Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to direct military forces sent to the Los Angeles protests to arrest civilians — a request that would exceed authorities invoked by President Trump when he deployed the National Guard.
In a letter sent Sunday, obtained first by the San Francisco Chronicle and whose contents were confirmed to CBS News, Noem wrote to the defense secretary and asked him to give “Direction to DoD forces to either detain, just as they would at any federal facility guarded by military, lawbreakers under Title 18 until they can be arrested and processed by federal law enforcement, or arrest them.”
Under Title 18, defense personnel are generally prohibited from direct law enforcement activities, including arrests of civilians, but they may detain individuals temporarily to protect federal property or personnel under “exigent circumstances.” Historically, the civil-military boundary and constitutional protections limit arrest authority to authorized federal law enforcement officers. Under the federal law known as Posse Comitatus, the U.S. military is prohibited from enforcing domestic laws, unless explicitly authorized by Congress. Unless Mr. Trump invokes the Insurrection Act — and he has not done so — there is no exception to Posse Comitatus.
Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant DHS secretary, indicated that Noem had sent the letter before the president deployed the Guard troops. She confirmed that Noem had written the letter but said in a statement that it “was sent days ago, prior to the Secretary of Homeland Security and Secretary of Defense meeting with the President.”
Mr. Trump, Hegseth and Noem met Monday at the White House “to go over the situation on the ground,” according to three sources familiar with the meeting.
On Monday, Hegseth activated about 700 active-duty Marines to join the 2,100 National Guard troops deployed in Los Angeles, Paramount and Compton, California. But he “did not take any action on Noem’s letter,” one of the sources said.
The president on Saturday had directed the National Guard to protect federal immigration officials, federal law enforcement and federal buildings in L.A., amid immigration enforcement action and protests. Mr. Trump said Guard personnel would be in the area for 60 days, or at the defense secretary’s discretion.
Thousands of protesters demonstrated Sunday, blocking a major freeway and setting self-driving cars on fire as law enforcement used tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bangs to control the crowd. On Monday, according to the Associated Press, protests were mostly peaceful.
What the president has said publicly and what his memo lays out is that National Guard and Marines deployed have the authority to protect federal personnel and federal property, or to “defend the federal mission.”
These military and Guard do not have the authority to conduct police activities or arrest anyone under Title 10, but they do have the authority to secure an area.
If a rioter starts vandalizing property or attacks a federal agent, a Guard troop or Marine “can hold a rioter until police come to arrest them,” according to one official.
On Capitol Hill Tuesday, the commandant of the Marine Corps, Gen. Eric Smith, reiterated to lawmakers that the Marines sent to LA “don’t have arrest authority — they’re there to protect federal property and federal personnel.”
The National Guard routinely works in tandem with ICE along the southern border and in other parts of the country. Officials in Los Angeles have pointed to no incidents so far in Southern California that would suggest these rules of engagement aren’t being followed.
