In her first appearance since the federal government launched its response to Los Angeles protests, US Attorney General Pam Bondi lambasted the clashes between protesters and law enforcement and promised a crackdown from the Justice Department.

The DOJ has “nine open cases” connected to the protests in LA, Bondi said in an interview on Fox News Monday evening. She did not specify whether the department had brought charges in those cases or if they were still in the initial phases of investigation.

CNN has reached out to the department for clarification.

One of those investigations is into a masked individual who was filmed breaking cinderblocks and throwing shards at law enforcement officers, she said. The FBI has identified that man and is searching his home, she said, but Bondi did not provide his full name.

Federal prosecutors will also bring charges against those who assaulted federal officers and local police, Bondi said. “If California won’t protect state officers, we will,” she said.

The Justice Department is also considering cases that normally would be left to state authorities, Bondi said, including those dealing with individuals accused of looting shops.

“As President Trump said: You spit we hit,” the attorney general said. “Get ready.”

ETV Bharat / international

Trump Deploying Thousands More National Guard, US Marines To Protest-Hit LA

Washington: President Donald Trump’s administration said Monday it was sending 700 US Marines and thousands more National Guard troops to Los Angeles, sparking a furious response from California’s governor over the “deranged” deployment.

Trump had already mobilised 2,000 National Guard members to the country’s second most populous city on Saturday, with some 300 taking up positions protecting federal buildings and officers on Sunday.

On Monday — the fourth day of protests against immigration raids in the city that have seen some scuffles with law enforcement — the Trump administration announced the mobilisation of the 700 Marines as well as an “additional” 2,000 National Guard.

A senior administration official told AFP that “active-duty US Marines from Camp Pendleton will be deployed to Los Angeles to help protect federal agents and buildings.” The official first gave a figure of 500 Marines, but later updated the number to 700.

Deploying active duty military personnel like US Marines into a community of civilians within the United States is a highly unusual measure. The US military separately confirmed the deployment of “approximately 700 Marines” from an infantry battalion following the unrest.

National Guard units confront protesters in downtown Los Angeles. Photo: Maximilian Haupt/dpa Keystone

On the instructions of President Donald Trump, the US Department of Defense is mobilizing an additional 2,000 National Guard soldiers for deployment to the protests against US migration policy in Los Angeles. This was announced by Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell on the online platform X. The soldiers from the California National Guard would be called into federal service to support the US immigration authority ICE and enable federal employees to carry out their duties “safely”.

Keystone-SDA SDA

California Governor Gavin Newsom had previously said he had been informed of the move. “This is not about public safety. It’s about stroking the ego of a dangerous president,” the Democrat criticized on Platform X.

Only shortly before, the Pentagon had announced that it was sending around 700 marines from the regular armed forces to Los Angeles due to the protests against Trump’s migration policy. The deployment of the regular army in the interior is a further serious escalation of the protests against the actions of the US immigration authorities in the Los Angeles area. Soldiers are trained for military operations and war, not for police duties such as controlling protests in American city centers.

Thousands of National Guardsmen have already been mobilized

Over the weekend, Trump had already mobilized at least 2,000 National Guard soldiers – against Newsom’s wishes. Newsom described the new announcement as reckless and senseless “and disrespectful to our troops”. The first 2,000 National Guardsmen had been given neither food nor water. “Only about 300 are deployed – the rest are sitting around unused in federal buildings without orders.”

Newsom criticized that one of the cornerstones of the US and democracy is that the people are ruled by a civilian government, not a military one. “The Founding Fathers enshrined these principles in the Constitution – that a government should be accountable to its people, abide by the rule of law and be a civilian authority, not a military government. California will defend these principles in court.”

In the US, the states normally have control over the National Guard. In the event of war or national emergencies, the US President can take command. The National Guard is a military reserve unit and part of the US armed forces.

Each state has its own National Guard, which can be deployed in the event of natural disasters, civil unrest or domestic emergencies. Their deployment in the face of opposition from the governor is a highly unusual show of force by the government. Not since 1965 has a US president taken over a state’s National Guard against its declared will.