What to know about Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles protests

Protesters confront a line of U.S. National Guard in the metropolitan detention centre of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night's immigration raid protest. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

Marines and additional National Guard troops were headed to Los Angeles on U.S. President Donald Trump’s orders in response to protests over immigration raids.

The authorization came amid mostly peaceful protests in the city on Monday.

California officials sued Trump on Monday to roll back the administration’s National Guard deployment, saying the president trampled over the state’s sovereignty. Local officials and Gov. Gavin Newsom don’t want the military presence and the police chief has said it creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.

The 2,000 Guard members authorized Monday are an addition to the 2,100 Guard troops the president previously mobilized for the protests Sunday morning. Trump also deployed 700 Marines to help them Monday.

Trump, a Republican, said in a post on his social media site that the city would have been “completely obliterated” if he had not sent Guard members.

This appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor.

Here are some things to know about the lawsuit, the protests and the guard’s deployment:

State sues the president over troops

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit over the use of National Guard troops following the first deployment, telling reporters Monday that Trump had “trampled” the state’s sovereignty.

“We don’t take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilizing California National Guard troops,” Bonta said. He sought a court order declaring Trump’s use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment.

Bonta has said the lawsuit became necessary once Trump escalated the number of troops, leading to growing unrest.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom

Trump and his border czar, Tom Holman, traded taunts with Newsom about the possibility of arresting the governor if he interfered with federal immigration enforcement efforts.

“I would do it if I were Tom. I think it’s great,” Trump said.

Newsom responded in a post on X: “The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America.”

Newsom has called the presence of troops on the streets of Los Angeles both “illegal and immoral.” On the social platform X, Newsom called the decision to deploy the additional National Guard troops reckless and “disrespectful to our troops.”

“This isn’t about public safety. It’s about stroking a dangerous President’s ego,” said Newsom, a Democrat.

In a post Monday evening, Newsome called the deployment of Marines “a blatant abuse of power” and said officials would sue to stop it.

“U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country -- defending democracy. They are not political pawns,” Newsom wrote on X. “The Courts and Congress must act. Checks and balances are crumbling.”

What’s the mood in Los Angeles?

A large crowd gathered Monday in a park across from Los Angeles City Hall to protest the arrest of prominent labor leader David Huerta, whose arrest Friday while protesting immigration raids became a rallying cry for people angry over the administration’s crackdown. Huerta was later released on $50,000 bond.

Monday’s demonstrations were less raucous than Sunday’s, with thousands peacefully attending the rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held. The protests have been driven by anger over Trump’s stepped-up enforcement of immigration laws that critics say are breaking apart migrant families.

Demonstrations were also taking place in other cities, including inside Trump Tower in Manhattan, and more than a dozen were planned in all.

In Los Angeles, the smell of fire hung in the air and ash piles littered Los Angeles Street with the charred remnants of cars set afire during protests. Police cars blocked streets, and workers swept up debris. Crews painted over graffiti that covered downtown buildings.

An Australian television journalist was hit in the leg by a nonlethal round Sunday while reporting live, while a British photographer remained hospitalized Monday after undergoing surgery for a similar strike to the thigh Saturday in Paramount.

The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed in a news release on Monday that it used tear gas and more than 600 rubber bullets and other “less than lethal” munitions on protesters over the weekend.

Police arrested 29 people Saturday night “for failure to disperse” and made 21 more arrests on Sunday on charges ranging from attempted murder with a Molotov cocktail and assault on a police officer to looting. Five officers had minor injuries, police said.

Perla Rios, an indigenous community leader in Los Angeles, stood outside of Ambiance Apparel on Monday, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids on Friday set off days of tense protests. Rios urged legal representation and due process for immigrants who were detained by federal agents.

The weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the area climbed above 100, federal authorities said. Many more were arrested while protesting.

“What our families are experiencing is simply a nightmare,” Rios said.

Behind her, relatives of the detained of workers held up signs saying, “Immigrants make America Great” and “We want justice,” next to photos of their loved ones.

What are officials in California and Washington saying?

Newsom, in a post on X, warned that Trump could activate the National Guard in other states unless he is challenged.

“This is exactly what Donald Trump wanted. He flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalize the National Guard,” Newsom wrote.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, speaking on CNN, said she was concerned that more federal immigration raids will spark “pandemonium.” She said protesters are prepared to respond quickly if they see ICE in action.

“It’s just a recipe for pandemonium that is completely unnecessary,” said Bass, a Democrat.

ICE officials, in a statement, said they are working to enforce immigration laws and remove immigrants with criminal convictions. They also said they stand ready to arrest protesters who break the law.

Holman called Newsom “late to the game” in responding to the demonstrations. Trump, speaking to reporters in Washington, called Newsom “grossly incompetent.”

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Associated Press reporters Lolita Baldor in Washington, Jesse Bedayn in Denver, Jake Offenhartz in New York, Rio Yamat in Las Vegas and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia contributed to this report.