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Last Updated on June 23, 2025.

Washington – Win Without War Executive Director Sara Haghdoosti made the following statement in response to President Trump’s decision to mobilize the National Guard and threat to deploy Marines in response to protests in Los Angeles County:

“President Trump is reaching for every gun, baton, and boot he can get his hands on to crush any dissent against his racist mass deportation campaign. Events in Los Angeles and the surrounding area are not just an assault on communities resisting ICE’s terrorizing raids, they are an assault on the basic constitutional rights of everyone in the United States. 

“Sending the National Guard into Los Angeles County without the express approval of state and local authorities is a brazen abuse of power that politicizes our military, erodes public trust.

“On top of this wild abuse of power, the Trump administration’s threat to mobilize active duty Marines and other members of the regular Armed Forces is a massive escalation toward authoritarian rule, and all the more chilling for its obvious illegality. At his confirmation hearing, Defense Secretary Hegseth refused to answer questions about whether he’d carry out orders to fire on protesters. Now, with 500 Marines on alert to be put in a position to do just that, we’re getting dangerously close to having our answer.

“Trump’s order makes clear that his goal of using the military to crush protests is not limited to southern California. Whatever his flimsy excuse to deploy troops to Los Angeles this weekend, his broader goal is to pit the military against protesters wherever they oppose his hateful policies. That kind of authoritarian misuse of the military will never be acceptable.”

June 9, 2025