- There have been four days of protests and riots since they broke out in Los Angeles on June 6.
- President Donald Trump has now federalized and deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell the violence.
- Trump has also deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles to help the Los Angeles Police Department tame the violent protests.
- There have been dozens of arrests since the protests and riots broke out.
- Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and other top military officials are heading to Capitol Hill to testify before House committees, where lawmakers are all but certain to ask them about their response to the violence.
- “The FBI is investigating any and all monetary connections responsible for these riots,” FBI Director Kash Patel told media outlet Just the News.
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President Donald Trump’s administration has authorized 2,000 additional National Guardsmen to deploy to Los Angeles as riots continue across the city, adding to the more than 2,000 already in the city.
“At the order of the President, the Department of Defense is mobilizing an additional 2,000 California National Guard to be called into federal service to support ICE & to enable federal law-enforcement officers to safely conduct their duties,” Sean Parnell, the chief spokesperson for the Pentagon, wrote in a post on X.
As Joseph Lord reports for The Epoch Times, the announcement comes after Trump on Saturday authorized 2,000 troops to deploy to the city without a request or cooperation from California Gov. Gavin Newsom—the first time since 1965 that a president has done so.
In a later statement, U.S. North American Command announced that of those ordered to the city, around 1,700 are currently active as part of a coalition, dubbed Task Force 51, which also includes U.S. Marines that have been deployed to the city.
These troops are considered to be in a “Title 10” status, meaning they’ve been activated under 10 U.S. Code § 12406, which permits the president to order guardsmen into service—with or without the support of a state governor—in the event of “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States,” alongside additional circumstances such as invasion.
However, without an invocation of the Insurrection Act, their authority is limited solely to protecting federal interests in the region, and they are not authorized to make arrests or carry out general law enforcement functions.
Newsom was critical of the move, suggesting that it was unnecessary.
He said that all but 300 of the 2,000 guardsmen already stationed in the city “are sitting, unused, in federal buildings without orders.”
“This is Reckless. Pointless. And Disrespectful to our troops,” Newsom said.
The guardsmen would join approximately 700 Marines who have also been ordered to deploy to the city.
Because Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act, the guardsmen, as well as the Marines deploying to the city, can only defend federal buildings and personnel, but are not authorized to make arrests or enforce the law.
In a post on social media platform X, Newsom also announced on Monday evening that he’s sending additional law enforcement officers to Los Angeles as riots that have swept the city approach their fifth day. The governor also blamed the president for the unrest and said that “now California is left to clean up the mess.”
“We’re working with local partners to surge over 800 additional state and local law enforcement officers to ensure the safety of our LA communities,” he wrote.
More than 640 of those are with the California Highway Patrol, which is directly subordinate to Newsom.
More than 240 others are from neighboring counties, including San Bernardino, Orange, Santa Barbara, and Ventura, and some are from within Los Angeles County.
The Epoch Times earlier on June 9 observed in the city officers from Baldwin Park and Santa Monica, both of which are from other parts of the county.
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