More than 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California have been mobilized to respond to the protests in Los Angeles, and the troops will join the thousands of National Guard members who were activated by President Donald Trump over the weekend without the consent of California’s governor or LA’s mayor.
The deployment of the full Marine battalion marks a significant escalation in Trump’s use of the military as a show of force against protesters, but it is still unclear what their specific task will be once in LA, sources told CNN. Like the National Guard troops, they are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activity such as making arrests unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act, which permits the president to use the military to end an insurrection or rebellion of federal power.
The Marines being activated are with 2nd battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Marine division, according to US Northern Command. The activation is “intended to provide Task Force 51 with adequate numbers of forces to provide continuous coverage of the area in support of the lead federal agency,” NORTHCOM said in statement, referring to US Army north’s contingency command post.
One of the people familiar with the Marine mobilization said they will be augmenting the guard presence on the ground in LA. Over 2,000 members of the California National Guard have been activated by the president, but only about 300 have been deployed to the streets of LA so far. Those initial 300 people were on a routine National Guard drill weekend when they were mobilized, which is why they were able to arrive so quickly, the person familiar said; it can take up to 72 hours for other guardsmen to be mobilized. The Marines are expected to bolster some of the guard members who have been deployed to LA in the last two days, this person said.
And while the person familiar stressed that the Marines were being deployed only to augment the forces already there, the image of US Marines mobilizing inside the United States will stand in contrast to National Guardsmen who more routinely respond to domestic issues. While some Marines have been assisting in border security at the southern border, one US official said Marines have not been mobilized within the US like they are in California now since the 1992 riots in Los Angeles.
While the Marines’ tasks have not been specified publicly, they could include assignments like crowd control or establishing perimeter security. Lawyers within the Defense Department are also still finalizing language around the use-of-force guidelines for the troops being mobilized, but the person familiar said it will likely mirror the military’s standing rules of the use of force.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom described the involvement of Marines as “unwarranted” and “unprecedented.”
“The level of escalation is completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented — mobilizing the best in class branch of the U.S. military against its own citizens,” Newsom said in a statement linking to a news story about the Marines mobilizing.
Newsom disputed the characterization as a “deployment,” which the governor described as different from mobilization. US Northern Command said in their statement, however, that the Marines will “seamlessly integrate” with National Guard forces “protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area.”
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell called for “open and continuous lines of communication” between all agencies responding to protests in the city ahead of the deployment of US Marines.
McDonell said in a statement that his agency and other partner agencies have experience dealing with large-scale demonstrations and safety remains a top priority for them.
That communication will “prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time,” McDonnell stressed.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
CNN’s Cindy Von Quednow contributed to this report.