In what the White House claimed was an attempt to curb “lawlessness” following occasionally violent protests over immigration enforcement raids, Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members into the streets of Los Angeles on Saturday.
In order to get troops into the nation’s second-largest city, where they could engage in combat with protesters, the US president seized federal authority over California’s state military. Governor Gavin Newsom described the unusual action as “purposefully inflammatory.”
Using the social media platform X, he stated, “That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions,” “We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need.”
Protests continued into a second night in a Los Angeles suburb, as federal officers battled with irate onlookers.
