U.S. National Guard are deployed outside the federal prison in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following a immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Jae Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Around 300 National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles early Sunday on orders from President Donald Trump, staging outside a federal complex that remained largely quiet and without major protests following two days of clashes with immigration authorities.

The deployment appeared to be the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, a significant escalation against those who have sought to hinder the administration’s mass deportation efforts.

On Sunday morning, some of the troops were stationed outside the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, dressed in tactical gear and holding long guns in front of armored vehicles.

A small number of protesters gathered at the scene, along with Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat, who demanded entry to the facility. Tear gas canisters, apparently left over from previous confrontations, littered the street, triggering coughing fits among some demonstrators.

The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount, a heavily Latino city south of the city, and neighboring Compton.

As federal agents set up a staging area Saturday near a Home Depot in Paramount, demonstrators attempted to block Border Patrol vehicles, with some hurling rocks and chunks of cement. In response, agents in riot gear unleashed tear gas, flash-bang explosives and pepper balls.

Tensions were high after a series of sweeps by immigration authorities the previous day, as the weeklong tally of immigrant arrests in the city climbed above 100. A prominent union leader was arrested while protesting and accused of impeding law enforcement.

The deployment of the National Guard came over the objections of Gov. Gavin Newsom, who accused Trump of a “complete overreaction” designed to create a spectacle of force.

The recent protests have drawn hundreds of participants but remain far smaller than other mass demonstrations, including the 2020 protests against police violence that spurred Newsom to request assistance from the National Guard.

The last time the National Guard was activated without a governor's permission was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect a civil rights march in Alabama, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

Trump has framed the move as a necessary response to Newsom's and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass's failure to swiftly contain the unrest.

In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

He said he had authorized the deployment of 2,000 members of the National Guard.

Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor’s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday.

There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard's arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a “job well done." But less than an hour later, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.

In a statement Sunday, Assistant Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin accused California's politicians and protesters of “defending heinous illegal alien criminals at the expense of Americans' safety.”

"Instead of rioting, they should be thanking ICE officers every single day who wake up and make our communities safer," McLaughlin added.

The troops included members of the California Army National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense.

In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected “a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism” and “usurping the powers of the United States Congress.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president’s move, doubling down on Republicans’ criticisms of California Democrats.

“Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in,” Johnson said.

___

Offenhartz reported from New York.

News from © The Associated Press, 2025