California governor says marines ‘not political pawns’
The governor of California has said US marines are “not political pawns”, as Trump vows to send the elite soldiers in to LA.
Gavin Newsom posted on X: “U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns.
“The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend.
“It’s a blatant abuse of power”, Newsom added. “We will sue to stop this.” The state of California has lodged suit against the Trump administration.
U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns.
The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend.
It’s a blatant abuse of power.…
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 10, 2025
Key events
Opinion: Trump is deliberately ratcheting up violence in Los Angeles
Moustafa Bayoumi
Donald Trump was on his way to Camp David for a meeting with military leaders on Sunday when he was asked by reporters about possibly invoking the Insurrection Act, allowing direct military involvement in civilian law enforcement. Demonstrations against Trump’s draconian immigration arrests had been growing in Los Angeles, and some of them had turned violent. Trump’s answer? “We’re going to have troops everywhere,” he said.
I know Trump is “a delusional narcissist and an orange-faced windbag”, to borrow the words of the Republican senator Rand Paul, and that this president governs using misdirection, evasion, and (especially) exaggeration, but we should still be worried by this prospect he raises of sending “troops everywhere”.
Already, Trump and his administration have taken the unprecedented steps of calling up thousands of national guard soldiers to Los Angeles against the wishes of the California governor, of deploying a battalion of hundreds of marines to “assist” law enforcement in Los Angeles, and of seeking to ban the use of masks by protesters while defending the use of masks for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents. Needless to say, none of this would be happening if these times were normal.
What makes this moment abnormal is not the fact that Los Angeles witnessed days of mostly peaceful protests against massive and destructive immigration arrests. We’ve seen such protests countless times before in this country. Nor is it the fact that pockets of such protests turned violent. That too is hardly an aberration in our national history. What makes these times abnormal is the administration’s deliberate escalation of the violence, a naked attempt to ratchet up conflict to justify the imposition of greater force and repression over the American people.
Read the full opinion piece here:
Kang Hyung-won, a photojournalist who reported for the Los Angeles Times during the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles, said on X, in a reply to Donald Trump Jr.’s post, the picture had been taken by him and it was used without his permission.
“You’re using the photo out of context. Please take it down,” Kang said.
Kang told Reuters by email his photograph depicted a different situation when law enforcers were not providing adequate protection.
“(The) current situation of people expressing a widespread disagreement about an excessive and aggressive enforcement by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, while LAPD is present and keeping the city in order is not even remotely similar to the dire situation for Korean Americans of those dark hours during the 1992 L.A. Riots,” he said.
Kang said he was consulting a lawyer after having no response to his request that Trump Jr. take down the post.
No-one from the Washington administration could immediately be reached for comment.
Donald Trump Jr. criticised for ‘reckless’ comments by Korean Americans
An association of Korean Americans in Los Angeles has criticised Donald Trump Jr., the son of the US president, for “reckless” comments on social media and urged him not to exploit a riot that devastated their community 33 years ago.
The Korean American Federation of Los Angeles also said an operation by the US administration to round up suspected undocumented immigrants lacked “due legal procedures”.
Donald Trump Jr. posted a photograph of a man with a rifle on a rooftop on X with a message: “Make Rooftop Koreans Great Again!” referring to actions by the Korean American community during the 1992 race riots in Los Angeles.
The federation in separate statements expressed concern over the developments in Los Angeles over the last week and said their businesses were seriously affected by the crackdown and arrests.
“While the unrest has not yet subsided, Donald Trump Jr …. showed the recklessness of posting a post on X on Sunday 8 June, mocking the current unrest by mentioning the ‘Rooftop Korean’ from the LA riots 33 years ago,” it said in a statement on Monday Los Angeles time.
“As the eldest son of the current president and an influencer with approximately 15 million followers, his actions could pose a huge risk in these icy times, and we strongly urge the past trauma of the Korean people be never, ever exploited for any purpose.”
Hundreds of deputies have been mobilised in Los Angeles County as law enforcement try to respond to widespread protests, the state governor Gavin Newsom’s office has said.
The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, in coordination with the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES), has formally requested mutual aid assistance from law enforcement agencies within and outside of Los Angeles County to support LAPD.
It has approved the mobilisation of 20 deputies from San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department; 83 deputies from Orange County Sheriff’s Department; 32 deputies from Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department; 44 deputies from Ventura County Sheriff’s Department and 80 officers from municipal police agencies within Los Angeles County
To bring further support to the region, the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department has already provided more than 200 deputies to support the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD).
The protests so far have resulted in a few dozen arrests and some property damage.
“What is happening effects every American, everyone who wants to live free, regardless of how long their family has lived here,” said Marzita Cerrato, 42, a first-generation immigrant whose parents are from Mexico and Honduras.
Protests also sprung up in at least nine other US cities overnight, including New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco, according to local news outlets.
In Austin, Texas, police fired nonlethal munitions and detained several people as they clashed with a crowd of several hundred protesters.
US officials said the marines were being deployed to protect federal property and personnel, including immigration agents. A convoy of 10 to 15 buses with blacked-out windows and escorted by sheriff’s vehicles, left the base at Twentynine Palms in the desert east of Los Angeles late Monday and headed toward the city, stopping around 1am (9am BST) at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, about 20 miles (35 km) south of downtown Los Angeles.
Despite their presence, there has been limited engagement so far between the Guard and protesters while local law enforcement implements crowd control.
Homeland Security said its Immigration and Customs Enforcement division had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day in recent days, far above the 311 daily average in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden.
“We conducted more operations today than we did the day before and tomorrow we are going to double those efforts again,” Noem told Fox News’ “Hannity.” “The more that they protest and commit acts of violence against law enforcement officers, the harder ICE is going to come after them.”
Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass opposed the clampdown, telling MSNBC: “This is a city of immigrants.”
Other protests took shape overnight across LA County. Outside a clothing warehouse, relatives of detained workers demanded at a news conference that their loved ones be released.
The family of Jacob Vasquez, 35, who was detained Friday at the warehouse, where he worked, said they had yet to receive any information about him.
“Jacob is a family man and the sole breadwinner of his household,” Vasquez’s brother, Gabriel, told the crowd. He asked that his last name not be used, fearing being targeted by authorities.
Los Angeles police chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement he was confident in the police department’s ability to handle large-scale demonstrations and that the Marines’ arrival without coordinating with the police department would present a “significant logistical and operational challenge” for them.
Monday’s demonstrations were far less raucous, with thousands peacefully attending a rally at City Hall and hundreds protesting outside a federal complex that includes a detention center where some immigrants are being held after workplace raids across the city.
Australia’s prime minister on Tuesday denounced the “horrific” shooting of a rubber bullet at an Australian television reporter covering unrest in Los Angeles.
Australian 9News reporter Lauren Tomasi was hit in the leg by a rubber bullet on Sunday while reporting on live television. Her employer said she was sore but unharmed.
“She is going ok. She is pretty resilient, I have got to say, but that footage was horrific,” Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters after speaking to Tomasi.
Albanese said the reporter could reasonably have expected not to be “targeted” with a rubber bullet while doing her job in Los Angeles. The footage showed she was “clearly identified” as a member of the media, with “no ambiguity”, he said.
“We don’t find it acceptable that it occurred, and we think the role of the media is particularly important.”
Albanese said his government had raised the incident with the US administration but he would not comment on any future discussion with US President Donald Trump.
California governor says marines ‘not political pawns’
The governor of California has said US marines are “not political pawns”, as Trump vows to send the elite soldiers in to LA.
Gavin Newsom posted on X: “U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns.
“The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend.
“It’s a blatant abuse of power”, Newsom added. “We will sue to stop this.” The state of California has lodged suit against the Trump administration.
U.S. Marines serve a valuable purpose for this country — defending democracy. They are not political pawns.
The Secretary of Defense is illegally deploying them onto American streets so Trump can have a talking point at his parade this weekend.
It’s a blatant abuse of power.…
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 10, 2025
Grammy Award-winning rapper Doechii used her acceptance speech at the Black Entertainment Television (BET) Awards to sharply criticise Trump’s handling of the protests.
Collecting the award for best female hip-hop artist, she accused the president of “creating fear and chaos” in his response to demonstrations against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids, which sparked days of protest across the city.
“I do want to address what’s happening right now, outside the building,” she said.
“These are ruthless attacks that are creating fear and chaos in our communities. In the name of law and order, Trump is using military forces to stop a protest, and I want you all to consider what kind of government it appears to be, when every time we exercise our democratic right to protest, the military is deployed against us.”
Remarkable images have emerged from last night’s protests in Los Angeles as Trump’s administration vowed to intensify immigration raids.
The Los Angeles District Attorney has said the county does not need the national guard and the marines, saying there are “more than enough” local police to deal with rioting.
Nathan J. Hochman said: “We in Los Angeles county have tens of thousands of police officers, whether they are with the LA police department, the LA sherriff’s department, or there are 45 other law enforcement agencies in LA county.
“We have more than enough law enforcement officers to deal with the civil unrest thats occurred so far”, he told BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme.
“It doesn’t mean that the federal government can’t protect federal facilities with either the national guard or, if they choose, additional soldiers – that’s their choice.
“But as far as the civil unrest in LA, that is something that, though obviously very significant, it is something we are taking extremely seriously and we are able to deal with.
“We do not need the additional forces that the national guard and the marines present”, he added. “Unless the civil unrest gets farther out of control – and that could happen – we are not at the point where local law enforcement is beyond its means to deal with the situation.”
Trump deploys more National Guard troops and Marines to LA protests
Good morning, Donald Trump has deployed more National Guard troops and marines to Los Angeles as protests in the city go into their fourth day. Here is what has happened overnight:
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California said the deployment of the National Guard by Republican President Trump’s administration was illegal and violated the state’s sovereignty and federal law, according to a court filing of its lawsuit against the US government.
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The US military is to temporarily deploy about 700 Marines to LA until more National Guard troops can arrive, marking another escalation in Trump’s response to street protests over his aggressive immigration policies. Marines were expected to reach Los Angeles on Monday night (LA time) or Tuesday morning.
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Even as protests against raids by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) stretched into a fourth day Monday in LA, city workers began a cleanup of graffiti and other weekend damage across the city.
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The Trump administration vowed to intensify migrant raids, with US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledging to carry out even more operations to round up suspected immigration violators, extending a crackdown that provoked the protests.