Marines are now on duty in Los Angeles for the first time.
Tensions are escalating between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom as protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement continue to grip Los Angeles and spread to New York City, San Francisco, Boston, Austin, Texas, and other cities.
Trump deployed about 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to LA against Newsom's wishes.
A federal appeals court Thursday delayed an order requiring the Trump administration to return control of the National Guard to Newsom, dealing the administration a temporary reprieve to what would have been a major reversal of its policy on the protests.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom reacted to the deployment of 700 Marines to Los Angeles, calling the move "un-American."
"U.S. Marines have served honorably across multiple wars in defense of democracy. They are heroes," he said in a post on X on Monday. "They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfill the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President."
New York City Mayor Eric Adams addressed the growing demonstrations in Los Angeles and across the country protesting ICE raids on Monday, saying he will accept peaceful protests but "we will not allow violence and lawlessness."
"The escalation of protests in Los Angeles over the last couple of days is unacceptable and would not be tolerated if attempted in our city," Adams said at a press briefing.
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch said during the briefing that police will protect the right to protest peacefully but added, "We have no tolerance for violence. None."
Tisch said a plan is in place to use the full resources of the NYPD if needed.
-ABC News' Darren Reynolds
The National Guardsmen on active duty in Los Angeles are carrying weapons but don’t have rounds in the chamber, and they aren’t using rubber bullets or pepper spray, according to a U.S. official.
The Rules of Force that they are operating under call for them to de-escalate any incidents as much as possible, two U.S. officials said. They also have the right to self-defense.
The Marines and the National Guard personnel receiving orders to deploy to LA will operate under similar rules of force, according to two U.S. officials. That means they're tasked with protecting federal buildings and federal personnel only; they won't patrol streets, try to engage people or detain rioters on behalf of police, the officials said.
These Marines and guard personnel aren't using rubber bullets or pepper spray either, but they will carry ammunition as part of their uniforms that can be used in the rare case of self-defense, the officials said.
U.S. Northern Command confirmed Monday it has activated the approximately 700 Marines to join some 2,100 National Guard soldiers in what it is referring to as Task Force 51.
Task Force 51 forces are protecting federal personnel and property and "have been trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force," it said.
-ABC News' Luis Martinez and Anne Flaherty
President Donald Trump is defending his decision to send the National Guard into Los Angeles and said California Gov. Gavin Newsom should be "happy."
"He should only be happy I sent in the military, because if I didn't send them and you would’ve had a problem, they're the likes of which we haven't seen in a long time," Trump said at a roundtable Monday.
Trump implied that the situation in LA is improving.
"It's lucky for the people in Los Angeles and in California that we did what we did. We got it just in time," Trump said. "It's still simmering a little bit, but not very much."
In 2020, Trump said at an ABC News town hall that "we can't call in the National Guard" to cities "unless we're requested by a governor."
Trump’s comments came after he sought to respond to racial justice demonstrations in cities in the summer of 2020.
"I can call insurrection but there's no reason to ever do that," Trump said at the time.
On Monday, when asked by ABC News what’s changed since 2020, Trump said that the National Guard shouldn't be sent in without approval from local officials but the difference is that California has an "incompetent governor."
"He's destroying one of our great states. And if I didn't get involved, if we didn't bring the guard -- and we would bring more in if we needed it -- because we have to make sure there's going to be law and order," Trump said.
-ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart, Ben Siegel and Karen Travers
