US deploying 700 Marines to protest-hit Los Angeles

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US deploying 700 Marines to protest-hit Los Angeles

Agence France-Presse

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WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump's administration said Monday it was sending 700 US Marines to Los Angeles, sparking a furious response from California's governor over the "deranged" deployment.

A senior administration official told AFP that after clashes over immigration raids "active-duty US Marines from Camp Pendleton will be deployed to Los Angeles to help protect federal agents and buildings."

The official first gave a figure of 500 Marines, but later updated the number to 700.

The US military separately confirmed the deployment of "approximately 700 Marines" from an infantry battalion to the United States' second-largest city following the unrest.

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They would "seamlessly integrate" with National Guard forces that Republican President Trump deployed there without the consent of California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday.

The deployment was meant to ensure there were "adequate numbers of forces," it added.

Newsom slammed the "deranged" decision Monday by "dictatorial" Trump in a post on X.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had first mentioned that the Marines could be deployed -- a highly unusual measure against civilians -- on Saturday.

TRUMP BACKS ARREST OF CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR

Trump said Monday it would be "great" if California Governor Gavin Newsom was arrested, in an extraordinary threat as the two men sparred over protests in Los Angeles.

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Republican Trump, 78, deployed the National Guard in America's second city on Saturday after clashes erupted over immigration raids -- but he did not seek the Democratic governor's consent, the first time a US president has taken such an action in 60 years.

As temperatures rose, Newsom, 57, then dared Trump's border czar Tom Homan over the weekend to arrest him, after Homan said the governor and LA Mayor Karen Bass could face federal charges of trying to impede immigration agents.

"I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's great," Trump told reporters when asked if Homan should arrest Newsom, as the Republican president arrived on his Marine One helicopter at the White House.

"Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing."

Trump said Newsom, who has been widely tipped as a possible 2028 presidential candidate, had "done a terrible job" in curbing the Los Angeles clashes.

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"Look, I like Gavin Newsom, he's a nice guy -- but he's grossly incompetent, everybody knows," Trump said.

Trump later said that "I don't want a civil war," but that "civil war would happen if you left it to people like him."

Newsom has bitterly accused Trump of manufacturing the crisis for political gain, saying that local law authorities could have handled the protests without the National Guard.

On Sunday, he blasted border chief Homan, telling MSNBC: "Come after me, arrest me, let's just get it over with, tough guy."

The Democrat then branded Trump as "dictatorial" later Monday after the Trump administration deployed 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles.

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© Agence France-Presse

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