National Guard troops directed to LA ICE protests from San Diego: Bonta

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — Hundreds of California Army National Guard members based in San Diego were among those directed by President Donald Trump to respond to the ongoing protests in Los Angeles against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.

The extraordinary deployment of the National Guard early Sunday morning to quell the demonstrations has drawn immense backlash from Democratic local and state officials, who attribute it to escalations in the confrontations between protesters and federal law enforcement.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a press conference Monday announcing a lawsuit against the Trump administration for the move it “trampled” the state’s sovereignty, building on statements from Gov. Gavin Newsom that described it “illegal and immoral.”

“We don’t take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilizing California National Guard troops,” Bonta told reporters, adding he planned to seek a court order declaring that the use of the Guard was unlawful and ask for a restraining order to halt the deployment.

Trump promised to send 2,000 National Guard troops to the city to respond to the protesters, whom he had described as “insurrectionists,” but only about half of those were in the city as of Monday.

The president also said he would be willing to send in U.S. Marines from nearby bases like Camp Pendleton. By Monday afternoon, 700 U.S. Marines from Twentynine Palms, California, were deployed to the city, a U.S. official confirmed to ABC News.

The protests, which had largely begun peacefully, turned violent in some areas on Sunday as the first wave of National Guard troops made their way into the city. Throughout the day, some protesters hurled projectiles, set self-driving taxi cars on fire and looted businesses.

At the same time, law enforcement repeatedly fired less-lethal rounds, deployed tear gas and set off flash bangs at crowds in an attempt to get them to disperse. At least two news correspondents were hit by these rounds — one from Australia and another from the United Kingdom.

According to Los Angeles law enforcement, more than 40 people were arrested and at least a dozen local law enforcement officers were injured. It is unknown how many injuries were sustained by protesters.

Crowds had mostly dispersed overnight into Monday. Although protesters reconvened Monday afternoon for a rally calling for the release of labor activist David Huerta, who was among those injured and arrested Sunday, in Los Angeles’ Grand Park, as Nexstar’s KTLA reported.

A number of streets throughout downtown Los Angeles remain closed following the weekend’s demonstrations, while several federal buildings in the area still have a heightened law enforcement presence.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass urged those demonstrating Monday not to “fall into the Trump Administration’s trap” by remaining peaceful in a series of posts on X on Monday.

“Trump didn’t inherit a crisis — he created one,” she said. “To those stoking the fire of lawlessness and chaos alongside him — LA will hold you accountable.”