Hundreds of Marines sent to Los Angeles in response to anti-immigration raid protests are set to head home after a little more than a month in the city, according to the Pentagon, ending a controversial domestic deployment of active-duty troops not seen in more than three decades.
Roughly 700 troops with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines — an infantry unit out of Twentynine Palms, California — rapidly left their installation bound for LA early last month after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth put them on a heightened alert status in response to protests in the city.
It was days until a contingent of the infantry unit actually arrived in LA after having to complete a hasty civil disturbance training course at a local Navy base. Earlier this month, those Marines began rotating out with another infantry unit — and now all of them are leaving the city.
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“With stability returning to Los Angeles, the secretary has directed the redeployment of the 700 Marines whose presence sent a clear message: Lawlessness will not be tolerated,” Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said in a statement. “Their rapid response, unwavering discipline, and unmistakable presence were instrumental in restoring order and upholding the rule of law.”
“We’re deeply grateful for their service, and for the strength and professionalism they brought to this mission,” he added.
The Marines’ deployment was fraught with legal concern about sending hundreds of active-duty troops typically untrained in civil disturbance training to a city of millions with the ability to temporarily detain citizens — something that those Marines exercised within hours of entering the city against an Army veteran looking to access the local VA.
Even before they entered the city, the Marines were dogged with misinformation on social media about their arrival and at one point had to shut down their official unit website out of fears over harassment of personnel and phone lines.
Over the last month, video of stone-faced Marines being screamed at by protesters spread across social media amid reports of troops feeling bored and purposeless in the latter days of their deployment.
The Marine Corps has become increasingly entwined with immigration enforcement missions such as the one in LA, and its new domestic responsibilities have been pulling from its operational accounts as it juggles global instability.
For 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, their mobilization to LA came as they were in the midst of a pre-deployment workup to the Pacific, diverting most of their attention to crowd enforcement in the city while they attempted to apply parts of their domestic mission to Pacific preparation.
A defense official told Military.com at the time of their deployment that the Marines were contending with a shortage of civil disturbance tactics trainers and had to requisition gear from other units across the Southern California area.
That unit was eventually replaced earlier this month by Marines from 3rd Battalion, 7th Marines — another infantry unit out of Twentynine Palms, who have now spent only a few weeks in the city.
The news about the Marines departing comes about a week after the Pentagon ended the deployment of roughly half of the 4,000 National Guard troops also sent to LA in response to the protests.
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