Pentagon Orders 700 Marines Home After LA Protest Deployment

The Pentagon has announced that approximately 700 Marines deployed to Los Angeles in June to support security during ongoing protests are now being sent home. The Marines had been tasked with protecting federal buildings and personnel during the height of the demonstrations.

This decision follows the earlier release of around 2,000 California National Guard members last week. However, while some troops have been recalled, many remain deployed.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is urging for the full withdrawal of all remaining military personnel. “Whether you are doing crowd control or dealing with conflicts on a domestic basis, that is not what our Marines do,” said Bass. “They are not authorized to make arrests. They are not doing the work of our local and state law enforcement. They're not trained to do that, and they were never needed to do that.”

Despite the drawdown, roughly 2,000 California Army National Guard soldiers who were mobilized later in June remain assigned to the mission.

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