Trump’s Shock Troops: How the National Guard May Become His Domestic Army
From Selma to South Central to Today: When the National Guard Is Sent to Silence, Not Serve
Editor’s note: This is a rapidly developing story, and details are emerging in real-time. Tune in to reputable news sources for updates. Last update in this article: 6/7 10:20 pm EST.
First came the raids. Then came the resistance. Now, there are boots on the ground. What began as a protest against ICE operations in Los Angeles has escalated into a full-blown confrontation between federal force and grassroots power. With National Guard troops mobilized and the White House framing civil disobedience as "insurrection," the question is no longer just about immigration policy; it’s about the survival of dissent itself.
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Trump’s Shock Troops in L.A.: A Blueprint for the Nation
They didn’t come with tanks—yet. But make no mistake: when National Guard troops roll into Los Angeles in response to peaceful protests, something deeper than crowd control is underway. It’s not just about immigration raids or unrest. It’s a test. A test of whether a president—twice impeached, now twice empowered—can use the machinery of the military to silence dissent, override state authority, and frame resistance as rebellion.
On Friday, a few hundred Californians gathered in downtown L.A. to protest Trump’s latest ICE raids. By Saturday, the crowd had tripled. Marches formed across the city, from Paramount to Boyle Heights, uniting under a single banner: "No more roundups. No more fear." They brought signs. They brought chants. They brought cameras.
And in response, Trump sent troops.
California’s National Guard is now on alert, with at least 2,000 members mobilized, ostensibly to “support law enforcement.” However, the timing, tone, and tactics make it clear: this isn’t a neutral deployment. It’s a message. A president is sending armed troops into a state whose leaders won’t bend to him.
But what triggered this sudden deployment? And what really happened in the streets before the Guard rolled in?
From Protest to Provocation: How the Federal Response Fueled the Fire
The story they’re telling is simple: protesters got violent, so troops were needed. But the facts are messier and more revealing. Yes, there were incidents: chunks of concrete were hurled, a few vehicles were vandalized, and a brief surge of chaos occurred near the federal building on Friday night. But the context matters.
This wasn’t Portland 2020, and it wasn’t a riot zone. For most of the day, demonstrators marched peacefully, chanting, holding banners, and standing vigil outside ICE staging areas and federal buildings. Then the feds moved in. ICE agents stormed homes at dawn. Arrests climbed. Tear gas rolled out. Flash-bangs detonated on residential blocks. And suddenly, the story became about violence, not immigration raids, not constitutional rights.
By Saturday, the crowds swelled to over a thousand. That’s not a retreat. That’s resistance. Protesters in Paramount and Boyle Heights blocked ICE transport vehicles with bodies, grocery carts, and ladders. Federal ICE agents responded with riot gear, rubber bullets, and more tear gas. In that moment, protest became confrontation, not because the people declared war, but because the state treated them like enemies.
To the Trump administration, this is an “insurrection.” To anyone watching with clarity, it looks more like a feedback loop of escalation, repression, and spin, with federal power expanding under the cover of “order."
To understand the true danger of this situation, it is essential to examine its historical context and what makes this moment distinct.
A Dangerous Precedent: When the National Guard Becomes a Presidential Weapon
This isn’t the first time a president has taken control of a state’s National Guard, but it’s one of the few times it’s being done not to protect civil rights, but to suppress them.
In 1957, President Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne and federalized the Arkansas National Guard to enforce school desegregation in Little Rock, defying a segregationist governor. In 1965, Johnson used the Guard to protect Selma marchers. Even in 1992, George H.W. Bush took control of the California National Guard to stop riots after the Rodney King verdict.
But this is different.
Trump isn’t sending troops to restore justice or protect the vulnerable. He’s sending them to assert dominance over a state government that won’t fall in line. He’s weaponizing the Insurrection Act, a law intended for crises where federal law is obstructed, to crush political dissent and frame protest as treason.
Under normal conditions, the California National Guard answers to Governor Gavin Newsom under Title 32 of the U.S. Code. But if Trump invokes Title 10 and the Insurrection Act, command shifts to the Pentagon and the White House. At that point, the governor is cut out, and California’s military force becomes a federal tool.
It’s not hypothetical. Trump has already done this dance. In 2020, he threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act against BLM protesters. This time, he’s surrounded by even more militant advisors and facing fewer legal guardrails.
If he federalizes the Guard now, during a localized protest in a blue state, it sets a chilling precedent: protest becomes rebellion, and rebellion justifies occupation.
And in that resistance lies the answer to a bigger question, one that goes far beyond L.A.
“They Came Into Our Neighborhood Like We Were Criminals”: The People on the Front Line
You won’t hear their voices in the White House press briefings. You won’t see their faces in sanitized official footage. But in the streets of L.A.—from Paramount to Boyle Heights to the federal building downtown—they are the ones holding the line. Parents. Students. Immigrants. Neighbors. Angelenos.
“They came into our neighborhood like we were criminals,” said Rosa Mendoza, a 28-year-old DACA recipient whose uncle was taken in an early-morning ICE raid. “We were out there with signs and water bottles. They showed up in riot gear.”
She wasn’t alone. A street medic treating protesters hit by rubber bullets told reporters: “This wasn’t crowd control. It was intimidation. You could feel it—like they wanted us to fight back just so they could go harder.”
Footage from the protests shows protesters kneeling with their hands up as clouds of tear gas spread. One child can be seen clutching a sign that reads “My dad isn’t illegal” as a line of Guard troops forms behind her.
And yet, they came back the next day, and their numbers grew.
For all the talk of violence, what’s remarkable is how peaceful resistance has persisted in the face of militarized escalation. Protesters returned Saturday morning with chants, art, and music. Some wore protective gear. Others brought food and first aid supplies. What they didn’t bring—despite every provocation—was surrender.
“We’re not going home,” said Daniel Kim, a local high school teacher marching with his students. “Because if we do, this becomes the new normal.”
They know the stakes. They know what it means to stand between ICE and their communities. And now, they know what it means to stand between a president and unchecked power.
This Isn’t a Flashpoint: It’s a Blueprint
What’s happening in Los Angeles isn’t an outburst. It’s a test. A test of how far this administration can push. A test of whether protest can be recast as insurrection. A test of whether a president can seize military control of a blue state without consequence.
If it works here, it will happen again. In Austin. In Atlanta. In Madison. Wherever people resist. Wherever governors push back. Wherever civil society refuses to be cowed into silence.
This is not about safety. It’s about submission. It’s not about riot control. It’s about control, period.
Trump and his allies know exactly what they’re doing. They want this footage. They want confrontation. They want to frighten the next crowd into staying home. They aim to normalize the use of the National Guard as a partisan enforcement tool, rather than a public force of protection.
And that’s exactly why people keep showing up.
If you’ve ever wondered what you would have done in moments when history turned, you’re in that moment now. The question isn’t whether the Guard is coming. It’s whether we’ll be ready when they do.
What You Can Do Right Now
Call Congress
Demand that your senators and representatives speak out publicly against the use of military force on American soil without state consent. Urge oversight of DHS and ICE operations.
📍 Capitol Switchboard: (202) 224-3121Support Local Organizers
Donate to the frontline organizations defending immigrant families and supporting arrested protesters:Join or Organize Protests
Peaceful resistance is powerful. Show up. Share footage. Stand with those risking everything to defend their communities. Know your rights and resist the urge to respond to provocation.Stay Informed
Follow real-time updates from local reporters, legal observers, and verified community orgs. Don’t let disinformation win by silence.
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Bibliography:
Aleaziz, Hamed. “Trump deploys National Guard as Los Angeles protests against immigration agents continue.” Reuters, June 7, 2025.
“Trump deploying California National Guard over governor’s objections to LA to quell protests.” AP News, June 7, 2025.
Gerstein, Josh. “Los Angeles Democrats Clash with Trump Administration amid ICE Crackdown.” Politico, June 7, 2025.
“National Guard to Mobilize amid L.A. Protests, Trump’s Border Czar Says.” Washington Post, June 6, 2025.
“2025 Los Angeles Immigration Protests.” Wikipedia, last modified June 7, 2025. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_Los_Angeles_Immigration_Protests
Technically, without permission from the governor, Trump cannot commandeer the NG. Newsome should order his troops to stand down, or to stand with California against federal storm troops.
Thank you for clarifying that force is/was being used against peaceful protestors. I keep reading reminders that we need to remain peaceful and not engage physically but what’s not being said enough is that peaceful protesters-resistors are being assaulted as part of these ICE raids anyways! Stay safe and stand your ground and record what you can. The tide will turn eventually and justice will prevail.