The Trump administration is releasing thousands of California National Guard troops from a federal mission in Los Angeles, the Pentagon said Tuesday, over a month after President Trump deployed the troops — over Gov. Gavin Newsom’s objections — to respond to protests in the nation’s second largest city.
“Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement.
Around 2,000 Guard troops will be released, Parnell said, or half of the roughly 4,000 who were brought under federal control. About 700 active-duty Marines were also sent to the Los Angeles area last month, part of an effort to protect federal immigration agents.
In response to Tuesday’s decision, Newsom called on the Trump administration to also return the remaining Guard forces.
“For more than a month, the National Guard has been pulled away from their families, communities and civilian work to serve as political pawns for the President in Los Angeles. While nearly 2,000 of them are starting to demobilize, the remaining guardsmembers continue without a mission, without direction and without any hopes of returning to help their communities,” Newsom said in a statement.
The Trump administration argued the deployment was necessary to deal with chaotic protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests. But Newsom and other local politicians called the deployment unnecessary and warned it could escalate tensions.
This is a breaking story; it will be updated.
