides-Colón is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow. John Seward contributed reporting.