The president could activate the Insurrection Act, allowing the deployment of federal troops to the city.
Riots in Los Angeles over ICE deportations have continued as tensions escalate and state authorities push back against President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the sanctuary city that involved deploying 2,000 National Guard troops, with more on standby.
Many people have already been arrested in connection with crimes committed during the riots, which have largely been centered in a few blocks of downtown Los Angeles.
As Gov. Gavin Newsom and local authorities side against the administration’s immigration enforcement, the issue threatens a showdown over state versus federal authority.
Here’s what to know about the unfolding events in America’s second-largest city.
Protests, Riots
The protests and riots began on Friday after ICE agents arrested dozens of illegal immigrants in the longtime sanctuary city.
Those arrests came as part of Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration across the United States.
On Saturday, the protests escalated, leading police to begin using tear gas and flashbang grenades to disperse protests that had been declared illegal or riotous. The same day, Trump ordered the National Guard to deploy to the city.
Several protestors waved Mexican flags.
Looting has been reported in the Compton neighborhood amid the chaos.
Sunday, the third day of protests against the administration, members of the National Guard faced off with demonstrators, leading to tear gas being fired at a growing crowd near a federal complex in the city, according to video footage.
The confrontation broke out in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles as a group shouted insults at members of the National Guard, who stood shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.
As the sun set over the city Sunday evening, riots continued. Near downtown, at least four Waymo self-driving cars were set on fire, and flashbang crowd control grenades were deployed throughout the evening.
Guardsmen Deployed, Marines on Standby
On Saturday, Trump expressed frustration with Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and indicated that National Guardsmen would step in if the two refused to act.
In a Truth Social post, Trump wrote, “If [Newsom] and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
The same day, he announced that he was deploying 2,000 National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to quell the protests, marking the first time since 1965 that a president has activated a state’s guardsmen without a request from the governor.
Members of California’s National Guard were seen staging early Sunday at the federal complex in downtown Los Angeles that includes the Metropolitan Detention Center, one of several sites where confrontations involving hundreds of people have taken place over the last two days.
The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the U.S. Northern Command that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armored vehicle.
On Sunday, NORTHCOM announced that Marines were on standby to be deployed to the city.
In addition to approximately 300 additional National Guardsmen, NORTHCOM said in a statement, “approximately 500 Marines from 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, are in a prepared to deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support the DoD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts.”
Trump discussed the possibility of deploying the Marines with reporters on Sunday. Asked what the bar is for sending in Marines, he said, “The bar is what I think it is. I mean, if we see danger to our country and to our citizens, then we’ll be very, very strong, in terms of law and order.”
Bass, Newsom Push Back
In a June 8 statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom requested the withdrawal of the guardsmen.
“I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command,” Newsom said. “We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. his is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.”
Bass said that the deployment of guardsmen to the city was a “chaotic escalation.”
During an appearance on CNN, she said that the Los Angeles Police Department “could control things happening here and that there was no need to federalize troops.”
Trump told reporters on Sunday that California officials who work against the ongoing deportations could face federal charges.
“If people stand in the way of law and order, yeah, they will face charges,” he said.
The Department of Homeland Security defended its actions in the city, citing the arrest of a 55-year-old illegal immigrant from the Philippines who had multiple criminal convictions.
Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said that he has past convictions for assault, theft, burglary, and rape.
Insurrection Act
With the Marines on standby and both sides becoming entrenched, questions remain about whether Trump will activate the Insurrection Act of 1807 to end the protests.
Under the Posse Comitatus Act, active duty military can only be deployed in specific circumstances. The Insurrection Act—which Trump has not yet committed to using—lists these exceptions, which include things like suppressing insurrections, enforcing federal authority, and protecting civil rights when state authorities fail to act.
The NORTHCOM statement makes clear that no final decision has yet been made on whether or not to declare the ongoing riots in violation of the Insurrection Act.
On June 8, reporters asked Trump whether he would activate the legislation to restore order and enforce deportations by ICE in the city.
“It depends on whether or not there’s an insurrection,” Trump said.
In a June 9 Truth Social post, Trump indicated that such a decision may be imminent.
“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” Trump wrote.
Such a move wouldn’t be without precedent.
The last use of the Insurrection Act was in 1992 when President George H.W. Bush deployed 3,500 federal troops to Los Angeles to quell the riots that followed the acquittal of the officers involved in the beating of Rodney King.
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