US cities brace for more protests as military mobilises in Los Angeles
Texas to deploy National Guard as protests over immigration raids spread beyond LA
04:36
Trump vows to ‘liberate’ Los Angeles as protests spread to other major US cities
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, announced he would deploy the National Guard this week in anticipation of planned protests, following clashes between protesters and police in Austin on Monday.
Trump’s extraordinary measure of sending the National Guard and Marines to quell protests in Los Angeles has sparked a national debate on the use of military on US soil, pitting the Republican president against California’s Democratic governor.
“This brazen abuse of power by a sitting president inflamed a combustible situation, putting our people, our officers and even our National Guard at risk. That’s when the downward spiral began,” California Governor Gavin Newsom said in a Tuesday video address. “He again chose escalation. He chose more force. He chose theatrics over public safety … Democracy is under assault.”
Newsom, widely seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, and the state of California sued Trump and the Defence Department on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federal troops. Trump, in turn, suggested Newsom should be arrested.