The Los Angeles Police Department chief said his department wasn’t notified of President Donald Trump’s Marine deployment, warning that logistical challenges could ensue.
Trump deployed roughly 700 Marines into Los Angeles on Monday, meant to supplement about 2,000 National Guard members in dealing with violent riots that have engulfed the city. Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell expressed frustration with the deployment in a statement, arguing that it could lead to confusion and logistical problems.
“The LAPD has not received any formal notification that the Marines will be arriving in Los Angeles. However, the possible arrival of federal military forces in Los Angeles — absent clear coordination — presents a significant logistical and operational challenge for those of us charged with safeguarding this city,” the statement said.
“The Los Angeles Police Department, alongside our mutual aid partners, have decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to do so professionally and effectively,” McDonnell added.
However, he left open the possibility of cooperation with federal authorities.
“That said, our top priority is the safety of both the public and the officers on the ground. We are urging open and continuous lines of communication between all agencies to prevent confusion, avoid escalation, and ensure a coordinated, lawful, and orderly response during this critical time,” the police chief said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been largely uncooperative with federal authorities, complaining on Monday that her city was being used as an “experiment.”
In a press conference, she said Los Angeles was being used as “a test case for what happens when the federal government moves in and takes the authority away from the state or away from local government.”
The mayor claimed that “this is chaos that was started in Washington, D.C.,” and that “nothing warranted the raids, nothing was happening.” She then called Los Angeles a “city of immigrants.”
Trump ordered about 700 Marines to Los Angeles after the riots continued following Sunday’s deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to the city. The Trump administration announced the deployment of another 2,000 National Guard troops on Monday, bringing the total number of deployed military forces to about 4,700.
Republicans have praised Trump’s handling of the first major riots in his second term as president, while Democrats have been unanimously critical.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), ranking member on the Armed Services Committee, rebuked Trump for his decision to send in the Marines.
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“The ongoing violence in Los Angeles is unacceptable,” he said in a Monday statement. “But the president is forcibly overriding the authority of the governor and mayor and using the military as a political weapon. This unprecedented move threatens to turn a tense situation into a national crisis.”
The riots, though downplayed or defended by most Democratic leaders, are widely unpopular among the public. A YouGov poll of 4,231 U.S. adults conducted on Monday found that just 36% of respondents had a favorable view of the protests compared to 45% who disapproved and 19% who weren’t sure.