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The Pentagon deployed 700 Marines to California to assist the National Guard in protecting “federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area,” US Northern Command said on Monday.
Protests reportedly quieted down on Monday but California lawmakers are still smoldering. Governor Newsom says that he will “sue to stop” the “blatant abuse of power.”
The deployment follows a weekend of escalating immigration protests that turned chaotic outside federal courthouses and ICE facilities—culminating in what some officials described as “mob-like attempts to breach federal buildings.” Civil liberties groups, however, have accused the administration of using militarized force as a political stunt ahead of election season.
Was there violence? Clearly, but not everyone there was violent. The media is once again reducing this to good-or-bad like the January 6 protests of 2021 and we must resist the urge to do that. Nuance is the real story.
For now, the boots on the ground are meant to keep the peace but the standoff between California and the Federal government will not back down quietly.