Downtown Los Angeles was quieter Wednesday morning as it emerged from its first overnight curfew since the start of protests against immigration enforcement raids. The city imposed the curfew after incidents of looting and vandalism on Monday. LA Police say 203 people were arrested for failing to disperse, another 17 for curfew violations, as well as a few other charges.
Still unclear to city leaders, though, is what role the military will play. President Trump federalized 4,000 National Guard troops over the objection of California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and also sent in 700 Marines.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth defended the decision to send in troops, saying they were necessary for "maintaining law and order."
But experts in the laws governing the use of the military say the federalized National Guard and active-duty military, such as the Marines, can't act as police.
"For sure, they can't arrest," says William Banks, a Syracuse University professor who's written extensively on the question. He says the Posse Comitatus law of 1878 limits the use of the military inside the U.S.
"Even when the Guard are federalized by the President, no matter how he puts it, they can protect the federal property and the federal personnel, but they can't enforce the law at all," he says.
There could be an exception to this restriction, if the President were to invoke the Insurrection Act of 1807, as President George H.W. Bush did in 1992, when he sent in Marines to help quell the Rodney King riots. But so far, President Trump has not taken that step.
In the meantime, the 700 Marines are reportedly not yet in LA. In a video posted by ABC News, Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, who is overseeing the operation, said they're at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach in Orange County, where they're getting civil disturbance training.
A major difference between what's happening now and the riots of 1992 is that this time, local and state officials didn't request the military's help. California has asked a federal court to block the government from using troops in LA outside of federal property. LA Mayor Karen Bass said Tuesday night that she doesn't know what the Marines' role will be.
"Who knows? The bottom line is, we're not told," Bass said. "Basically we have to operate on rumor. So rumor has it, there are 700 Marines that are going to come here. I have no idea what they're going to do when they get here."
ICE posted photos that appeared to show National Guard members protecting ICE agents in the field on Tuesday. Some National Guard members Wednesday have temporarily detained civilians in Los Angeles, according to The Associated Press, handing them over to law enforcement.
Some legal experts say this could fall under the Guard's role protecting federal employees. But if they're drawn into directly aiding immigration enforcement, they risk violating Posse Comitatus.
But not all federal-local relationships are under strain. On Wednesday morning, the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, announced federal charges against two men for possessing molotov cocktails during protests in Paramount, Calif., and LA. He praised local police and the LA sheriff's department for their help in the investigation, and local law enforcement representatives at the press conference also thanked the feds.
"We have a very good relationship with our law enforcement partners," Essayli said. At the same time, he stressed the fact that federal law enforcement would not be bound by state restrictions on immigration enforcement.
"Some people apparently have the notion that California really is a sanctuary from federal immigration laws," Essayli said. "Federal laws are applicable here and they will be enforced, and nothing they have done to date has impacted our ability to carry out our immigration enforcement efforts."
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