(The Hill) – A U.S. Army general announced on Wednesday that soldiers stationed to maintain security in Los Angeles will have the authority to temporarily detain individuals until police officers arrive to make arrests.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman informed reporters that the deployment of 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard personnel to Los Angeles, in response to the demonstrations opposing the administration’s immigration raids, is intended for detention purposes only, stating they “are strictly there to detain, to wait for law enforcement to come and handle those demonstrators.”
Sherman clarified that the Marines will not be visibly present on city streets on Wednesday, stating they are participating in “civil disturbance training and the standing rules of force training.”
“Well, so really for rules of engagement, we are strictly here to protect federal facilities and to protect federal agencies and their personnel and allow them to do their job,” the general said. “We are strictly there to help them do their job and to protect them.”
The troops, while operating in Los Angeles, will not have live ammunition in their weapons, according to Sherman.
“They are trained to use their weapons, to actually have their weapons to do their personal protection. They’re doing that, but this, this is crowd control. This is stuff that we do not do usually,” said Sherman, the commander of the troops.
The protests in Los Angeles, which have intensified as some protesters have vandalized a federal building and set cars on fire, have cropped up in other cities across the country.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass (D) imposed a curfew that covers 1 square mile, starting at 8 p.m. and ending at 6 a.m., in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday. Over the course of Tuesday, law enforcement in Los Angeles arrested nearly 200 protesters.
“If you do not live or work in downtown L.A., avoid the area. Law enforcement will arrest individuals who break the curfew, and you will be prosecuted,” Bass said during a press conference on Tuesday.
