Roughly 300 members of the California National Guard were deployed to Los Angeles and the surrounding region on Sunday following President Donald Trump’s authorization to deploy 2,000 National Guard members to address violent riots formed in protest of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
In a Sunday press release, U.S. Northern Command announced that roughly 2,000 California Army National Guard soldiers had been placed under federal control as part of Title 10 status to “support the protection of federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.”
U.S. Northern Command explained that roughly 300 members of the California Army National Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were deployed as of Sunday in Los Angeles, Compton, and Paramount. Sunday’s press release also noted that roughly 500 Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines at Twentynine Palms, California, were ready to be deployed if needed to help the Department of Defense protect “federal property and personnel efforts” Los Angeles and the surrounding region.
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U.S. Northern Command also released pictures on social media of the National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles area.
Videos shared on X, formerly Twitter, by journalist Nick Sortor show National Guard troops in Los Angeles as well as a large crowd of rioters launching fireworks, displaying foreign flags, and protesting against ICE operations to detain and deport illegal immigrants in California.
Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Kash Patel warned on Monday that Los Angeles was “under siege by marauding criminals” after rioters clashed with law enforcement officials throughout the weekend. According to the Associated Press, some protesters threw rocks, concrete, fireworks, and electric scooters at law enforcement officials, while other protesters tried blocking Border Patrol vehicles and disrupting ICE operations.
In a Saturday statement, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt noted that “violent mobs” had attacked ICE agents and federal law enforcement officials while executing “basic deportation operations” in Los Angeles.
As riots continued throughout Los Angeles on Sunday following the deployment of the National Guard, Trump issued a statement on Truth Social saying, “A once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations — But these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve.”
Trump explained that he was directing Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem to “take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.”
The president added, “Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free.”
