KQED's Forum Deployment of Marines and National Guard to LA Raises New Authoritarianism Concerns
Jun 12, 2025
Juliette Kayyem, a national security expert and former Department of Homeland Security official, teams up with David Graham, an Atlantic writer covering the Trump administration. They dissect the alarming deployment of Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles, citing it as a sign of growing authoritarianism. The duo explores the legal and civil liberties implications of such military involvement in domestic protests. With echoes of past civil movements, they warn about the dangers of normalizing military force and the urgent need for public scrutiny of government actions.
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Unprecedented Federal Guard Deployment
- The federalization of the National Guard without the governor's consent is unprecedented outside extreme crises like the LA riots and Hurricane Katrina.
- President Trump's deployment was hasty and operationally unsound, confusing coordination and lacking clear legal authority.
Risks of Militarized Policing
- Deploying the active military for domestic law enforcement breaks democratic norms and risks eroding the civilian-military divide.
- This sets a dangerous precedent for militarizing responses to protests and dissent, undermining constitutional protections.
Normalization of Military Response
- Trump's deployment aims to bully states like California, provoke disorder, and normalize military response to protests.
- This could lower thresholds for using military forces in future political or civil unrest situations.