National Guard troops were heading back to their home armories on Sunday, June 7, after a week-long mission in the Los Angeles area supporting LAPD and other law officers around the region during massive protests.
It wasn’t clear just how many of the roughly 2,500 troops deployed were heading home, but after days of peaceful, non-threatening demonstrations, many were leaving their assigned post at the L.A. Convention Center early Sunday morning, looking to get back to the home armories, many based within the county.
Guard Capt. Jason Sweeney said he considered it a successful mission.
“I think we worked really well with the LAPD and we enabled them to do law enforcement while we were able to protect the area, its people and the lives and property in different areas and allowed them to make arrests or respond to different incidents,” he said.
The easing of the Guard’s presence appeared to be at the behest of the governor’s office, which ordered the deployment on May 30 at the request of L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti as protests turned violent in L.A.’s Fairfax District and Downtown L.A.
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday sought to end reliance on the Guard, urging cities and counties to ease up on using the volunteer troops and curfews as giant, though peaceful, protests endured in the wake of the death of unarmed black man George Floyd during an arrest in Minnesota.
“We’re still on duty but we’re reducing our footprint in the city of L.A.,” said Sweeney, adding that troops were packing up their Humvees and Light Armored Vehicles to be out by later Sunday. He added, however, that they would still be ready to deploy if called upon.
Most of the troops live or work in the area, he said. They consist of teachers, law enforcement officers and students.
Their presence — donning camouflage uniform, helmets and rifles — has been ubiquitous during days of protests, with a mission to support Los Angeles County law enforcement.
But along the way, they’ve had tense moments, hopeful moments and surreal moments.
In Hollywood last week, they faced thousands of protesters who marched by, railing against racial inequities that protesters say plague American justice.
And for some across the region, the image of soldiers on public streets sparked unnerving feelings, reflective of the tension that marked the early days of the protests sparked by Floyd’s death.
In Long Beach, at least 100 Guard members were deployed, for instance. By Wednesday, 25 National Guard servicemembers were providing security to the Westfield Culver City mall, which had been was a feared target for would-be vandals and thieves. Guard members were still visible at some protests on Saturday, all of which remained quiet.
Each state has its own National Guard. All told, a reported 34,000 had been deployed across the country over the past week.
On Sunday, President Donald Trump tweeted that he ordered the National Guard in the capital to begin withdrawing the city.
“I have just given an order for our National Guard to start the process of withdrawing from Washington, D.C., now that everything is under perfect control,” he tweeted. “They will be going home, but can quickly return, if needed. Far fewer protesters showed up last night than anticipated!”
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Many National Guard troops leaving LA area, mission called a success - LA Daily News
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