Image: from Retired Marine Corps leader concerned about military deployment in LA.
This page is part of a resource collection on Authoritarianism & Bigotry in the Second Trump Administration.
Resources
Cross Cultural Solidarity:
- Trump’s Weaponization of the FBI.
- The Politicization of the U.S. Military Under the Second Trump Administration.
Free DC: A movement led by the people of the District of Columbia to win dignity for our communities and exert our right to self-determination.
- Choose Democracy: 5 things Free DC is teaching us.
- Daniel Hunter: Free DC models effective resistance to Trump’s takeover: Washington, D.C. residents’ rapid response to Trump’s National Guard deployment is a masterclass in how to prepare for crises and fight authoritarianism.
Trump’s Deployment of the Marines and the National Guard to LA: June, 2025
June 6. Tom Bowman & Ximena Bustillo: DHS memo details how National Guard troops will be used for immigration enforcement.
June 8. Justin Jouvenal & Alex Horton: Trump charts new territory in bypassing Newsom to deploy National Guard: Legal experts questioned the president’s response to unrest in Los Angeles, saying he appears to be laying groundwork for more expansive use of the military to suppress dissent.
June 8. Charlie Savage: The Legal Issues Surrounding Trump’s Use of Troops to Suppress Protests: President Trump has long mused about sending the military to crush protests in blue-state cities. He is now using troops in Los Angeles.
June 8. Matthew Sheffield: Donald Trump’s ‘state of exception’ cracks down on California: Nazi legal theorist Carl Schmitt provided the gameplan that Trump and Vance are following.
June 9. Tom Bowman: Trump mobilizes Marines and more National Guard troops for duty in LA.
June 9. A Martínez: Why Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to LA is unprecedented, according to a general.
June 9. Leila Fadel: Trump using National Guard in LA is an ‘abuse of power,’ says national security expert.
June 9. Kat Lonsdorf: What Trump’s national emergencies could mean for American democracy.
June 10. Malcolm Ferguson: Stephen Miller Behind Draconian Orders That Set Off L.A. Protests: Miller reportedly engineered the raids that sparked the protests that have engulfed the city in recent days—likely because he wanted a pretext to send in federal troops.
June 11. The Washington Post: Trump White House opens door to historic military deployment on U.S. soil: The administration’s message coincides with a rise in bellicose language from President Trump.
June 11. Drew F. Lawrence & Konstantin Toropin: Marines Authorized to Temporarily Detain Protesters in LA, Raising Legal Concerns.
September 2. Larry Kaplow: Judge rules against National Guard in LA, and Trump vows to send them to Chicago.
September 4. Dani Anguiano: Trump’s LA national guard deployment cost taxpayers $120m, Newsom says.
Trump’s Takeover of DC Police & Deployment of the National Guard: August, 2025
August 11. Michael Birnbaum & Perry Stein: Trump orders federal takeover of D.C. police, deploys National Guard: The mayor calls the actions “unsettling and unprecedented” but says D.C. has little choice but to cooperate.
August 11. Sam Levin: ‘Hyperbolic and false’: Trump’s portrayal of crime in Washington DC has little to do with facts.
August 12. The Washington Post: Inside Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard in D.C.: President Donald Trump long had a playbook for such a move and a week ago had new motivation after a former aide was injured in an attempted carjacking.
August 12. David Smith: National guard arrives in DC as mayors warn of Trump power grab: The US president deployed troops after taking control of DC police, sparking fears of similar moves elsewhere.
August 12. Anand Giridharadas: Trump vs. cities: What the federal takeover of Washington, D.C. reveals.
August 14. Rachel Treisman: Mayors of Democratic cities beyond D.C. decry Trump’s takeover threats.
August 15. Brian Mann: Tensions grow as Trump and Washington, D.C. officials fight over police authority.
August 19. Olivia George & Emma Uber: On Trump’s order, dozens arrested daily in D.C. The details are hidden.
August 19. CNN: Six GOP-led states to send hundreds of National Guard troops to DC as White House escalates police takeover.
August 20. Jamelle Bouie: What Trump Is Really Up to in Washington.
August 21. The Ink: Papers, please: On checkpoints, shows of military force, and the fight for a Free D.C.
September 4. Salvador Rizzo: D.C. judge excoriates Trump policing surge, demands answers from Pirro: At a hearing for a defendant described as mentally ill who was arrested in the surge, Magistrate Judge Zia M. Faruqui said Trump officials had created a “constitutional crisis.”
September 5. Emily Davies & Natalie Allison: How Stephen Miller is running Trump’s effort to take over D.C.
September 10. Kira Lerner: ‘It’s not safe in DC as an immigrant’. Racial profiling surged during Trump’s Washington takeover. The deployment of troops has led to arrests for low-level crime, indiscriminate detention and a rise in racial profiling.
Chicago: October, 2025
September 6. NPR: Trump threatens ‘Apocalypse Now’-style action against Chicago to boost deportations.
October 7. Jonathan V. Last: The Chicago Rubicon and What Comes Next: We aren’t at the worst-case scenario yet. But if you squint, you can see it looming out there, just over the horizon.
October 8. Anna Betts: Trump calls for jailing of Chicago mayor and Illinois governor as national guard arrives in city: President accused Brandon Johnson and JB Pritzker of failing to protect Ice officers as troops deploy to Chicago.
October 8. Leo Sands & Praveena Somasundaram: Texas National Guard troops arrive in Illinois over leaders’ objections: The move comes ahead of a hearing Thursday in an Illinois lawsuit seeking to stop the Trump administration from deploying an outside Guard into the state.
October 13. Monica Torres: Can The National Guard Detain And Arrest You? Here Are Some Surprising Facts.
October 15. Francia Garcia Hernandez: Hundreds Pack ‘Whistlemania’ Events To Fight ICE In Chicago: ‘We Have To Stand Up For One Another.’ Neighbors joined Whistlemania events in seven neighborhoods Tuesday to assemble whistle kits that alert when immigration agents are nearby.
October 16. Geraldo Cadava: The Conflict on the Streets of Chicago: Federal agents have violently arrested hundreds of undocumented immigrants in the city. Pastors, activists, and lawyers are considering how aggressive the response should be.
October 17. Kat Lonsdorf & Ayana Archie: Trump administration asks Supreme Court to allow National Guard deployment in Illinois.
Portland
September 29. Dani Anguiano: Portland braces for deployment of 200 national guard troops to city.
October 1. Robert Mackey: Trump falsely claims that national guard troops are ‘in place’ in Portland.
October 4. The Guardian: Judge blocks Trump administration from deploying national guard to Portland: US district judge agrees with Oregon assertion that deployment would likely inflame rather than calm protests in city.
October 6. Robert Mackey: Republicans post fake image of Oregon protest – using photos of South America.
October 20. The Guardian: US appeals court could reconsider ruling in Trump’s favor on Portland troop deployment: Judge requests ‘vote on whether case should be reheard’ after panel lifted block on Trump’s planned deployment.
Threats to Deploy the National Guard to Other Democratic-Led Cities
August 22. Sara DiNatale: Trump adds San Francisco to list of cities where he wants to send troops.
August 23. Dan Lamothe: Pentagon plans military deployment in Chicago as Trump eyes crackdown.
August 24. Megan Lebowitz: Trump threatens to send the military to Baltimore to ‘clean up’ crime.
September 3. Franco Ordoñez: President Trump floats deploying National Guard troops to New Orleans.
September 13. Reuters and Guardian staff: Leaked plans show Pentagon eyeing Louisiana to deploy national guard.
September 18. Kat Lonsdorf: Trump is deploying the National Guard to Memphis. Experts worry it’s becoming normal.
Creating “specialized Guard units to quell civil disturbances”
August 25. Anne Flaherty: Trump’s plan to create Guard units to quell civil unrest alarms experts: One retired Guard vice chief calls the president’s move ‘extremely disturbing.’
August 25. The New York Times: Trump Orders Major Expansion of National Guard’s Role in Law Enforcement:An executive order released on Monday directs the creation of specialized Guard units to quell civil disturbances in each state and seeks civilian volunteers to assist federal agents in Washington.
August 27. Destinee Adams & Ally Schweitzer: An Army National Guard veteran says Trump’s specialized unit is ‘quite dangerous’.
Other News on the Politicization of the National Guard
July 1. Romy Ellenbogen: Trump Oks using National Guard as immigration judges at Florida detention center.
July 9. Samantha Michaels: Experts Question the Legality of Deploying National Guard Officers as Immigration Judges. Using “military courts to hear civilian cases is the essential component of martial law.”
August 12. Alex Horton & David Ovalle: Pentagon plan would create military ‘reaction force’ for civil unrest: Documents reviewed by The Post detail a prospective National Guard mission that, if adopted, would require hundreds of troops to be ready round-the-clock.
September 4. Obed Manuel & Michel Martin: How Trump could try to deploy troops over states’ objections, according to law expert.
September 7. NPR: What happens when democracies use military force to occupy their own territory?
September 10. Alex Horton: National Guard documents show public ‘fear,’ veterans’ ‘shame’ over D.C. presence: Internal documents reviewed by The Post show how domestic missions rooted in politics risk damaging Americans’ trust in the military.