Pentagon says deploying Marines and National Guard to protests in LA will cost $134 million

LOS ANGELES – Marines and additional National Guard troops headed to Los Angeles on Tuesday, sent in by President Donald Trump in response to protests over immigration raids despite the objections of the governor and local leaders.

The authorization came amid mostly peaceful protests in country’s second-largest city on Monday.

California officials sued Trump on Monday in an attempt to roll back his National Guard deployment, saying the president trampled on the state’s sovereignty. Local officials and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom don’t want the military deployed in the city, and the police chief said it creates logistical challenges for safely handling protests.

The 2,000 Guard members authorized Monday were in addition to the 2,100 the president mobilized for the protests Sunday. Trump has also deployed 700 Marines to help them, which the Pentagon said Tuesday will cost taxpayers $134 million.

Trump said in a social media post that the city would have been “completely obliterated” if he hadn’t sent Guard members.

This appears to be the first time in decades that a state’s National Guard was activated without a request from its governor.