One day after a heavy-handed operation in Los Angeles’ MacArthur Park, California officials are asking why soldiers are still deployed weeks after the protests that drew them to the city have quieted.
The soldiers entered the park on foot, horseback, and in military vehicles on Monday as federal agents conducted an unspecified operation and remained for nearly an hour. Local officials charge the goal was to instill fear in the community.
“What I saw in the park today looked like a city under siege, under armed occupation,” L.A. Mayor Karen Bass said after rushing to the park, which is popular with Latino residents. She told reporters that when the troops and agents arrived, the park was filled with young day campers who were quickly ushered indoors.
“The world needs to see the troop formation on horses walking through the park, in search of what? In search of what? They’re walking through the area where the children play,” Bass said.
A total of 90 National Guard troops were at the park, in a section of the city with a large Mexican and Central American migrant population. The operation included 17 Humvees, four tactical vehicles, two ambulances, and armed soldiers.
Federal officials said they were there to protect federal ICE agents as they carried out their operations. A pair of defense officials told The Associated Press that the service members were there merely to provide protection for the federal agents.
But Governor Newsom complained at a press conference later Monday that National Guard men and women who had previously been deployed to help protect residents from wildfires “are now being used as political pawns out there on horseback, running through soccer fields in the middle of the day.”
“What a disgrace, what’s happening in MacArthur Park. What theater. On the six-month anniversary, after all, of these fires – that’s the message from the polluted heart of the President of the United States, the polluted heart of [Deputy Chief of Staff] Stephen Miller,” he added.
Marqueece Harris-Dawson, president of the Los Angeles City Council, dismissed the show of force as nothing more than a stunt made for TikTok.
“If you want to film in L.A., you should apply for a film permit like everybody else,” he said during an afternoon news conference. “Stop trying to scare the bejesus out of everybody who lives in this great city and disrupt our economy.”
President Trump federalized 2,000 National Guard troops in early June in response to sometimes violent protests over a series of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers seeking undocumented immigrants. Some 700 U.S. Marines were also sent to the city.
Local officials had anticipated that the troops would resume their standard duties after the protests decreased. However, President Trump has so far authorized the release of only 150 National Guard troops for wildfire relief.
Gregory Bovino, a Customs and Border Protection chief stationed in Southern California, said on Monday during an interview with Fox News that the Trump administration is planning to maintain a visible presence throughout Los Angeles.
“Better get used to us now, cause this is going to be normal very soon,” Mr. Bovino said. “We will go anywhere, anytime we want in Los Angeles.”