First Military Vehicles Roll Past City Hall as Defense Secretary Hegseth Warns Marines at Camp Pendleton Are on ‘HIGH ALERT’ Ready to Deploy
National Guard troops began arriving in Los Angeles early Sunday morning after President Donald Trump ordered their deployment to address violent protests against federal immigration raids that have rocked the nation’s second-largest city.
The first military vehicles were spotted outside the Hall of Justice near City Hall in downtown Los Angeles as 2,000 troops mobilized to quell what the White House branded an “insurrection” against immigration enforcement operations.
HEGSETH’S STARK WARNING
In an extraordinary escalation, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced on X that the National Guard was being mobilized “IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles” – and warned that active-duty Marines were ready to join them.
“If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth declared, referring to the massive Marine base north of San Diego that houses more than 42,000 active-duty Marines and sailors.
The threat to deploy combat troops on American soil against U.S. citizens marks a dramatic intensification of the Trump administration’s response to the protests.
THREE DAYS OF CHAOS
The deployment follows two days of increasingly violent clashes between protesters and immigration agents conducting deportation operations across Los Angeles County.
Federal agents have arrested more than 100 people during immigration raids this week, sparking outrage among immigration advocates who took to the streets in protest of the crackdown.
Footage from Saturday showed Border Patrol agents in riot gear and gas masks deploying tear gas as protesters gathered outside an industrial park in Paramount, with some demonstrators waving Mexican flags and jeering at authorities while recording events on their phones.
MOLOTOV COCKTAILS AND ROCKS
Interim U.S. attorney for the Central District of California Bilal A. Essayli painted a grim picture of the violence, telling the New York Times: “They threw rocks at the officers. We had Molotov cocktails thrown. We had all kinds of assaults on agents.”
He added: “The state has an obligation to maintain order and maintain public safety, and they’re unable to do that right now in Los Angeles.”
Multiple Waymo self-driving vehicles were set ablaze during the protests, forcing the company to suspend its service in downtown Los Angeles. Video footage showed cars burning on Atlantic Boulevard as smoke billowed into the air and a man on a motorcycle waved a Mexican flag.
NEWSOM VS. TRUMP SHOWDOWN
The deployment has sparked a fierce political battle between California’s Democratic leadership and the Trump administration.
Governor Gavin Newsom called the decision “purposefully inflammatory” and accused Trump of deploying the National Guard “not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle.
In a dramatic escalation, Newsom announced California would sue the Trump administration on Monday over the deployment, describing it as an “unconstitutional act.
Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” he wrote on X.
‘ARREST ME’ CHALLENGE
The confrontation reached new heights when Trump’s “border czar” Tom Homan threatened to arrest both Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass if they interfered with immigration agents.
Newsom’s response was defiant: “Tom, arrest me. He knows where to find me,” the governor said in an interview. “These guys need to grow up. They need to stop, and we need to push back.”
TRUMP: ‘PAID INSURRECTIONISTS’
President Trump took to Truth Social to blast the protesters, declaring: “These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists.
In a follow-up post, Trump claimed without evidence that they were “Paid Insurrectionists!” – though reports indicate the protests erupted organically after immigration enforcement operations began.
The president also attacked Newsom and Bass, writing: “If Newsom and Bass can’t do their jobs then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!
MAYOR BASS: ‘CHAOS PROVOKED’
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned both the immigration raids and the military deployment, calling it “overreach” by Trump’s administration.
What we’re seeing in Los Angeles is chaos that is provoked by the administration,” Bass said at a news conference. When you raid Home Depot and workplaces, when you tear parents and children apart and when you run armored caravans through our streets, you cause fear and you cause panic.
She added: “Our city has been traumatized over the last five months with the state’s worst natural disaster in recent history,” referring to recent wildfires. “This is the last thing we need.”
CONGRESSIONAL BACKING
House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the deployment during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” rejecting suggestions it was “heavy-handed.
I think the president did exactly what he needed to do. These are federal laws. We have to maintain the rule of law,” Johnson said. “That is real leadership and he has the authority and the responsibility to do it.”
Johnson backed Hegseth’s warning about Marines, saying: “One of our core principles is maintaining peace through strength. We do that on foreign affairs and domestic affairs as well.”
SCENES OF CONFRONTATION
Video footage from Sunday showed tense standoffs between National Guard troops and protesters outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles.
While protesters chanted and filmed with cellphones, Guard members stood silent, armed with long guns and riot helmets in front of military vehicles.
One witness, Dario DeLeon, 29, described seeing a man shot in the face with a less-lethal police projectile: “Right in the middle of his nose bridge… left with a 4-inch laceration that went as deep as the bone.”
MEXICAN NATIONALS DETAINED
Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum revealed that 35 Mexican nationals were among those detained during the ICE raids, saying her government was in contact with their families through consulate networks.
The raids have particularly targeted areas with large Hispanic populations, with protesters gathering outside locations including a Home Depot in Paramount – though officials said the store itself was not raided.
DHS CHIEF’S WARNING
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem issued a stark warning to protesters: “A message to the LA rioters: you will not stop us or slow us down. ICE will continue to enforce the law. And if you lay a hand on a law enforcement officer, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
RAPID DEPLOYMENT
The National Guard members who arrived Sunday moved quickly because they were already mustered as part of their monthly drilling duties, according to a defense official.
FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino declared: “We are not intimidated or apprehensive. Illegal immigration operations will continue, and anyone using violence to obstruct or impede these operations will be investigated and prosecuted.
As tensions continue to escalate, Rep. Maxine Waters was seen speaking to National Guard troops in downtown Los Angeles, while protesters confronted lines of soldiers outside the metropolitan detention center.
The deployment marks the first time in recent memory that federal troops have been sent to an American city to confront protesters over immigration enforcement, setting up what could be a prolonged confrontation between the Trump administration and California’s Democratic leadership.
