Speaking to reporters during an impromptu Oval Office briefing on June 7, Trump defended his decision to deploy 700 U.S. Marines and members of the California National Guard to Los Angeles. The move followed a series of street protests that erupted in opposition to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids targeting undocumented immigrants.
“If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see. But I can tell you, last night was terrible. The night before that was terrible,” Trump said.“If we didn’t send in the National Guard quickly, Los Angeles would be burning to the ground.”
The president also announced an additional deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops, intensifying federal involvement in the situation. He insisted that his administration’s actions were necessary to restore order in a city he claimed was under siege by what he described as “paid agitators” and “violent mobs.”
Federal vs. State Tensions Escalate
California Governor Gavin Newsom criticized the military deployment, arguing it had worsened tensions on the ground. Trump dismissed the concerns and launched personal attacks on the governor.
“He’s an incompetent man and an incompetent governor. He’s doing a bad job and causing a lot of death,” Trump said.
The president painted a vivid picture of the unrest, referencing video footage of protesters allegedly breaking up sidewalks to create makeshift weapons.
“They’re breaking the curb not for demolition but to hand out to others as weapons,” he claimed.“They drop it from bridges onto cars. I’ve never seen that before. That’s bad. That’s very bad stuff.”
Legal Framework and Controversy
Trump’s threat to invoke the Insurrection Act a rarely used 1807 law would allow the use of active-duty military forces to quell what the government deems domestic insurrection. His June 7 order cites Title 10 of the U.S. Code, Section 12406, which permits federal intervention in cases of rebellion or where state authorities cannot maintain public order.
However, critics argue that such a move may conflict with the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of federal military personnel in civilian law enforcement roles.
In his remarks, Trump frequently referred to the protests as an "invasion" and suggested they were orchestrated by paid provocateurs.
“These are paid insurrectionists or agitators or troublemakers. You can call it whatever you want,” he said.
The president also appeared to use the unrest as a broader warning to other states, saying:
“If other states do the same, they will be met with equal or greater force than we deployed here. This could have been the first of many.”
A Growing National Debate
Trump’s statements have sparked concern among civil liberties groups and political observers who view the potential use of the Insurrection Act as an overreach of executive authority.
California officials continue to insist that local police are equipped to manage protests without federal intervention and have pushed back against what they see as a politically motivated show of force by the administration.
As protests continue and political tensions rise, Trump’s comments raise serious questions about the use of military power in response to civil unrest and the balance between federal authority and states’ rights.
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