Pentagon draws up rules on possible use of force by Marines deployed to
LA protests
[June 10, 2025]
By TARA COPP and LOLITA C. BALDOR
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon was scrambling Monday to establish rules
to guide U.S. Marines who could be faced with the rare and difficult
prospect of using force against citizens on American soil, now that the
Trump administration is deploying active duty troops to the immigration
raid protests in Los Angeles.
U.S. Northern Command said it is sending 700 Marines into the Los
Angeles area to protect federal property and personnel, including
federal immigration agents. The 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines are coming
from Twentynine Palms, California, and will augment about 4,100 National
Guard members already in LA or authorized to be deployed there to
respond to the protests.
The forces have been trained in deescalation, crowd control and standing
rules for the use of force, Northern Command said.
But the use of the active duty forces still raises difficult questions.
The Marines are highly trained in combat and crisis response, with time
in conflict zones like Syria and Afghanistan. But that is starkly
different from the role they will face now: They could potentially be
hit by protesters carrying gas canisters and have to quickly decide how
to respond or face decisions about protecting an immigration enforcement
agent from crowds.
According to a U.S. official, troops will be armed with their normal
service weapons but will not be carrying tear gas. They also will have
protective equipment such as helmets, shields and gas masks.
When troops are overseas, how they can respond to threats is outlined by
the rules of engagement. At home, they are guided by standing rules for
the use of force, which have to be set and agreed to by Northern
Command, and then each Marine should receive a card explaining what they
can and cannot do, another U.S. official said.
For example, warning shots would be prohibited, according to
use-of-force draft documents viewed by The Associated Press. Marines are
directed to deescalate a situation whenever possible but also are
authorized to act in self-defense, the documents say.
The AP reviewed documents and interviewed nine U.S. officials, who spoke
on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet public, about the
guidance being determined for the Marines.
The Pentagon also is working on a memo with clarifying language for the
Marines that will lay out the steps they can take to protect federal
personnel and property. Those guidelines also will include specifics on
the possibility that they could temporarily detain civilians if troops
are under assault or to prevent harm, the first U.S. official said.
Those measures could involve detaining civilians until they can be
turned over to law enforcement.
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U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth salutes during a ceremony at the
US cemetery to commemorate the 81st anniversary of the D-Day
landings, Friday, June 6, 2025 in Colleville-sur-Mer, Normandy. (AP
Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Having the Marines deploy to protect federal buildings allows them to be
used without invoking the Insurrection Act, one U.S. official said.
The Insurrection Act allows the president to direct federal troops to
conduct law enforcement functions in national emergencies. But the use
of that act is extremely rare. Officials said that has not yet been done
in this case and that it's not clear it will be done.
President George H.W. Bush used the Insurrection Act to respond to riots
in Los Angeles in 1992 after the acquittal of white police officers who
were videotaped beating Black motorist Rodney King.
If their role expands if the violence escalates, it is not clear under
what legal authority they would be able to engage, said Elizabeth
Goitein, a senior director of the Liberty and National Security Program
at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law.
“If in fact those Marines are laying hands on civilians, doing searches,
then you have pretty powerful legal concerns,” Goitein said. “No
statutory authority Trump has invoked so far permits this.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tweeted late Saturday that he was
considering deploying the Marines to respond to the unrest after getting
advice earlier in the day from Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff, according to one of the U.S. officials.
Still, the tweet, which was posted to Hegseth's personal X account and
not to his official government account, caught many inside the Pentagon
by surprise. As late as Monday, the military's highest offices were
still considering the potential ramifications.
But the Marine Corps were asking broader questions, too: Do they send
more senior, experienced personnel so as not to put newer, less
experienced troops at risk of potentially making a judgment call on
whether to use force against a civilian?
What's lawful under a domestic deployment — where troops may end up in a
policing role — is governed by the Fourth Amendment in the U.S.
Constitution, which forbids seizure of persons, including temporarily
restraining them, unless it could be considered reasonable under the
circumstances.
Troops under federal authorities are in general prohibited from
conducting law enforcement on U.S. soil under the Posse Comitatus Act.
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