The Trump administration released half of the California National Guard members recently called to Los Angeles, citing “subsiding” lawlessness.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass called the release a “retreat,” citing the impact of protests in the city and the city’s lawsuits against the Trump administration.
After days of unmitigated rioting in Los Angeles against increased federal immigration raids, President Donald Trump federalized and deployed 4,000 National Guard members and 700 U.S. Marines to primarily guard federal property in the city.
While a federal district court initially ruled against the Trump administration’s deployment and ordered the National Guard members transferred back to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s command, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ultimately sided with the Trump administration.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” U.S. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Tuesday. “As such, the Secretary has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen from the federal protection mission.”
Bass pointed to the release as the product of the city’s more peaceful protests in recent weeks and its legal challenges against the Trump administration.
“This happened because the people of Los Angeles stood united and stood strong,” said Bass. “We organized peaceful protests, we came together at rallies, we took the Trump administration to court — all of this led to today’s retreat.”
“My message today to Angelenos is clear — I will never stop fighting for this city,” continued Bass. “We will not stop making our voices heard until this ends, not just here in LA, but throughout our country.”
In one case, U.S. District Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong issued a ruling last Friday placing some limits on federal immigration operations, including requiring “reasonable suspicion that the person to be stopped is within the United States in violation of U.S. immigration law.” The Trump administration filed an appeal with the 9th Circuit court.
