Trump Urges Military Action in LA as Immigration Protests Enter Third Day
On Sunday evening, U.S. President Donald Trump called for military intervention in Los Angeles as demonstrations sparked by immigration enforcement actions entered their third day of unrest.
Over the weekend, Trump had already authorized the deployment of the National Guard, though their role was restricted to protecting federal properties in the city. The move followed escalating tensions between protestors and federal/state authorities over recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations involving arrests and deportations.
“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth.Social.
His message came shortly after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that active-duty Marines had been placed on “high alert” and could be sent to Los Angeles if conditions deteriorated further.
California Governor Gavin Newsom strongly criticized Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard, condemning the federal response as excessive and inflammatory.
Protests against ICE actions intensified over the weekend, with violent confrontations erupting between demonstrators and law enforcement. Several parts of the city witnessed damage to infrastructure, overturned and burning vehicles, and the use of tear gas and rubber bullets by police in efforts to control the crowds.
Vice President J.D. Vance labeled the protesters as “insurrectionists,” while White House adviser Stephen Miller described the unrest as a “violent insurrection.”
Despite the intensifying situation, the Trump administration had not yet invoked the Insurrection Act—a federal law dating back to 1807 that authorizes domestic military deployment during civil disturbances. The last use of this act was during the 1992 Los Angeles riots under President George H.W. Bush.
