Marines Deployed to Los Angeles on Standby Amid Ongoing Protests

President Donald Trump has deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles, but they have not yet taken to the streets and are instead in a preparatory phase focused on nonlethal training. Recent aerial footage showed Marines conducting practicing sessions in hand-to-hand combat and crowd control techniques on Seal Beach, situated just south of Los Angeles County.

The decision to activate these Marines, along with approximately 4,000 National Guards, came amid escalating protests marked by violence and property destruction over the weekend, during which some demonstrators confronted law enforcement with rocks and Molotov cocktails. According to a spokesperson from U.S. Northern Command, the Marines are still in the process of completing their nonlethal weapons training, which is expected to continue for at least one more day before concluding on Friday.

A defense official highlighted the necessity for the infantry unit to become familiar with the protocols regarding the use of force in domestic situations. The overall financial impact of deploying these forces to Southern California is projected to be around $134 million, as stated by Acting Pentagon Comptroller Bryn MacDonnell, with funds being drawn from the operations and maintenance budget.

General Eric Smith, the U.S. Marine Corps Commandant, clarified that the Marines are acting under the direction of NORTHCOM and have limitations on their operations, focusing solely on the protection of federal property and personnel rather than being involved in broader law enforcement roles. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasized that the mission in Los Angeles aims to maintain public safety and order, allowing law enforcement to execute their duties without interruption from hostile crowds.

In a related development, a federal judge denied California Governor Gavin Newsom's request for an immediate halt to Trump's deployment of the military forces aimed at controlling the violent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actions. Governor Newsom has been vocal about the deployment, arguing that the president has "commandeered" National Guard resources without proper consultation with state law enforcement leaders, while the Trump administration contends that their operations endeavor to remove "criminal illegal immigrant killers, rapists, gangbangers, drug dealers, human traffickers, and domestic abusers" from the streets.