Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth ordered the removal of 2,000 National Guard troops who were mobilized in response to protests in Los Angeles last month over immigration raids, a Pentagon official said Tuesday.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
The deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops came after a series of raids by immigration authorities in Los Angeles prompted sometimes-violent protests in parts of the city that were quelled with arrests and the use of “less lethal” weapons.
The Trump administration’s decision to deploy the troops drew fierce criticism from California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it an “assault” on Democracy and invoked “authoritarian regimes” who “begin by targeting people who are least able to defend themselves.”
The state sued over the mobilization, which state Attorney General Rob Bonta said was unlawful and infringed on the governor’s role as commander-in-chief.
An appeals panel ruled against the state’s challenge, writing in a decision last month that President Donald Trump “exercised his statutory authority” when he activated the troops.
The deployment marked the first time a president had federalized National Guard troops without a governor’s permission since 1965.
Half of the troops will remain in the area, for now, along with the roughly 700 Marines who Hegseth deployed.
The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them. Military officials are not allowed to carry out arrests themselves.
