LA protests live updates: US Marines land in Los Angeles to join National Guard – The Independent

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The ruling temporarily blocks California Governor Gavin Newsom from regaining control of 4,000 troops mobilized in Los Angeles
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The first 200 U.S. Marines out of a battalion of 700 have arrived in Los Angeles, joining National Guard troops already deployed to the city by the Trump administration. They will be protecting the Wilshire Federal Building in the city’s Civic Center.
Last night, an appeals court ruled that Donald Trump can retain temporary control of the Guard, dealing a blow to California Governor Gavin Newsom.
The late-night decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals came swiftly after U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that Trump’s action was “illegal” and violated the Tenth Amendment, stating that the president must return control of 4,000 troops to Newsom.
The appeals court will conduct a more comprehensive hearing on the matter this Tuesday.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass enforced a third consecutive nighttime curfew in the downtown area, which is expected to continue for “a few more days.”
Additional protests against the ongoing workplace raids have occurred across the nation and are expected to continue through the weekend as part of the “No Kings” movement, coinciding with the president’s birthday parade in Washington, D.C., which celebrates the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army.
Authorities are looking for four detainees who escaped from an immigration detention facility in Newark, New Jersey, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
More “law enforcement partners” have been brought in to find the detainees missing from Delaney Hall, according to an emailed statement attributed to a senior DHS official whom the department did not identify. The statement also didn’t specify which law enforcement agencies are involved.
Here’s more from the AP on what is happening at the Delaney Hall facility:
I would like to emphasize that the soldiers will not participate in law enforcement activities.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has ribbed President Donald Trump over an odd Truth Social post he made yesterday, in which he appeared to suggest that a policy change might be coming to allow migrants to continue working in the farming and hospitality sectors, where they are vital in many parts of the U.S.
The governor suggested the president might want to visit the Central Valley, California’s agricultural heartland.
Despite the president’s somewhat vague Truth Social post, The Washington Post reports today that no policy change is forthcoming, citing three people with knowledge of the administration’s immigration plans.
Per the Post:
Trump’s comments in a social media post sought to soothe industry leaders in the agriculture and hospitality fields, said a White House official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the president’s thinking, as many business leaders remain unnerved by the president’s sweeping deportation campaigns.
The official said there will be “no change” in the current approach to deportations, adding that no carveout exists currently for farm, hotel or other migrant workers who are in the country illegally. The administration previously directed U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement workers to avoid raiding farms, the person said, noting that agents have swept food production facilities. Immigration enforcement activity appeared to take place at two farms in California this week, however, as the administration escalated deportation efforts.
Separately, the Associated Press reports that large-scale immigration raids at packinghouses and fields in California are threatening businesses that supply much of the country’s food.
Read more here:
Lawyers for Mahmoud Khalil on Friday asked a federal judge to order the release of the Columbia University protester from an immigration lockup, saying the Trump administration missed an appeal deadline.
In a letter to U.S. District Judge Michael Farbiarz in New Jersey, the lawyers said Khalil has satisfied all the court’s requirements, including posting a $1 bond, while the lawyers for the government missed a 9:30 a.m. deadline the judge set Wednesday.
In response to the letter, the judge gave the government until 1:30 p.m. Friday to formally reply to the request to free Khalil.
Read on…
Almost the entire sprawling 500-square-mile city of Los Angeles remains free from disturbances, although protests continue downtown, near City Hall and a federal detention center where some immigrants are being held.
On the third night of an 8 p.m. curfew that covers just one square mile of the city center, Los Angeles police arrested several demonstrators who refused to leave a downtown street, while Homeland Security officers deployed flash bangs to disperse a crowd near the jail.
There were 33 arrests for failure to disperse and 13 for curfew violations, the LAPD said Friday.
Those incidents were outliers. Like the prior two nights, the hours-long demonstrations remained peaceful and upbeat, attracting a few hundred attendees who were chanting, dancing, and poking fun at the Trump administration’s characterization of the city as a “war zone.”
However, the LAPD reported people in a crowd throwing objects, including commercial-grade fireworks, at officers.
Around 470 arrests have taken place since Saturday, according to the LAPD, with most individuals arrested for failing to leave the downtown area at the request of law enforcement.
A few more serious charges include assault on officers and possession of a Molotov cocktail and a firearm.
Nine officers have been hurt, mostly with minor injuries.
President Donald Trump said California Governor Gavin Newsom should be “thanking” him for calling in the National Guard in Los Angeles after an appeals court ruling delayed the military being used to help stop anti-ICE protests.
A U.S. District Judge ruled Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops in LA was “illegal” and violated the Tenth Amendment, and that troops had to leave. But a late-night decision by the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dealt a blow to Newsom and delayed the implementation of the lower court order.
“Incompetent Gavin Newscum should have been THANKING me for the job we did in Los Angeles, rather than making sad excuses for the poor job he has done,” Trump raged.
Rhian Lubin reports.
California Democratic Senator Alex Padilla says FBI agents escorted him to a Kristi Noem press conference in Los Angeles on Thursday, where he was swarmed by security, contradicting the Trump administration’s version of events.
Joe Sommerlad has the details.
U.S. Marines have moved into Los Angeles and will take over protecting the Wilshire Federal Building on Wilshire Boulevard in the coming hours, the head of the military’s efforts in the city said on Friday.
U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who commands the task force of Marines and Guardsmen, said that about 200 Marines had moved into the city so far.
He added that so far, neither the Marines nor the National Guard troops there had temporarily detained anyone, despite earlier conflicting reports that they had.
“They have watched federal law enforcement arrest personnel as they were protecting, they have not had to detain anyone at this point,” Sherman said.
The troops are authorized to detain people who pose a threat to federal personnel or property, but only until police can arrest them.
Trump could take a more far-reaching step by invoking the Insurrection Act, which would allow troops to directly participate in civilian law enforcement.
The Marines will take over operations in the city from noon local time.
The Trump administration has handed over the personal data of immigrant Medicaid enrollees to deportation officials, the Associated Press reports.
Included in the data are the immigration statuses of millions of Medicaid enrollees, which could be used to identify individuals for deportation as part of President Donald Trump’s hard-line immigration crackdown.
This has caused notable concern among officials in California due to the raids in Los Angeles by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, supported by troops, which have ignited protests and civil unrest.
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