Since the beginning of America, there has been a need for the citizen-soldier. More than three and a half centuries ago, the Massachusetts Bay Colony organized and trained what would become the National Guard. On Dec. 13, 1636, the colonists formed a part-time militia to protect the fledgling band of New Worlders from hostile Native American tribes. These militias constituted the primary means by which early communities defended themselves, and historical accounts of the time reported that every capable man between the ages of 16 and 60 was expected to participate. Fast forward 389 years, and, once again, the citizen-soldier is called upon to protect an American community. This time, confronting an enemy from within.
The National Guard Called to Duty Securing LA Streets
When US cities experience out-of-control, violent, chaotic riots, with burning of property and looting that exceeds local law enforcement’s capability, or state and local governments refuse to respond, Americans must be able to count on the federal government to step in. The situation over the weekend (June 7-8) in Los Angeles turned turbulent when rock-throwing gangs assaulted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who were arresting illegal aliens with outstanding deportation warrants or criminal charges. Attacking federal officers is a federal crime.
As Just the News explained, “As Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents executed arrests of illegal migrants across the country, hitting the Los Angeles area intensively the last few days, street protests broke out and eventually developed into rioting.” President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops to assist Los Angeles law enforcement first responders; 300 Guard members were positioned at key locations: Compton, downtown Los Angeles, and Paramount.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass either failed to intervene or elected not to do so when it was clear that local police and sheriff’s officers were overwhelmed. One observer on the ground in downtown LA provided video of one altercation with a mounted police unit, posting on X, “BREAKING POLICE UNIT HIT WITH MASSIVE FIREWORK – MAJOR POLICE PUSH I am on the ground at the LA riots.”
The scene was reminiscent of the destructive conflagration of businesses, public and private property, and deaths of innocent civilians experienced in the summer of 2020, when roving gangs of looters and criminals fire-bombed federal buildings and businesses in Seattle and Minneapolis. In Los Angeles, rioters were throwing pieces of concrete and shooting fireworks at police and ICE officials.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth posted on X:
“The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK. Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE. The @DeptofDefense is mobilizing the National Guard IMMEDIATELY to support federal law enforcement in Los Angeles.”
There was no equivocation by the defense secretary or President Trump: Lawlessness will not be tolerated. The National Guard is the appropriate federal agency to carry out the mission of securing American cities.
US Military Forces Called to Provide Security Before
This is not the first time the National Guard has had to be called to put down violence in Los Angeles. President George H.W. Bush sent federal active-duty soldiers and Marines to assist the California National Guard during the Rodney King riots in 1992. “From 1808 through 1992, federal troops have been called up nearly 20 times, both with and without states’ requests,” Liberty Nation News reported. “In the 1950s and 1960s, Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy federalized National Guard troops and sent active-duty military units like the 101st Airborne Division to preserve black Americans’ civil rights and to put down riot.”
Of course, Newsom objected strongly, as did Bass, calling President Trump “unlawful” for sending the National Guard to keep LA from being set ablaze. This story is not over. Remember, it wasn’t so long ago that the governor and mayor were in the news as thousands of acres in Southern California went up in flames.
The views expressed are those of the author and not of any other affiliate.
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