Trump set to deploy 700 Marines to Los Angeles

Around 700 Marines based out of the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California are to be mobilized by U.S. President Donald Trump to combat the growing protests in Los Angeles, according to three people familiar with the matter. The men will join the National Guard troops that were deployed over the weekend. This decision occurs without the consent of California's governor or the city's mayor.

This deployment of the full Marine battalion marks a further escalation in the conflict between protesters in Los Angeles and Trump's government. Just this weekend, he had sent the National Guard to the city as a show of force. The role of the Marines remains unclear, though like the Guard, they are prohibited from conducting law enforcement activity like making arrests unless Trump invokes the Insurrection Act.

One of the people familiar with the Marine mobilization said they will be augmenting the Guard presence on the ground in L.A.

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Although already 2,000 National Guards have been mobilized, only 300 of those are currently deployed in the city of L.A. According to the person, the Marines will relieve the active Guards in the streets.

The situation in Los Angeles has calmed down after mass protests. News agencies in the town witnessed police using flash-bangs and tear gas to disperse crowds, with some hitting protesters, as well as protesters setting self-driving cars on fire. Police have declared all of Downtown Los Angeles an unlawful assembly area after arresting dozens over the weekend.