Newsom says ‘democracy is under assault’ in response to Trump’s military deployment in LA

LOS ANGELES — California Gov. Gavin Newsom said President Donald Trump is “pulling a military dragnet” across Los Angeles during a brief public address on Tuesday.

The Democratic governor’s remarks come after Trump ordered the deployment of nearly 5,000 troops, including National Guard and Marines, to the nation’s second-largest city. They were deployed to protect federal buildings but are now also protecting immigration agents as they carry out arrests. Photos posted Tuesday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement show National Guard troops standing guard around officers as they made arrests.

» READ MORE: ICE raids, protests and everything else going on in L.A. right now

ICE said in a statement that the troops were providing security at federal facilities and protecting federal officers “who are out on daily enforcement operations.” The change moves troops closer to engaging in law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised as part of the administration’s immigration crackdown. The Guard has the authority to temporarily detain people who attack officers but any arrests ultimately would be made by law enforcement.

Newsom said Trump’s immigration crackdown has gone well beyond arresting criminals and that “dishwashers, gardeners, day laborers and seamstresses” are among those being detained.

He said Trump’s decision to deploy the California National Guard without his support should be a warning to other states.

“California may be first — but it clearly won’t end here,” Newsom said.

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Newsom earlier Tuesday asked a federal court to block the Trump administration from using the National Guard and Marines to assist with immigration raids in Los Angeles, saying it would only heighten tensions and promote civil unrest. He filed the emergency request after Trump ordered the deployment to LA of roughly 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the city.

The federal government said Newsom was seeking an unprecedented and dangerous order that would interfere with its ability to carry out enforcement operations. A judge set a hearing for Thursday.

The Marines and another 2,000 National Guard troops were sent to LA on Monday, adding to a military presence that local officials and Newsom do not want and that the police chief says makes it harder to handle the protests safely.

» READ MORE: Trump authorizes additional 2,000 National Guard members to Los Angeles, U.S. officials say

Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith said Tuesday that the Marines had not yet been called to respond to the protests and were there only to protect federal officials and property. The Marines were trained for crowd control but have no arrest authority, Smith told a budget hearing on Capitol Hill.

Marines were not seen on the streets yet, while National guard troops so far have had limited engagement with protesters.

LA’s mayor and the governor have said Trump is putting public safety at risk by adding military personnel even though police say they don’t need the help.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday to stop vandalism and looting as protests over President Donald Trump’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws continued in the city.

She said in a news conference that she had declared a local emergency and that the curfew will run from 8 p.m. Tuesday until 6 a.m. Wednesday.

“We reached a tipping point” after 23 businesses were looted, Bass said.

The curfew will be in place in a 1 square mile (2.59 square kilometer) section of downtown that includes the area where protests have occurred since Friday. The city of Los Angeles encompasses roughly 500 square miles (2,295 square kilometers).

The curfew doesn’t apply to residents who live in the designated area, people who are homeless, credentialed media or public safety and emergency officials, according to Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell.

McDonnell said “unlawful and dangerous behavior” had been escalating since Saturday.

“The curfew is a necessary measure to protect lives and safeguard property following several consecutive days of growing unrest throughout the city,” McDonnell said.

» READ MORE: Once again, Los Angeles burns — and the unrest is sparked by an all-too-familiar rage | Editorial

Trump left open the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence or to enforce the law in certain situations. It’s one of the most extreme emergency powers available to a U.S. president.

“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see,” he said from the Oval Office.

Later the president called protesters “animals” and “a foreign enemy” in a speech at Fort Bragg ostensibly to recognize the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.

Trump has described Los Angeles in dire terms that Bass and Newsom say are nowhere close to the truth.

The protests began Friday after federal immigration raids arrested dozens of workers in Los Angeles. Protesters blocked a major freeway and set cars on fire over the weekend, and police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.

The demonstrations have been mostly concentrated downtown in the city of 4 million. Thousands of people have peacefully rallied outside City Hall and hundreds more protested outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held following workplace raids.

On Tuesday, a few dozen protesters gathered peacefully in front of the federal complex, which was quickly declared an unlawful assembly. Police issued a dispersal order and corralled the protesters, telling members of the media to stay out to avoid getting hurt. Officers with zip ties then started making arrests.

McDonnell said that police had made 197 arrests on Tuesday, including 67 who were taken into custody for unlawfully occupying part of the 101 freeway.

Several businesses were broken into Monday, though authorities didn’t say if the looting was tied to the protests.

The vast majority of arrests have been for failing to disperse, while a few others were for assault with a deadly weapon, looting, vandalism and attempted murder for tossing a Molotov cocktail. Seven police officers were reportedly injured, and at least two were taken to a hospital and released.

Demonstrations have spread to other cities in the state and nationwide, including Dallas and Austin, Texas, Chicago and New York City, where a thousand people rallied and multiple arrests were made.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth suggested Tuesday that the use of troops inside the U.S. will continue to expand.California pushes back against sending troops

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit over the use of National Guard troops following the first deployment, telling reporters that Trump had “trampled” the state’s sovereignty. He sought a court order declaring Trump’s use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment.

Trump said the city would have been “completely obliterated” if he had not deployed the Guard.

U.S. officials said the Marines were needed to protect federal buildings and personnel, including immigration agents. A convoy of buses with blacked-out windows and escorted by sheriff’s vehicles arrived overnight at a Navy facility just south of LA.

Despite their presence, there has been limited engagement so far between the Guard and protesters while local law enforcement implements crowd control.

» READ MORE: Here’s why what’s happening in Los Angeles should be chilling both to immigrant communities and their allies | Opinion

The Pentagon said deploying the National Guard and Marines costs $134 million.

Meanwhile, Democratic members of California’s congressional delegation on Tuesday accused the president of creating a “manufactured crisis.”

On Monday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit seeking to halt the deployment.

Trump said the city would have been “completely obliterated” if he had not deployed the Guard.

The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.