As lawless anti-ICE riots continue to spiral out of control in Los Angeles, the Trump administration is stepping in — and stepping up — to restore order.
According to The Wall Street Journal, “roughly 500” U.S. Marines are being deployed to California to assist the National Guard and help protect federal buildings and personnel after waves of chaos erupted over the weekend. These Marines are part of the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, 1st Division, and are integrating under Task Force 51 as part of a larger response effort led by U.S. Northern Command.
Let’s be clear: this is a military-grade response to what the Left continues to call “peaceful protests.” But there’s nothing peaceful about mobs waving foreign flags, torching American flags, hurling rocks at law enforcement, looting businesses, and setting vehicles ablaze.
As Breitbart News has reported, these riots were triggered by ICE enforcement operations aimed at arresting convicted criminal aliens, including violent offenders such as murderers and sex offenders. But that’s not the part the mainstream media or the protest organizers are sharing with the public.
CNN and Reuters confirmed that while President Trump federalized 2,000 National Guardsmen over the weekend, only about 300 had been deployed as of Sunday night. That’s where the Marines come in — not to engage directly with the rioters, but to bolster and secure key federal assets under siege.
“Due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings, approximately 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton are being deployed to Los Angeles,” said Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
The White House emphasized that the Marines will not directly confront protesters but will be on standby in support roles, should escalation occur around high-risk locations.
Democrats are furious — not at the rioters, but at President Trump for trying to stop them.
Vice President Kamala Harris issued a statement Sunday condemning the deployment of National Guard troops as a “dangerous escalation.” California Governor Gavin Newsom went even further, calling the move “purposefully inflammatory” — and is now suing the Trump administration, claiming the federalization of the National Guard was “illegal.”
Yes, you read that right: Newsom is more concerned about suing President Trump than stopping the burning of American cities.
What began as chaos in Los Angeles is now inspiring similar actions in Texas, Florida, and San Francisco. Protesters, in some cases openly waving the flags of foreign nations, are calling for an end to ICE operations entirely — even though those operations are targeting convicted criminals.
Breitbart noted that ICE arrested a 49-year-old Vietnamese national, Cuong Chanh Phan, in Los Angeles — a convicted murderer who once opened fire on a group of teenagers, killing two and injuring several others. Other arrests included individuals with convictions for sexual battery, assault with a deadly weapon, grand theft, and more.
Still, the Left continues to frame this as a humanitarian issue, ignoring the fact that ICE is targeting criminal aliens who pose a threat to public safety.
President Trump is doing what a Commander-in-Chief should: protecting the safety of federal agents and the American people.
Deploying U.S. Marines isn’t an “escalation” — it’s a necessary response to spiraling violence that local and state officials have proven either unwilling or unable to control. The fact that rioters are waving the flags of other countries while setting fire to ours speaks volumes about where their allegiance lies.
The question isn’t why Trump sent in the Marines. The real question is: Why are Democrats more upset about that than about convicted killers walking our streets?
