California sues Trump as marines arrive in Los Angeles to quell protests

Los Angeles: (AP) The Pentagon deployed about 700 Marines to Los Angeles on Monday to help National Guard members respond to immigration protests, officials said, as California prepared to sue President Donald Trump over his use of the Guard troops and demonstrators took to the city's streets for a fourth day.

The Marines are being deployed from their base at Twentynine Palms in the Southern California desert to protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents, US Northern Command said in a statement.

The Marines and National Guard troops are not expected to do law enforcement duties, which are prohibited under the Posse Comitatus Act. Trump has not invoked the Insurrection Act to allow them to do law enforcement. It is not clear if he intends to.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said in a statement on Monday afternoon he was confident in the police department's ability to handle large-scale demonstrations and that the Marines' arrival without coordinating with the police department presented a "significant logistical and operational challenge" for them.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced the planned lawsuit over the use of National Guard troops by telling reporters that Trump had "trampled" the state's sovereignty.

"We don't take lightly to the president abusing his authority and unlawfully mobilising California National Guard troops" Bonta said. He planned to seek a court order declaring Trump's use of the Guard unlawful and asking for a restraining order to halt the deployment.

The arrival of the National Guard followed two days of protests that began on Friday in downtown Los Angeles after federal immigration authorities arrested more than 40 people that day across the city.

The smell of smoke hung in the air downtown on Monday, one day after crowds blocked a major freeway and set self-driving cars on fire as police responded with tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades.

The law enforcement presence was heavy, with police cars from neighbouring cities blocking the street in front of the federal detention facility that was a focus of the protests.

The clashes unfolded over just a few square blocks in an immense city of some 4 million people, most of whom went about their normal business on peaceful streets.

Early protests remained peaceful

Trump said on Monday that the city would have been "completely obliterated" if he had not deployed the Guard.

Later, at a White House event, he added that state leaders "were afraid to do anything."

US officials said about 1,000 National Guard members were in the city under federal orders by midday on Monday. The full 2,000 members authorised by the president were expected to be on the ground by the end of the day. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the details of military operations.

Other protests were taking shape on Monday afternoon across LA County, as confirmed reports of federal immigration agents in the cities of Whittier and Huntington Park south of Los Angeles spurred anger from activists. More protests were scheduled for cities across the country.

Outside a Los Angeles clothing warehouse, relatives of detained workers demanded at a news conference that their loved ones be released.

The family of Jacob Vasquez, 35, who was detained Friday at the warehouse, where he worked, said they had yet to receive any information about him.

"Jacob is a family man and the sole breadwinner of his household," Vasquez's brother, Gabriel, told the crowd. He asked that his last name not be used, fearing being targeted by authorities.

On Sunday, many protesters dispersed as evening fell and police declared an unlawful assembly, a precursor to officers moving in and arresting those who refuse to leave. Some of those who stayed threw objects ranging from rocks to electric scooters at police and their vehicles.

McDonnell said police officers were "overwhelmed" by the remaining protesters. who included regular agitators who show up at demonstrations to cause trouble. McDonnell said the protests followed a similar pattern for episodes of civil unrest, with things usually ramping up in the second and third days.

Several dozen people were arrested throughout the weekend. One was detained on Sunday for throwing a Molotov cocktail at police and another for ramming a motorcycle into a line of officers.

Governor says Guard not needed

Gavin Newsom urged Trump to rescind the Guard deployment in a letter Sunday, calling it a "serious breach of state sovereignty."

The governor, who was was in Los Angeles meeting with local law enforcement and officials, also told protesters that they were playing into Trump's plans and would face arrest for violence or property destruction.

"Trump wants chaos and he's instigated violence," he said. "Stay peaceful. Stay focused. Don't give him the excuse he's looking for."

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.

Newsom, meanwhile, has repeatedly said that California authorities had the situation under control. He mocked Trump for posting a congratulatory message to the Guard on social media before troops had even arrived in Los Angeles.

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 Centre for Justice.

In a directive on 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."