By rssfeeds-admin 
Staff report
LOS ANGELES — U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth on Saturday threatened to deploy active-duty Marines to Los Angeles in response to growing protests against federal immigration raids.
Hegseth’s threat followed a presidential memorandum signed by President Donald Trump earlier in the day, authorizing the deployment of at least 2,000 National Guard troops under federal command to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations and facilities nationwide. The memorandum allows for further use of regular Armed Forces “as necessary,” at the discretion of the Secretary of Defense.
In a statement posted to social media, Hegseth — a close Trump ally and former television host who now leads the Department of Defense — said military personnel were already mobilizing in response to protests, which he characterized as “violent mob assaults” aimed at disrupting the removal of undocumented immigrants.
“The @DeptofDefense is mobilizing the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles,” Hegseth wrote. “And, if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert.”
Trump wrote on Truth Social, “If Governor Gavin Newscum, of California, and Mayor Karen Bass, of Los Angeles, can’t do their jobs, which everyone knows they can’t, then the Federal Government will step in and solve the problem, RIOTS & LOOTERS, the way it should be solved!!!”
The protests erupted after a series of pre-dawn ICE raids across Los Angeles County led to the detention of dozens of people, including individuals without prior criminal records.
The presidential directive invokes 10 U.S.C. § 12406, allowing the president to federalize National Guard units in times of insurrection or rebellion. Trump’s memo argues that violent protests “directly inhibit the execution of the laws” and may constitute a “form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
Such language is unprecedented in response to immigration protests.
The escalation comes just three days after the anniversary of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, when Chinese troops crushed a pro-democracy movement with tanks and live ammunition—a grim reminder of what can happen when a government turns its military on its own people.
President Trump is planning a large-scale military parade in Washington, D.C., in the coming days, which coincides with his birthday.
The post Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth Threatens Mobilization of Active-Duty Marines Against Protesters in Los Angeles first appeared on The Bloomingtonian.
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