Americans Hate Trump’s Plan to Unleash Troops on Los Angeles
The soldiers are coming from Twentynine Palms, California, and have been trained in deescalation, crowd control, and self-defense, the Associated Press reported Tuesday. But rules on how the active duty soldiers should engage in force are still being drafted, according to nine anonymous U.S. officials who spoke with the AP.
The troops are experienced in active combat zones, having spent time in Syria and Afghanistan. But sending troops overseas is starkly different from sending them to one of America’s most populous cities. In war zones, soldiers are guided by the rules of engagement, but on American soil they will be guided by standing rules for the use of force, which must be agreed upon by Northern Command.
One U.S. official told the AP that each Marine should receive a card indicating what they can and cannot do. Another U.S. official told the publication that the troops will be armed with “normal service weapons” and will be carrying helmets, shields, and gas masks, but they will not be carrying tear gas.