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Los Angeles police arrest protesters opposing the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants in downtown LA on June 8 (local time). / Source: Reuters, Yonhap News

At the order of U.S. President Donald Trump, National Guard troops were deployed to Los Angeles on June 8 (local time) in response to large-scale protests against the arrest and deportation of undocumented immigrants.

Despite the deployment, protests involving hundreds of demonstrators continued across the city, raising fears that any casualties could further escalate tensions.

According to the New York Times and other outlets, around 300 members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were deployed to three key locations, including LA City Hall, marking the first wave of the 2,000 troops authorized by Trump. The protests have now entered their third day.

On his Truth Social account, Trump wrote, “We will not tolerate riots by agitators and radical leftists who are often paid to create trouble.”

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, appearing on CBS, stated that the deployed National Guard troops had been specially trained for such crowd-control situations. “We will not allow a repeat of what happened in 2020,” she said, referring to the nationwide Black Lives Matter (BLM) protests following George Floyd’s death.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth warned on X (formerly Twitter) that if violence in LA continues, active-duty forces are ready for deployment. He said Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton are on heightened alert.

“There is room for peaceful protest, but we will adopt a zero-tolerance policy for attacks on federal officers,” Hegseth said, adding that National Guard troops and Marines would work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if necessary.

California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, condemned Trump’s move, calling it an attempt to “manufacture a crisis” to justify further crackdowns and fear-based policies. He also criticized Hegseth’s mention of possible Marine deployment as “abnormal behavior.”

LA Mayor Karen Bass also denounced the federal troop deployment, saying in a statement, “This only worsens the unrest and is exactly what our city does not need.”

Under the 1807 Insurrection Act, the president can deploy military forces to quell civil unrest, though the law was last invoked at a governor’s request during the 1992 LA riots. According to Reuters and CNN, it remains unclear whether Trump has the authority to deploy National Guard troops without the governor’s request.

If confirmed, this would mark the first time since 1965 that a president has deployed troops without a governor’s request, when President Lyndon Johnson sent federal forces to protect civil rights demonstrators in Alabama.

The Insurrection Act allows such deployments only in cases of rebellion or threats against U.S. authority, and it restricts troops from performing general law enforcement duties.

Following the National Guard deployment, small-scale demonstrations near the LA federal detention center and two other locations remained peaceful, according to the Wall Street Journal. However, Fox News reported that hundreds of protesters continued to rally throughout the day.

The protests were sparked by a large-scale ICE operation on June 6, which resulted in the arrest of at least 44 undocumented immigrants. Demonstrations quickly spread and continued overnight, with additional protests reported in Paramount, about 16 miles south of downtown LA.

On the previous night, police used tear gas and flashbang grenades to disperse protesters outside the LA federal detention center, detaining 27 individuals.