Congressman and Ex-Soldier Alarmed by Marines Deployed To Los Angeles: ‘Trained To Locate, Close With, and Destroy the Enemy’

Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), a Marine who served in Afghanistan and is currently a reservist, said President Donald Trump has no business deploying Marines to Los Angeles.

Trump ordered 700 Marines deployed to the city and federalized 4,000 National Guardsmen to help quell protests in the city. Protests have been ongoing since Friday following a series of raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. The deployments came despite objections from California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is urging a federal court to order Trump to pull the soldiers. On Wednesday, the LAPD chief said the protests are “nowhere near” requiring military intervention.

Auchincloss joined Wednesday’s AC360, where guest host John Berman asked the lawmaker about the deployments.

“As a Marine, did you ever expect to see active duty members of the military, active duty Marines deployed on U.S. soil in the capacity that they are now?” Berman asked.

“No, John, because in this scenario, as in almost every scenario imaginable, it is unnecessary, it’s illegal, and it’s deeply unfair to these Marines,” Auchincloss replied. “These Marines signed up to sweat and bleed in defense of their country, not to be a political prop for a president who’s sagging in the approval ratings.”

“Can you speak to the type of training Marines typically receive at Twentynine Palms [Marine Corps Base] and how that relates to the new specialized training the unit deployed in Los Angeles is reportedly undergoing?”

Auchincloss responded:

Yes. These Marines are part of 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines. That’s an infantry battalion, John. Not military police. Not logistics. These young men are trained to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy. And they are doing so on the Marine Corps’ premier live fire training facility.

So, what they are training in for years is what’s called Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain. That’s where they use fire and maneuver to cordon off a section of a city, to clear the building out, and then to sequentially clear out, follow-on buildings. They are not trained to treat a population according to the Bill of Rights. They’re trained to treat a population according to the law of armed conflict.

And that’s appropriate and necessary if you’re fighting the People’s Liberation Army in Guam. It’s not appropriate in an American city where there is no quote, unquote, rebellion. There’s a few scattered protests who, yes, of course, should be subject to the rule of law. And the LAPD has made clear they have the resources and training necessary to do that.

Watch above via CNN.

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