The Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, confirmed to the Guardian on Monday that the entire deployment of 700 active-duty US marines is being withdrawn from Los Angeles more than a month after Donald Trump deployed them to the city against objections of local leaders.
The redeployment of the marines comes a week after 2,000 national guard troops were withdrawn from the city. The troops were sent to the city last month by the federal government after violence broke out on the fringes of protests against immigration enforcement sweeps in LA.
According to Parnell, the deployment of the marines, which state and city officials called unnecessary and provocative at a time when protests against immigration raids were already under control, had achieved its aim.
“With stability returning to Los Angeles, the Secretary has directed the redeployment of the 700 Marines whose presence sent a clear message: lawlessness will not be tolerated,” Parnell said in a written statement. “Their rapid response, unwavering discipline, and unmistakable presence were instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law. We’re deeply grateful for their service, and for the strength and professionalism they brought to this mission.”
Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, in an appearance on Monday with veterans’ groups, called the deployment of marines to LA “inappropriate” and a “misuse of our troops”.
“This is another win for Los Angeles. As we said this morning – the way to best support our troops is to have them do what they enlisted to do, not to protect two office buildings,” Bass said in response to the withdrawal.
The battalion of marines was deployed on 9 June to join the 2,100 national guard troops mobilized by the Trump administration to help protect federal property and personnel, including federal immigration agents. An additional 4,000 national guard soldiers were also deployed.
The marines’ presence in the city had been limited to two locations with federal buildings in Los Angeles, including the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement office and detention facility downtown.
At the time, the press office of the state governor, Gavin Newsom, called the mobilization of marines “completely unwarranted, uncalled for, and unprecedented”.
“Trump is escalating this situation even further – deploying active duty marines, the ‘best of the best,’ against their own countrymen in an American city,” the governor’s office wrote in a follow-up post. “Completely unnecessary and only inflames the situation more.”
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Rob Bonta, the California attorney general, had threatened a lawsuit against the Trump administration for “unlawfully” federalizing the state’s national guard and deploying its troops to quell the protests.
The Pentagon had defended the deployment, saying safeguarding Ice agents ensures they can do their jobs.
The operations have upended life for many in the region, which has large immigrant population. One LA area mayor, a marine veteran, described Ice activities in the area as a “campaign of domestic terror” and “psychological warfare” against residents.
Dani Anguiano contributed reporting
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