Marines deployed near LA have not completed training on use of force, nonlethal weapons
The Marines 'are still conducting pre-mission training and they have not been employed by Task Force 51, the DoD command element in Los Angeles,' a Northcom spokesperson said in a statement. 'I do not have an estimate of when they will be employed.'
The training includes standing rules for the use of force and the use of nonlethal weapons.
The spokesperson added that no other active-duty Marines have been deployed to other locations and cities at this time.
Like the 4,000 California National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles to quell largely peaceful protests against the Trump administration's immigration raids, 'these Marines will protect federal functions, personnel, and property, which includes accompanying federal personnel on missions,' they added.
The new statement stands in contrast to a Northcom statement from yesterday, which said the Marines had already been trained in de-escalation, crowd control and standing rules for the use of force.
The same day, Marine Corps Commandant Gen. Eric Smith said the Marines had received 'in excess of two hours' of the training, and that they would have shields and batons as their equipment.
U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman also told reporters that the Marines are still undergoing 'civil disturbance training and the standing rules of force training.'
He also revealed that Guard troops will be able to temporarily detain individuals until law enforcement agents step in to arrest them.
'They are strictly there to detain, to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators,' Sherman said.
Criticism is growing among Democrats as to the legality of President Trump's decision to deploy U.S. service members to Los Angeles, calling the decision a wildly out-of-proportion response to the situation.
'You are deploying the American military to police the American people; you are sending the National Guard into California without the governor's request, sending the Marines not after foreign threats, but after American protesters,' Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during an Appropriations subcommittee hearing Wednesday.
'Threatening to use our own troops on our own citizens at such scale is unprecedented, it is unconstitutional, and it is downright un-American,' she continued.
Trump, meanwhile, has doubled down on his decision to deploy troops, insisting it is constitutionally legal while calling out California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) for not ensuring federal agents were protected.
'The INCOMPETENT Governor of California was unable to provide protection in a timely manner when our Ice Officers, GREAT Patriots they are, were attacked by an out of control mob of agitators, troublemakers, and/or insurrectionists,' Trump wrote on Truth Social early Wednesday.
Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth has repeatedly defended the decision to deploy Marines to Los Angeles, including in testimony to Congress.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Why Keir Starmer is outdoing the EU when it comes to dealing with Donald Trump
As Ursula von der Leyen left Scotland last weekend with the ink still drying on the US/ EU trade deal she had just signed with Trump, the reception in European capitals was beyond gloomy. After all the posturing, threats of counter tariffs, Ms von der Leyen had signed a deal which was roundly criticised by a long line of leaders including German chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said the agreement would "substantially damage" his nation's finances, and French prime minister Francois Bayrou, who described it as tantamount to "submission". Hungary's Viktor Orban, an outspoken critic of the EU leadership, said Trump "ate von der Leyen for breakfast". But there was one question which diplomats and government heads were asking all over Europe: 'How did Keir Starmer get a better deal than us?' Not only is the EU still paying 15 per cent tariffs, but it now has agreed to spend billions purchasing energy resources from the US. This compared to the 10 per cent tariffs for the UK. 'Featherweight' Ursula von der Leyen A seasoned diplomat of an EU member state told The Independent that there was 'anger' about what had happened. The fact that the UK 'appears to be rewarded for Brexit' also really stung. But what was more worrying was that the EU supposed collective muscle had failed to produce the goods. Much of the blame has fallen on Ms von der Leyen herself and she is now being referred to as 'the featherweight'. 'She was just not strong enough to take on Trump,' said the diplomat. 'People are just remembering that she was a weak defence minister in the German government, now she is weak as a negotiator.' An insider at Trump's Turnberry golf resort described how the US president was 'in no hurry' to conclude the talks on Saturday. 'He wanted to spend more time talking to paying guests and getting pictures with them,' The Independent was told. 'He was incredibly gracious to everyone there including the staff.' Respect for Starmer But it was a different story with Sir Keir. The insider noted: 'He spoke very warmly of Starmer. He genuinely likes him. I think he respects Starmer for standing up for himself and being straightforward and honest. Trump does not like a complete sycophant. 'In Keir he sees a decent man which the public in the UK don't seem to see at all.' This seemed to not only touch on trade issues but also the problems in the Middle East. When Emmanuel Macron declared France would recognise a Palestinian state he was savaged by Trump's secretary of state Marco Rubio. When Canadian PM Mark Carney did the same Trump himself said it would threaten their trade deal. But when Starmer did it, Trump effectively greenlit the decision and said he was fine with it. The personal relationship between Starmer and Trump was vital in getting that done. But there was more. One Washington insider close to the White House told The Independent: 'Trump does not want any trouble with the UK until after he had a successful state visit in September.' They predicted: 'The relationship with Starmer will eventually fall apart over censorship – online harms bill, digital services taxes, illegal migration, Palestine, and Labour's capitulation to Islamism.' However, that might not be the case. The key to UK diplomacy with the US is King Charles III and the Prince of Wales, with the US president's reverence of the royal family keeping the show on the road. One source said: 'The King and Trump are actually very close.' Meanwhile he 'has spoken a lot' to Prince William, who he met at the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. Mandelson works the room Added to that though has been the work of Lord Mandelson as the UK's ambassador in Washington DC. Having almost had his credentials rejected over links to China, Mandelson has been 'working hard to meet everyone and build relations'. 'He is one of the big reasons the UK did well out of the trade deal,' a source said. He is also been central to ensuring that the state visit in September by Trump is 'a big success'. One DC insider said: 'Currently Lord Mandelson is probably the most effective ambassador in Washington at the moment. He seems to know everybody.' Sir Keir will be hoping that this will all prove to be enough to maintain the preferential treatment he seems to be enjoying as a world leader with the US at the moment.
CBS News
14 minutes ago
- CBS News
Massachusetts AFL-CIO leader criticizes both Democrats and Republicans for not helping working class
The 2024 presidential election showed neither the Republicans nor the Democrats are "really working for the working class in a way [they] should be," said Massachusetts AFL-CIO President Chrissy Lynch. "I think a lot of union members saw, and a lot of working class people in general saw, one party defending a status quo that hasn't been working for them and one party wanted to blow up the status quo, and it's not a good place for, I think, our democracy to be in," Lynch said in an interview on the Sunday edition of "Keller At Large on WBZ-TV. "I still think that our endorsement of Kamala Harris was the right one…Look, the platform of what Kamala Harris stood for versus what Donald Trump and Project 2025 stood for is a very stark difference," she said. Lynch accused the Trump administration of "chipping away at worker's rights," and "taking a sledgehammer to all of the things that are bedrock to our country." But she also offered qualified praise for the president's reshaping of U.S. trade policy. "I think he tapped into something, which is people want stuff made and bought in America. I think the free trade policies of the 90s, which both parties supported without labor standards, are feeding into what we have now, which is people want stuff made in America. I think his sledgehammer approach to tariffs is misguided, but I do think we should be figuring out how to make more things in America." Lynch defended the proliferation of strikes in the Greater Boston area over the past year, including actions by sanitation workers, food service workers at Fenway Park, and several illegal teacher strikes. "Working people across the board are feeling fed up with an economy that doesn't work for them," she said. "I really applaud that they are not afraid to stand up to these corporate giants and fight for what is right." Lynch also discussed the impact AI and automation are having on labor and expressed support for a potential statewide ballot question to legalize teacher strikes being considered by the Massachusetts Teachers Association. You can watch the entire interview in the video above. Keller at Large airs every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on WBZ.
14 minutes ago
Larry Summers says Trump's accusations of manipulated jobs numbers are ‘preposterous'
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers called President Donald Trump's accusation without evidence that the top Bureau of Labor Statistics official manipulated jobs report numbers "a preposterous charge" on Sunday. Speaking with "This Week" anchor George Stephanopoulos, Summers cast doubt that one official would be able to change the numbers. "These numbers are put together by teams of literally hundreds of people following detailed procedures that are in manuals. There's no conceivable way that the head of the BLS could have manipulated this number," Summers said. Trump blasted Erika McEntarfer, the commissioner of Labor Statistics, after the release of some disappointing jobs numbers on Friday and the revision downward of previous reports and said he had fired her for manipulating the figures for political purposes. "This is the same Bureau of Labor Statistics that overstated the Jobs Growth in March 2024 by approximately 818,000 and, then again, right before the 2024 Presidential Election, in August and September, by 112,000. These were Records -- No one can be that wrong? We need accurate Jobs Numbers," Trump posted to his social media platform. Stephanopoulos asked Summers, "I guess this firing of the BLS commissioner goes in the category of shocking but not surprising?" "This is way beyond anything Richard Nixon ever did," Summers said of Trump's firing McEntarfer. "I'm surprised that other officials have not responded by resigning themselves, as took place when Richard Nixon fired people lawlessly."
