Reports say battalion to be sent to LA ‘temporarily’ but Trump reportedly not set to invoke Insurrection Act
Hundreds of active-duty US marines are to be deployed in Los Angeles, it was reported on Monday, making good on Donald Trump’s threat to send more troops to the city to quash protests against government immigration raids and deportations.
A US official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told news agency Reuters that a battalion of 700 marines, reportedly from the Twentynine Palms base in southern California, would be sent to Los Angeles “temporarily”. This was despite a relatively quiet day of protests in the city.
The official said there was no expectation that Trump was, for now at least, about to invoke the Insurrection Act, as some critics had suggested, Reuters reported. But the person added that the situation was “fluid” and might change.
Senior ABC News senior national policy reporter Anne Flaherty wrote on X that the troops would be “tasked with a support role, helping law enforcement only”, while Reuters quoted the official as saying they would be “protecting federal property and facilities”.
