Federal troops continued to be on duty in thestreets of Los Angeleson Friday after aseries of court rulings, and more arrived, with large protests planned in California and across the country this weekend against theTrump administration’saggressive anti-immigration raids and a big military parade in Washington DC.
Around 200 US Marines arrived in LA on Friday morning. This followed Donald Trump’s extraordinary decision to deploy National Guard troops to LA last weekend, over the objections of the governor of California, Gavin Newsom. The marines were to take over protecting a federal building, US Army Maj Gen Scott Sherman, who commands the task force of marines and national guardsmen, said.
The streets had been mostly calm overnight going into Friday morning, marking the seventh day of protests across various areas and the third day of an overnight curfew in a small part of the huge downtown area.
Sporadic demonstrations have also taken place in cities including New York, Chicago, Seattle and Austin on several days in the last week against Trump’s pushing of his mass deportation agenda, undertaken by targeting undocumented communities in the US interior.
And millions more are expected to turn out to protest on Saturday at roughly 2,000 sites nationwide in ademonstration dubbed “No Kings”, against growing opposition to what critics see as Trump taking actions on the brink of authoritarianism.
The mass protests are timed to coincide with the US president’s controversial military parade in Washington DC to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the formation of the US army, and coincidentally his 79th birthday.
The protests inLos Angelesand subsequent deployment of California’s National Guard by Trump, over the furious objections of Newsom, is a move that had not happened in the US in at least half a century, sparking a legal battle between the president and Newsom.
Late on Thursday, a federal judge ruled that the federal deployment of troops by the president to aid in civilian US law enforcement in LA should be blocked. The administration swiftly appealed and a higher court paused the restraining order until Tuesday, when it will hear the case.
Judge Charles Breyer’s ruling in Newsom v Trump stated that Trump had unlawfully bypassed congressionally mandated procedures.
Newsom in an interview with the New York Times podcast on Thursdaycalled Trump a “stone cold liar”for claiming he had discussed a federal deployment with the governor by telephone.
Democrats and advocacy groups view Trump’s deployment as an abuse of power aimed at suppressing free speech and supporting aggressive anti-immigration policies.
Trump’s use of the troops follows earlier, unfulfilled threats during the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests in his first administration, when he considered, but ultimately declined, to deploy federal troops and has sinceexpressed regretabout not cracking down more forcefully.
The president has continuously defended his decision to send troops to LA claiming without any evidence that the city would have been “obliterated” and “burned to the ground” had he not initiated the deployment.
In Washington, Saturday’s parade is billed as a patriotic celebration, while critics argue it is more about Trump’s personal brand and ego than promoting national unity. Organizers of No Kings protests have avoided planning a demonstration in the nation’s capital, in a bid to draw attention away from tanks, armored vehicles, troops and aircraft on display.
“The flag doesn’t belong to President Trump. It belongs to us,” read a statement from the No Kings protest movement.
The parade will culminate on Saturday evening with a procession of 6,600 soldiers, dozens of tanks, and a live broadcast message from an astronaut in space. Inspired by a Bastille Day parade Trump witnessed in France in 2017, but with strong echoes of the kind of regular displays under authoritarian regimes such as Russia, North Korea and China, the event is expected to cost up to $45m, sources toldNBC News.
Meanwhile, some members and family members of the National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles have expresseddiscomfort with their mission, feeling it drags them into a politically charged domestic power struggle.
“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,” said Sarah Streyder of the Secure Families Initiative, which advocates for military families. “Families are scared not just for their loved ones’ safety, although that’s a big concern, but also for what their service is being used to justify.”
Chris Purdy of the Chamberlain Network echoed those concerns: “Morale is not great, is the quote I keep hearing,” he said, citing multiple National Guard members who contacted his organization.
Amid the ongoing legal and political fallout, arrests have continued, although sporadic incidents of early looting have subsided. Jose Manuel Mojica, a 30-year-old father of four, wascharged with assaulting a federal officerduring a protest in Paramount, a community in southern Los Angeles County.
And on Thursday, Alex Padilla, a Democratic US senator for California and vocal critic of theTrump administration’s immigration polices, was forcibly removed and handcuffed as he attempted to ask a question at a press conference held byKristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, inLos Angeles.
Invideo takenof the incident that has since gone viral on social media, Padilla is seen being restrained and removed from the room by Secret Service and FBI agents. He warned that if this was how he was dealt with it spoke ill for ordinary civilians being summarily arrested and detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice).
Most Republican national lawmakers criticized Padilla, although some Republican senators condemned his treatment, while Democrats overwhelmingly applauded his challenge to the administration and were appalled at his removal.
Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles contributed reporting.