The Pentagon has said it is ending the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, accounting for nearly half of the soldiers sent to the city to deal with protests over the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. (Pics/AFP)
Updated On: 2025-07-16 02:52 PM IST
Compiled by : ronak mastakar
Roughly 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines have been in the city since early June. It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the 60-day deployment to end suddenly, nor was it immediately clear how long the rest of the troops would stay in the region
In late June, the top military commander in charge of troops deployed to LA had asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth for 200 of them to be returned to wildfire fighting duty amid warnings from Newsom that the Guard was understaffed as California entered peak wildfire season
The end of the deployment comes a week after federal authorities and National Guard troops arrived at MacArthur Park with guns and horses in an operation that ended abruptly. Although the US Department of Homeland Security wouldn't explain the purpose of the operation or whether anyone had been arrested, local officials said it seemed designed to sow fear
"Thanks to our troops who stepped up to answer the call, the lawlessness in Los Angeles is subsiding," Chief Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement in announcing the decision on Tuesday
On June 8, thousands of protesters took to the streets in response to Trump's deployment of the Guard, blocking off a major freeway as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash bangs to control the crowd. Photos captured several Waymo robotaxis set on fire
