National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles, Calif. on Sunday, June 8, a day after President Donald Trump signed a memorandum to deploy 2,000 members to the area in response to protests against federal immigration activity. It’s a move that drew swift condemnation from local officials, and Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a letter to the Trump administration formally requesting they rescind the troops.
U.S. Northern Command confirmed on X that the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team from the California National Guard had about 300 soldiers in three “separate locations” in the greater Los Angeles area.
On the afternoon of Sunday, June 8, the Los Angeles Times reported that California National Guard troops and Department of Homeland Security personnel used smoke and pepper spray at a protest outside the Metropolitan Detention Center.
The Los Angeles Police Department said the city is on a “tactical alert” and an unlawful assembly was declared in the area of Alameda between Temple and Aliso Street. Police said the use of “less lethal munitions” has been authorized.
“All persons must leave the area or be subject to arrest,” the LAPD said.
Trump said on Truth Social in the afternoon that he is directing Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi, “in coordination with all other relevant Departments and Agencies,” to stop the “Migrant riots.”
A protester displays a poster as tear gas is used in the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following the previous night’s immigration raid protest. (Eric Thayer/Associated Press) 
A demonstrator holds signs during a protest against federal immigration sweeps, as members of the California National Guard stand outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building after their deployment by U.S. President Donald Trump, in response to protests, in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. (Mike Blake/Reuters) 
A protester displays a poster as tear gas is used in the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following the previous night’s immigration raid protest. (Eric Thayer/Associated Press) 
Authorities stand in tear gas while trying to clear protesters at the metropolitan detention center in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following the previous night’s immigration raid protest. (Jae Hong/Associated Press) 
A demonstrator holds signs during a protest against federal immigration sweeps, as members of the California National Guard stand outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building after their deployment by U.S. President Donald Trump, in response to protests, in Los Angeles, California on June 8, 2025. (Mike Blake/Reuters) 
Protesters clash with authorities in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following the previous night’s immigration raid protest.(Jae Hong/Associated Press)
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said she has been in touch with immigrant rights leaders and local law enforcement.
“Deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids is a chaotic escalation. The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real — it’s felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk,” Bass said. “This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protestors to remain peaceful.”
Protests stemmed from sweeps by immigration authorities in Los Angeles County, which led to multiple arrests. On Saturday, June 7, a group of protesters demonstrated around a Paramount Home Depot, near where federal agents were staging at a Department of Homeland Security office, the Associated Press reported. Agents deployed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls, the AP wrote, while protestors threw rocks and cement at Border Patrol vehicles.
The day before, there were more than 40 people arrested during immigration raids in Los Angeles, which also prompted demonstrations. Local media reported that law enforcement used flash-bang grenades and pepper spray during these protests.
Hegseth said on X on Saturday evening that “active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton” could be mobilized and are on “high alert” following the events of the previous couple of days.
“The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens,” Newsom wrote in response. “This is deranged behavior.”
In a letter Newsom’s office sent to Hegseth, it said “state and local authorities are the most appropriate ones to evaluate the need for resources to safeguard life and property.”
“There is currently no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles, and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation,” the letter said.
Newsom shared a joint statement from Democratic governors that called Trump’s decision to call in the California National Guard “ineffective and dangerous.”
U.S. Rep. Nanette D. Barragán, D-Calif., said bringing in the National Guard was “an intentional move by the Trump Administration to unnecessarily escalate the situation in Los Angeles County.”
“Now the SecDef is threatening the use of active military, Marines from Camp Pendleton,” Barragán wrote. “This is an abuse of power and what dictators do. It’s unnecessary and not needed.”
Across the country, several people were taken into custody on Saturday, June 7during an anti-Immigration and Customs Enforcement protest in New York City’s Federal Plaza, CBS New York reported. At the end of May, protestors and police clashed in the same area when ICE took immigrants into custody after showing up to their court hearings.
On the morning of Sunday, June 8, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino said in a statement that “multiple arrests” have been made in Los Angeles and New York.
“Additional investigations are ongoing, and producing results,” Bongino said. “Many of these subjects will face federal charges, along with local and state charges. It will not end well for you if you choose violence. Choose wisely.”
This story is developing and will be updated.
