Trump Withdraws 2K National Guard Troops from Los Angeles
By Sophia Bollag
Source San Francisco Chronicle
What to know
- President Donald Trump ordered the partial withdrawal of 2,000 National Guard troops from Los Angeles, citing calming tensions following immigration-related protests.
- But California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, called for the full removal of all federal forces.
- Local leaders argue the military presence, alongside masked immigration agents, has caused fear and disruption without improving public safety.
SACRAMENTO, CA — California officials were not satisfied with the announcement Tuesday that President Donald Trump is recalling nearly half of the National Guard troops sent to Los Angeles, and continued to urge the administration to recall all troops.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell attributed the move to release 2,000 California National Guard troops from the deployment in Los Angeles to the calming of tensions in the Southern California city.
"Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding," Parnell said. "As such, the Secretary (of Defense Pete Hegseth) has ordered the release of 2,000 California National Guardsmen (79th IBCT) from the federal protection mission."
Trump deployed more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to Los Angeles last month in response to protests over his administration's aggressive immigration raids.More on OFFICER.com
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California officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom, have rejected the Trump administration's argument that the troops quelled the unrest. Protests, in fact, grew after the troops were deployed. Reporting by the Chronicle revealed that at one point less than 20% of those troops were actually on the ground in the city, raising questions about the necessity of the deployment.
In response to the news Tuesday that the Pentagon was releasing roughly half of the National Guard troops, Newsom called for a full withdrawal.
"For more than a month, @TheCalGuard has been pulled away from their families, communities and civilian work to serve as political pawns for the President in Los Angeles," Newsom wrote in a statement on social media. "We call on Trump and the Department of Defense to end this theater and send everyone home now."
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Assembly Member Mark González, D- Los Angeles, also called for an end to the deployment entirely.
"The withdrawal of federal troops from Los Angeles is long overdue," said González in a statement. "Deploying National Guard troops against immigrant families and peaceful protesters was an abuse of power rooted in fear, not fact."
Local officials had similar reactions.
"Since June 6, the presence of California National Guard members and military personnel, alongside masked immigration enforcement agents, has done nothing but instill fear and severely disrupt the lives of Angelenos," Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis wrote in a statement. "Their continued presence serves no constructive purpose and only perpetuates a climate of intimidation and distress."
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