By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Marines have moved into Los Angeles and will take over protecting the Wilshire federal building in the coming hours, the head of the military’s efforts in the city said on Friday.
U.S. President Donald Trump can keep his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, according to a court ruling, as protests against immigration raids look set to enter their second week in the strongest backlash since his return to power in January.
The Trump administration has authorized 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to be deployed to Los Angeles to help protect federal property and personnel.
U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the task force of Marines and Guardsmen, said that about 200 Marines had moved into the city so far.
He added that neither the Marines nor the National Guard troops there had temporarily detained anyone yet.
“They have watched federal law enforcement arrest personnel as they were protecting, they have not had to detain anyone at this point,” Sherman said.
The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them.
Trump could take a more far-reaching step by invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement.
During the 2020 wave of nationwide protests over racial injustice, more than 17,000 National Guard troops were activated by 23 states.
What is rare, however, is sending active-duty troops during times of civil disturbance.
Cities across the United States were bracing for more demonstrations especially on Saturday, when those also opposed to a weekend military parade in Washington marking the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary are expected to take to the streets.
The protests so far have been mostly peaceful, punctuated by incidents of violence, and restricted to a few city blocks.
(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
