Trump deploys Marines as tensions rise over Los Angeles protests

President Donald Trump ordered active-duty US Marines and 2,000 more National Guard troops into Los Angeles on Monday, vowing those protesting immigration arrests would be "hit harder" than ever.

The extraordinary mobilisation of 700 full-time professional military personnel -- and thousands of National Guard troops -- looked likely to stoke tensions in a city with a huge Latino population.

California Governor Gavin Newsom slammed the move as "deranged."

"US Marines have served honourably across multiple wars in defense of democracy," Newsom posted on X.

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"They shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfil the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American."

The deployment came after demonstrators took over streets in Downtown LA on Sunday, torching cars and looting stores in ugly scenes that saw law enforcement responding with tear gas and rubber bullets.

The people "causing the problems are professional agitators and insurrectionists," Trump told reporters in Washington.

On social media, he said protesters spat at troops and if they continued to do so, "I promise you they will be hit harder than they have ever been hit before. Such disrespect will not be tolerated!"

One small business owner whose property was graffitied was supportive of the strong-arm tactics.

"I think it's needed to stop the vandalism," she told AFP, declining to give her name.

"Everybody has the right to protest, but do it the right way. Don't vandalise or hurt your own town because you're hurting people who are trying to make a living."

Others were horrified.

"They're meant to be protecting us, but instead, they're like, being sent to attack us," Kelly Diemer, 47, told AFP. "This is not a democracy anymore."

'Go home!'

A fourth day of protest triggered by dozens of arrests of what authorities said were illegal migrants and gang members unfolded peacefully Monday.

"Pigs go home!" demonstrators shouted at National Guardsmen outside a federal detention centre. Others banged on the sides of unmarked vehicles as they passed through police containment lines.

A scuffle broke out in the crowd, with one man other protesters said was a Trump supporter, being expelled.

"He was basically aggravating people trying to start a fight, which kind of worked. Then everyone started chasing him away," an 18-year-old woman told AFP, declining to give her name.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said local authorities were able to control the city.

"(We) have decades of experience managing large-scale public demonstrations, and we remain confident in our ability to be able to do so professionally and effectively," he told reporters.

"The introduction of federal military personnel without direct coordination creates logistical challenges and risks confusion during critical incidents."

Despite isolated and eye-catching acts of violence, which included the torching of several Waymo cars on Sunday, officials and local law enforcement stressed the majority of protesters over the weekend had been peaceful.

Schools across Los Angeles were operating normally on Monday, while the rhythms of life in the sprawling city appeared largely unchanged.

Mayor Karen Bass said in contrast to Trump's rhetoric, "This is isolated to a few streets. This is not citywide civil unrest."

At least 56 people were arrested over two days and five officers suffered minor injuries, Los Angeles Police Department officials said, while about 60 people were arrested in protests in San Francisco.

Trump's use of the military -- which he repeatedly threatened to do while campaigning for the White House -- marked a significant break from modern American political practice.

The National Guard has not been deployed over the head of a state governor since 1965, at the height of the civil rights movement.

US law largely prevents the use of the military as a policing force on home soil, absent an insurrection.

The Pentagon said late Monday that Trump had authorised an extra 2,000 Guardsmen.

There were questions over how well prepared the National Guard had been for its sudden deployment, with pictures obtained by the San Francisco Chronicle appearing to show Guardsmen sleeping on the floor of what the paper said was a federal building.

"No federal funding available for food, water, fuel and lodging," the source of the photos told the paper.

"This is really the failure of the federal government. If you're going to federalise these troops, then take care of them."