The US Marines that were ordered to be deployed by the US federal government in Los Angeles to supposedly quell the alleged riots, have not been deployed on the streets yet as bureaucratic and logistical problems hampered their active deployment.
The US Marines were deployed without any resources including food, water and lodging and were not given the rules of engagement. The National Guard was on the other hand, successfully deployed along with the LAPD officers.
California’s Governor Gavin Newsom accused President Trump of inflaming tensions by sending the National Guard and ordering the deployment of a battalion of US Marines. The California Governor also deplored the way the way the government was conducting mass deportations of immigrants instead of focusing on the long-held and established policy of only deporting dangerous criminals.
Protests in Los Angeles have continued yesterday and were mainly peaceful. Previously, some people took advantage of the protests to loot shops and torch cars but the violent incidents were limited and there were no reports of police or ICE officers being seriously injured. Police on the other hand fired rubber bullets at protesters and journalists. Police violence against protesters ahs been widely recorded.
Approximately 700 US Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California, have been mobilised in the Los Angeles under Task Force 51. They are currently stationed at the Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, around 60KM south of Los Angeles.
This is the first time that US troops have been deployed by the US federal government on US streets since the 1992 Rodney King riots which left up to 63 people dead.
Newsroom
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