US defence secretary once refused to rule out opening fire on protestors as 700 Marines deployed to LA

The US defence secretary previously refused to rule out firing live rounds at protestors as a fourth day of protests and unrest continued in Los Angeles, California.

Protests against immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in LA entered their fourth day yesterday, with the White House ramping up its already heavy-handed approach.

Just one day after 2,000 National Guard troops arrived in the city as part of an unprecedented move from US president Donald Trump that directly went against the wishes of the California governor Gavin Newsom, Trump has now ordered that a further 2,000 National Guard be deployed, along with 700 Marines from Twentynine Palms in the interim.

Trump’s decision to include US military troops for domestic policing has been labelled as “inflammatory”, with many believing it will have the opposite effect on diffusing tensions at the LA protests.

“We are suing Donald Trump,” Newsom wrote on X/Twitter on Monday (9 June). “This is a manufactured crisis. He is creating fear and terror to take over a state militia and violate the U.S. constitution.”

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Rubber bullets have been used against protestors, and footage of an Australian reporter went viral after she was shot in the leg with a rubber bullet on live television.

The situation has served as a reminder that the US defence secretary, Pete Hegseth, previously refused to rule out shooting at protestors if Trump ordered it.

People were reminded of Hegseth’s January confirmation hearing, during which he was specifically asked if would have heeded Trump’s 2020 inquiry about shooting protesters, which he actually made to then-Secretary Mark Esper during the Black Lives Matter protests.

Hegseth dodged the question, instead saying: “I was in the Washington, D.C. National Guard unit that was in Lafayette Square during those events holding a riot shield on behalf of my country. I saw 50 Secret Service agents get injured by rioters trying to jump over the fences, set the church on fire and destroy a statue.”

A minute later, he cited Trump’s leadership for the reason he would not directly answer the question.

“One of the things that President Trump is so good at is never strategically tipping his hand, and so I would never, in this public forum, give one way or another what orders the president gives to me in any context.”

Why not read…

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Governor of California Gavin Newsom calls Trump a 'stone cold liar'

LA protester says tear gas 'tasted like fascism' in viral clip

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