Dozens of National Guard members, wearing helmets, riot gear and carrying rifles, arrived in Los Angeles Sunday morning after being called up by President Donald Trump to quell violent demonstrations.
Trump deployed 2,000 members of the National Guard to California on Saturday night, in response to days-long protests against raids conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents against migrants who are in the country illegally.
The National Guard members were met by a crowd of protesters marching to the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. Reports said the crowd disappeared after authorities deployed tear gas, but they reassembled, according to NBC News’ L.A. affiliate.
Protesters also blocked a major freeway in L.A.
Newsom pushes back against Trump’s National Guard deployment
On Sunday afternoon, California Gov. Gavin Newsom formally requested the Trump White House to rescind the deployment order.
Other Democratic governors coalesced around the Newsom against what they called “an alarming abuse of power” by the president, according to a joint statement.
Trump’s move also undermines and erodes public trust in local law enforcement, the governors’ statement added.
“It’s important we respect the executive authority of our country’s governors to manage their National Guards — and we stand with Governor Newsom who has made it clear that violence is unacceptable and that local authorities should be able to do their jobs without the chaos of this federal interference and intimidation," the statement concluded.
He accused the order of breaching state sovereignty and assured the federal government the state had ample resources to tackle the unrest.
A protest or a riot?
The Department of Homeland Security released a list of some of the arrests made during the raids, where they claimed the operation swept up the “worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens.”
Vice President J.D. Vance asked a pointed question in a post on X.
“One of the main technical issues in the immigration judicial battles is whether (President Joe) Biden’s border crisis counted as an ‘invasion,’” Vance said.
“So now we have foreign nationals with no legal right to be in the country waving foreign flags and assaulting law enforcement,” he said.
The president categorized the events transpiring in L.A. as “a riot” in a press gaggle Sunday morning.
He also had a stark warning for California officials “who stand in the way of law and order”: “They will face judges,” he told reporters.
Meanwhile, Newsom urged his state to not “give Trump what he wants.”
“Stay calm. Stay peaceful,” he said in a post Sunday afternoon.
Late on Saturday night, Trump thanked the National Guard before calling Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass “incompetent.”
“Just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!” he said on social media of the disaster relief and rebuilding efforts following January’s wildfires.
He then issued a warning to violent protesters, saying they won’t be tolerated or allowed to wear masks at protests.
Newsom responded to Trump’s post with sarcasm.
“Smart guys running the operation,” he wrote. “The National Guard wasn’t even deployed on the ground when Trump posted this. Pete Hegseth runs the Pentagon as well as he throws an axe on a Fox News set.”
This standoff between the Trump White House and California leaves lingering questions unanswered. For starters, are the protests as peaceful as the Democratic officials claim? And did California actually need the National Guard to help out?
Sen. Mike Lee weighs in on LA protests
Newsom and Bass claimed the protests were peaceful. The Democratic governor went as far as to say the administration is purposefully “sowing chaos.”
Bass said the protests have been peaceful so far — a claim Utah Sen. Mike Lee disagreed with.
“Remember which elected officials are on the side of the people assaulting federal officers and waving foreign flags,” Lee said in another post. “They created this situation, and whine when President Trump acts to resolve it through deportations and border security.”
Rising tensions between authorities and ICE in L.A.
ICE targeted several areas in L.A. over the weekend, including a Home Depot close to a school where a graduation ceremony was taking place.
On June 6, the agency said it faced an attack from protesters.
“Our brave officers were vastly outnumbered, as over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal building,” said ICE acting director Todd Lyons.
“It took over two hours for the Los Angeles Police Department to respond, despite being called multiple times.”
The same day, ICE arrested 118 undocumented immigrants.
Rep. Nanette Barragán, D-Calif., on CNN’s “State of the Union” said federal authorities expect to conduct ICE enforcement raids for 30 days, and the federal troops are expected to aid ICE in this process.
Tensions flared in L.A. on Sunday. Rep. Maxine Waters, while addressing two National Guard soldiers, said “Who are you going to shoot?”
“If you’re going to shoot me, you better shoot straight.”
This state-sanctioned sanctuary city has become a focal point in the Trump administration’s battle against illegal immigration. The administration’s actions also serve as a warning to other deeply blue cities and states that they plan to crack down on illegal immigration even in places where state and local officials refuse to cooperate.
California officials argue they didn’t need the National Guard called in
Trump has repeatedly threatened to withhold federal funds from California as leverage in an attempt to shift the liberal state’s politics.
Late last month, Trump levied this threat over a transgender athlete’s participation in a state girls’ track meet.
Amid reports of the Trump White House actively considering slashing federal grants dispersed to California universities, Newsom on Friday suggested California should withhold $80 billion in taxes.
In response, White House spokesperson Kush Desai told Politico “the Trump administration is committed to ... restoring the California Dream.”
Newsom claimed Trump didn’t send the National Guard members “because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle.”
Bass told The Los Angeles Times that the Trump White House dismissed L.A.’s ability to handle the crisis.
“We tried to talk to the administration and tell them that there was absolutely no need to have troops on the ground here in Los Angeles,” she said on Sunday morning.
“The protests that happened last night in L.A. were relatively minor, about 100 protesters.”