Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, head of Task Force 51 overseeing the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles, answered questions from reporters Wednesday about their orders and the rules of engagement.
Sherman said their mission is to support federal agencies, in particular Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and to protect federal agencies, personnel, assets and facilities “in the locations where there have been demonstrations lately.”
He said 2,000 National Guard troops are ready for missions on the ground in Los Angeles. An additional 2,000 troops are mobilizing.
Sherman said some of the National Guard troops have been assigned to strictly protect ICE agents as they do their federal job. The troops’ weapons are not armed with ammunition, rather the bullets are “only on their person.”
If confronted by protesters, Sherman said National Guard troops “do not conduct law enforcement operations, like arrests, or search and seizure. They are strictly used for the protection of federal personnel as they conduct their operations and to protect them to allow them to do their federal mission.”
Sherman said troops are “allowed to temporarily detain and wait for law enforcement to come and arrest them. They do not do any arrests.”
The 700 Marines who have been mobilized are currently undergoing civil disturbance training. Sherman couldn’t give an exact date when they would be on the streets in portions of downtown L.A., but affirmed it would be “soon.” When asked about the Marines’s mission, Sherman said, “they will be doing the same operations.”
