US military can temporarily detain protesters in Los Angeles, commander says
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(LOS ANGELES) — The commander overseeing military operations in Los Angeles said Wednesday that troops deployed to the city can temporarily detain individuals but cannot make arrests, clarifying their authority amid ongoing protests.
“On federal orders, these soldiers do not conduct law enforcement operations like arrests or search and seizure,” Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman told reporters during a morning briefing. “They are strictly used for the protection of federal personnel as they conduct their operations.”
Sherman, who leads Task Force 51 — a deployable command post for routine and contingency operations — is coordinating the deployment of 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to Los Angeles. The deployment marks a significant escalation in the federal response to protests that began after recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations across Los Angeles.
Currently, 2,000 National Guard members are actively performing operations in the city, with an additional 2,000 troops scheduled to complete their mobilization and begin training by Thursday afternoon, Sherman said.
The 700 Marines, deployed from Twentynine Palms, California, are currently undergoing specialized training at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, approximately 30 miles south of downtown Los Angeles. Sherman described the two-day training as “extensive,” focusing on crowd control tactics that are outside their typical duties.
“This is stuff that we do not usually do,” Sherman acknowledged, noting that while the Marines are trained to use weapons for personal protection, their primary role will be crowd control and protecting federal facilities.
About 1,000 Guard members have already participated in operations protecting federal buildings and personnel, according to Sherman. He emphasized that while troops can temporarily detain individuals, they must wait for law enforcement officers to make actual arrests.
The deployment faces legal challenges, with California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Gov. Gavin Newsom filing a lawsuit challenging the federal government’s authority to deploy troops without state coordination. The lawsuit argues that the deployment violates state sovereignty and the 10th Amendment of the Constitution.
President Donald Trump accused Newsom of not protecting ICE officers “in a timely manner” and said the officers were “attacked by an out of control mob of agitators, troublemakers, and/or insurrectionists.”
When asked about the legal challenge, Sherman responded, “That’s beyond my scope. I’m here to run operations.”
Sherman stressed that the military’s mission is specifically focused on protecting federal agencies, their personnel, and facilities in areas where demonstrations have occurred. “We are strictly there to help them do their job and to protect them,” he said.
(GALENA PARK, Texas) — A 9-year-old girl has died in after she was intentionally left alone in a hot car while her mom was at work, according to Harris County, Texas, Sheriff Ed Gonzalez.
The girl’s 36-year-old mother left the child unattended in a white Toyota Camry on Tuesday from approximately 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. while she worked at a manufacturing plant in Galena Park, Texas, near Houston, the sheriff’s office said during a press conference.
The mother left the child with some water, partially rolled down the windows of the vehicle and then “proceeded to go to work for the day,” officials said.
“There’s never an excuse to leave a child unattended,” Gonzalez said during the press conference.
Upon returning to the vehicle later in the afternoon when her shift ended, the mother found her daughter unresponsive. Law enforcement was contacted at approximately 2:06 p.m. and detained the mother, officials said. Temperatures in the Houston area reached around 93 degrees Fahrenheit on Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service.
The child was transported to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead, officials said.
Detectives continue to speak with the mother to gain more insight on why the child was kept in the car and the exact timeline of how long she was alone in the vehicle, the sheriff said. Officials are also waiting to receive the child’s autopsy results before deciding whether to press any charges.
Gonzalez said the incident, “which could have been prevented,” is a “unique” situation, since most hot car deaths are typically an accident.
“Maybe she has to make ends meet and keep food on the table and work. But the risk of death or harm — there’s just no reconciling that in my mind. You got to make other arrangements. It’s not worth it to put a child at risk like this, for any particular reason,” Gonzalez said.
He went on to say that nothing at this point shows that the mother “thought this would be the outcome.”
This tragedy marks the third hot car death to occur in Texas in the last four days and at least the 13th child to die in a hot car nationwide this year, according to Kids and Car Safety, an organization focused on “saving the lives of children and pets in and around vehicles.”
(NEW YORK) — Hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs has been found guilty of two of the five charges he faced in his racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking trial.
On count one of the five-count indictment – racketeering conspiracy – the jury found Combs not guilty.
On count two – sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, pertaining to Cassie Ventura – the jury found Combs not guilty.
On count three – transportation to engage in prostitution, also pertaining to Ventura – the jury found Combs guilty.
On count four – sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion, pertaining to the woman identified by the pseudonym “Jane” – the jury found Combs not guilty.
On count five of the indictment – transportation to engage in prostitution, also pertaining to “Jane” – the jury found Combs guilty.
Combs faces a maximum prison sentence of 10 years for each count of transportation to engage in prostitution.
Following six weeks of testimony presided over by U.S. District Court Judge Arun Subramanian that saw the prosecution present 34 witnesses and the defense present none, the jury of eight men and four women deliberated just over two days days before reaching their verdicts.
Subramanian said he will decide whether Combs get released today. He said that the decision might take some time – including giving the lawyers time to write letters arguing for and against release – but that it will happen sometime today. Prosecutors asked for a “few hours.”
Comey said the government plans to pursue “significant incarceration” for Combs.
Court is adjourned for now.
Combs got down from his chair and knelt on the floor after the verdicts were read, appearing to pray while some of his attorneys embraced. Marshalls then escorted Combs out of the courtroom while some spectators in the gallery cheered and applauded.
Combs was initially indicted in September 2024 on charges of racketeering, sex trafficking by force and transportation to engage in prostitution. A superseding indictment in March 2025 included additional allegations of forced labor under the racketeering conspiracy count, while another superseding indictment the following month added an additional charge of sex trafficking and one of transportation to engage in prostitution
Federal prosecutors accused Combs of using his many businesses, and the people he employed to run them, to conduct a criminal enterprise to illegally coerce women into sex and conceal his alleged illicit conduct to protect his reputation. The alleged activities included “sex trafficking, forced labor, interstate transportation for purposes of prostitution, coercion and enticement to engage in prostitution, narcotics offenses, kidnapping, arson, bribery, and obstruction of justice,” according to the indictment.
In addition to the racketeering charge, the indictment also included two separate counts each of sex trafficking by force, fraud or coercion and transportation to engage in prostitution, both involving two alleged victims.
Combs’ attorneys countered that Combs may well be a violent man – one who indulges in unconventional sexual conduct, abused illegal drugs and committed domestic violence – but he wasn’t part of a broader criminal organization.
“This case is about those real-life relationships, and the government is trying to turn those relationships into a racketeering case,” Combs’ attorney, Teny Geragos, told jurors in her opening statement. “The evidence is going to show you a very flawed individual, but it will not show you a racketeer, a sex trafficker, or somebody transporting for prostitution.”
The prosecution called 34 witnesses over six weeks of testimony, beginning with Combs’ former girlfriend Cassie Ventura, whom Combs was seen physically assaulting in a widely circulated hotel surveillance video from 2016. Other witnesses included two alleged Combs victims who testified under the pseudonyms “Mia” and “Jane,” as well as two male escorts to testified that they were paid to participate in so-called “freak-off” sexual encounters with Combs, Ventura and other alleged victims. The jury also heard from witnesses to alleged abuse and sexual acts, and a forensic psychologist who testified regarding why people often remain in abusive relationships.
One of the most high-profile prosecution witnesses was Scott Mescudi, aka rapper Kid Cudi, who testified that he was told Combs allegedly broke into his home and had someone set his car on fire after learning that he was dating Cassie Ventura. Combs previously denied any involvement in the car fire.
The defense, which twice during testimony unsuccessfully asked the judge to declare a mistrial, called no witnesses before resting their case on June 24, just two hours after the prosecution rested theirs, electing only to read additional evidence into the court record. Combs told the court at that time that he did not wish to take the stand in his own defense.
Federal prosecutors the following day told Judge Arun Subramanian that they were no longer including attempted kidnapping and attempted arson as underlying crimes in the alleged racketeering conspiracy charge against Combs. Instead, prosecutors signaled that they would push sex trafficking and forced labor as primary predicate acts that the jury could find to convict Combs of racketeering conspiracy.
Defense attorneys had argued that no evidence was presented directly tying Combs to the arson that damaged rapper Kid Cudi’s vehicle. Defense attorneys also argued that the alleged kidnapping of Combs’ former employee, Capricorn Clark, by Combs to confront Kid Cudi was far removed from the heart of the case. Federal prosecutors did not elaborate on their decision in their letter to the judge.
The prosecution delivered a nearly five-hour-long closing argument on Thursday, June 26, summarizing 28 days of testimony and evidence. The defense spent four hours the next day presenting their summation, followed by the prosecution rebuttal. Deliberations began on Monday, June 30 after Judge Arun Subramanian gave the jury their instructions.
On Tuesday, the jury told the court that they’d reached a verdict on four of the five five counts with which Combs was charged, they were unable to reach a verdict on the first count — racketeering conspiracy — prompting the judge to instruct them to continue deliberations.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
(WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump and his administration officials warned that the use of the military in response to protests against his immigration crackdown may not be limited to just Los Angeles, saying it could be the first “of many” — and that protesters could be met with “equal or greater force.”
Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday that his administration was going to enforce its deportation policy strictly and that it would not tolerate violent protests against ICE officers.
“This is the first, perhaps, of many,” Trump said of the deployment of 4,000 National Guardsmen and 700 Marines to Los Angeles as demonstrators clash with law enforcement amid the protests.
Demonstrators have clashed with law enforcement sporadically for days, and Trump called in the National Guard, against Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes, in an attempt to quell the violence and allow immigration enforcement to continue.
“You know, if we didn’t attack this one very strongly, you’d have them all over the country, but I can inform the rest of the country, that when they do it, if they do it, they’re going to be met with equal or greater force,” Trump continued.
The president’s threats come as California’s leaders and 22 Democratic governors decry Trump’s show of force as a breach of the state’s sovereignty and a provocative escalation.
Trump’s words were echoed in testimony given by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a congressional hearing on Capitol Hill earlier in the day.
“So in Los Angeles, we believe that ICE, which is a federal law enforcement agency, has the right to safely conduct operations in any state, in any jurisdiction in the country,” Hegseth said. “ICE agents should be allowed to be safe and doing their operations, and we have deployed National Guard and the Marines to protect them in the execution of their duties, because we ought to be able to enforce … immigration law in this country.”
The president suggested he is open to invoking the Insurrection Act in response to the protests. The act authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the United States to suppress rebellion or violence.
The National Guard and Marines, under Trump’s current authorization, are not allowed to act in a law enforcement capacity because of the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act.
“There were areas of Los Angeles last night where you could call it an insurrection,” Trump said.
Trump repeated claims, without evidence, that the protesters are “paid insurrectionists.” He decried some protesters who were damaging streets and targeting members of the National Guard.
Despite claims from Trump that there were fires and “bad scenes” on Monday night, there wasn’t anything all that violent. ABC News observed police moved protesters using skirmish lines and less lethal rounds around the city for a few hours, but there was no widespread violence compared to the weekend.
And although Trump claimed that Los Angeles was “under siege,” the incidents had been confined on Sunday and Monday to a relatively small area of downtown Los Angeles — about a 10-block area.
So far, the National Guard’s presence and role in handling the protests appears to have been minimal.
ABC News observed National Guard troops standing outside of a federal building and the Los Angeles Police Department and other local agencies clearing the streets and interacting with protesters.
The administration has not immediately provided details about the guardsman’s actions from Monday.
Congressional Republicans — including House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune — backed the president’s use of the military in the situation.
“Clearly, the local officials there, for whatever reason, didn’t seem up to the task of getting the job done there,” Thune told reporters Tuesday.
Although Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said “violence in the riots is outrageous,” he called Trump’s order to send in troops “provocative” and “dangerous.”
“It really threatens the bedrock of our democracy,” the New York Democrat said.
Trump said the National Guard will be in the Los Angeles area “until there’s no danger,” declining to put a timetable on ending the deployment.
“It’s easy. Look, it’s common sense. … When there’s no danger, they’ll leave,” he said.
ABC News’ Alex Stone, Lalee Ibssa, Isabella Murray and Kelsey Walsh and contributed to this report.
