The president defends his decision on using the military in the city before an audience at Fort Bragg. California officials blame the administration for inflaming tensions.

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has defended the deployment of US Marines to deal with protests in Los Angeles, saying they were needed to help “enforce immigration law in this country”.

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has issued a curfew for downtown Los Angeles because of anti-ICE protests.

By Brad Brooks, Phil Stewart, Idrees Ali and Dietrich Knauth LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -Hundreds of U.S. Marines arrived in the Los Angeles area on Tuesday under orders from President Donald Trump, as the city's mayor declared a curfew for parts of the downtown area and police arrested 197 people in a fifth day of street protests.

Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth, said the Marines are being sent due to increased threats to federal law enforcement officers and federal buildings.

Newsom called the deployments reckless and “disrespectful to our troops” in a post on the social platform X.