USA Hegseth: Marines in Los Angeles if necessary
In view of the protests in Los Angeles against the government's deportation policy, some of which have been overshadowed by violence, US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is considering deploying marines if necessary. "They are on high alert," he wrote on Platform X about the armed forces units stationed in California. US President Donald Trump had previously ordered the deployment of at least 2,000 National Guard soldiers to bring the situation under control.
08.06.2025, 10:47
SDA
California's Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom criticized both Trump and Hegseth and expressed his horror: The Secretary of Defense was threatening to use soldiers "on American soil against its own citizens," he wrote on X. "This is deranged behavior."
The protests in Los Angeles' Paramount district, which broke out on Friday and in some cases turned violent, are directed against the security forces of the US immigration authority ICE, which has arrested undocumented migrants in order to deport them. Some protesters threw stones at the security forces, among other things. The US Department of Homeland Security, which reports to Trump, spoke of a massive escalation. According to the report, around 1,000 demonstrators attacked ICE officials. The local police only intervened after two hours, the ministry criticized.
The National Guard is a military reserve unit and part of the US armed forces. In the USA, the states normally have control over the National Guard. Their deployment on the orders of the president against the will of the state represents a massive escalation. Mobilizing the regular military at home - as threatened by Hegseth - would be an even greater breach of taboo.
