US troops in Los Angeles have not detained anyone: Military official
'I would like to emphasize that the soldiers will not participate in law enforcement activities,' Task Force 51 Commander Maj. Gen. Sherman says
WASHINGTON
The US troops deployed to Los Angeles, California, in response to immigration protests have not detained anyone, a military official said Friday.
"I would like to emphasize that the soldiers will not participate in law enforcement activities.
"Rather, they'll be focused on protecting federal law enforcement personnel," Task Force 51 Commander Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman told reporters.
The US has deployed roughly 4,000 US National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to the streets of Los Angeles in defiance of warnings from California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Bass that the action would only serve to further inflame already-heightened tensions.
"We still, right now, as of today, we have had no soldier or marine detain anyone," Sherman said.
When asked where else in Los Angeles County Marines will be deployed going forward, Sherman said: "I'm not going to speculate on future operations.
"What I will say is the United States Marine Corps, as you know, is they're the ones who guard our embassies worldwide, and they are certainly trained on how to defend a federal building... They've already started with the Wilshire building today, and we will progress from there," he said, adding the Marines moved to the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles last night.
When asked whether the Marines are going to be armed with firearms, he said all military members are mobilized with their assigned weapons.
"They have standard crowd control gear, which includes a helmet, their face shield, a shield, baton and gas mats," he added.
"There have not been any injuries as of today, right now," Sherman said when asked about possible injuries of any uniformed service members.
A US appeals court on Thursday allowed President Donald Trump to maintain his deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles, temporarily pausing a lower court ruling that Trump's actions "were illegal—both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution."
The protests against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown intensified in Los Angeles and spread to more than a dozen US cities, including Dallas, Austin, Houston, and San Antonio.
