LOS ANGELES: United States troops deployed in Los Angeles are authorised to detain people until police can arrest them, their commanding officer said on Wednesday (Jun 11), as hundreds of Marines prepared to move into a city rocked by protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration raids.
On Wednesday, Los Angeles endured a sixth day of protests that have been largely peaceful but occasionally punctuated by violence. The protests have spread to other US cities, and hundreds of nationwide demonstrations are planned for Saturday.
Trump’s decision to dispatch troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked a national debate about the use of the military on US soil. Newsom’s administration has sued the US government over the deployment.
The Marines and National Guard could be deployed to protect federal personnel and property during immigration raids or related protests, officials have said.
Trump is carrying out a campaign promise to deport immigrants, employing forceful tactics consistent with the norm-breaking political style that got him elected twice.
Democrats condemn these tactics as authoritarian, arguing they undermine democratic traditions.
“If I didn’t act quickly on that, Los Angeles would be burning to the ground right now,” said Trump at an event at the John F Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.
US Army Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the deployed troops, told reporters that the 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops cannot make arrests but could briefly detain people.
“They do not do any arrests. They’re strictly there to detain to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators,” Sherman said.
Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said he was asking military leaders for clarification on the matter.
“My understanding at this point is that they do not have the powers to arrest or detain,” Luna told a press conference.
The use of military forces is at the heart of California’s lawsuit.
The state maintains that none of the conditions were met to justify military deployment – such as a rebellion or danger thereof.
It is also seeking a temporary restraining order to immediately stop the National Guard and Marines from participating in civilian law enforcement.
A hearing on that restraining order is scheduled for Thursday in San Francisco federal court.
The Trump administration argued in a court filing ahead of the hearing that the president has the discretion to determine whether a “rebellion or danger of a rebellion” requires a military response.
The Marines, who have been training at Seal Beach just south of Los Angeles County, will move to the city soon, but not on Wednesday, Sherman said.
They will not carry live ammunition in their rifles, he added.
MAYORS OPPOSE TRUMP
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, joined at a press conference by about 30 other California mayors, said the White House has overstepped its authority and has provoked the unrest.
The mayor of a neighbouring city, Arturo Flores of Huntington Park, said that as a former Marine who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, he wanted to remind military personnel that the people of Los Angeles were not foreign enemies.
“When we lifted our hands and we swore the oath to defend the Constitution and to defend this country, that oath was to the American people,” Flores said.
“It was not to a dictator, it was not to a tyrant, it was not to a president, it was to the American people and the people that are here in these communities … are Americans, whether they have a document or they don’t, you’re dealing with Americans.”
National Guard personnel have joined US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in a support role on raids and have stood guard at a federal detention facility targeted by the protesters.
Bass blamed a few troublemakers for disrupting largely peaceful protests that have been limited to about five downtown streets.
Even so, given the amount of looting, property damage and graffiti, Bass imposed a curfew over 1 square mile (2.6 sq km) of the city’s downtown starting on Tuesday night.
The Los Angeles Police Department said it arrested 225 people on Tuesday, including 203 for failing to disperse and 17 for violating the curfew.
In all, police have arrested more than 400 people since Friday.
“President Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history, and left-wing riots will not deter him in that effort,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.
William Banks, professor emeritus at the Syracuse University’s department of public administration and international affairs, said National Guard and US Marine personnel are trained for war and dealing with foreign forces, not enforcing civilian laws.
“Even though they don’t have live ammunition, they’re not trained to treat citizens, (unlike) the police. There’s a real risk that if this kind of operation (goes on) … bad things could happen,” he told CNA’s Asia First.
He added that the continued presence of the troops on the streets could inflame tensions that are already spreading to other cities.
“The American people, whether Republicans or Democrats, don’t like to see military on the streets. We have always expected our laws to be enforced by police, sheriffs and marshals. Not members of the military, carrying weapons and wearing armour.”
Protesters marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago on Tuesday night, chanting anti-ICE slogans and at times clashing with law enforcement.
The protests are set to expand on Saturday, when several activist groups have planned more than 1,800 anti-Trump demonstrations across the country.
That day, tanks and other armoured vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington in a military parade marking the US Army’s 250th anniversary and coinciding with Trump’s 79th birthday.
Source: Reuters/fs/kg