US Deploys Marines to LA as Protests Spread to More Cities

The Trump administration escalated its response to anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles with the mobilization of 700 Marines who will join thousands of National Guard troops, moves that are ratcheting up tensions with Democratic leaders.

The Marines will work with Task Force 51, which comprises 2,100 National Guard troops serving the region, while hundreds of soldiers from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team are in the greater Los Angeles area, according to a military statement. The release didn’t specify when the Marines will reach the city, while LA’s police chief warned that his department has had no formal notification and said the arrival of military forces without co-ordination would present clear challenges for law enforcement.