Los Angeles: After a week of tense protests over the federal immigration raids, about 200 Marines have moved into Los Angeles and will protect federal property and personnel, a military commander said Friday.
Maj Gen Scott Sherman, commander of Task Force 51 who is overseeing the 4,700 troops deployed, said Friday that the Marines have finished training on civil disturbance.
“I would like to emphasize that the soldiers will not participate in law enforcement activities. Rather, they’ll be focused on protecting federal law enforcement personnel,” Sherman said.
The development comes a day after the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily blocked a federal judge’s order that had directed Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California, shortly after a federal judge had ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth
Amendment and exceeded Trump’s statutory authority.
The Marines will join some 2,000 National Guard troops that have been on the streets of the city since last week when immigration raids set off protests.