The Periscope

Tag: National Guard

  • Operation Excalibur

    The general testified at length, for example, about a mission, code-named Operation Excalibur, in which federal immigration agents on foot and on horseback marched through MacArthur Park, a Los Angeles landmark in a neighborhood now largely home to immigrant families with low incomes.

    General Sherman said that he had objected when the administration initially wanted to conduct the mission on Father’s Day and to stage troops and military equipment in the middle of the park in a “show of presence.” The placement of troops, he said, seemed to inappropriately involve the military in what appeared to be a risky and low-value operation.

    Only after federal officials planned to reposition the troops outside the park did he recommend approval. But when he expressed his concerns, he said, Gregory Bovino, a Border Patrol chief who is overseeing the federal immigration crackdown in Southern California, questioned his loyalty to the country.

    Judge Says Trump’s Use of Troops in L.A. Is Illegal (New York Times)

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  • A serious violation

    In a scathing opinion delivered today, [federal judge] Breyer said that the administration had acted illegally. Deploying these service members “for the purpose of establishing a military presence there and enforcing federal law,” Breyer wrote, “is a serious violation of the Posse Comitatus Act.”

    The Trump Administration Gets a Serious Scolding (The Atlantic)

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  • “They’re thankful”

    “L.A. wouldn’t be standing today if President Trump hadn’t taken action then. That city would have burned down if left to the devices of the mayor and the governor of that state,” Noem told CBS’ Ed O’Keefe on “Face the Nation.” 

    “So, the citizens who live there, the small business owners in downtown L.A., they’re thankful that President Trump came in with federal law enforcement officers and helped support keeping those streets open, keep their homes and businesses from burning down, and made sure the law and order was restored.”

    Noem says LA ‘would have burned down’ without Trump’s National Guard deployment (Politico)

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  • To make our streets and cities safe again

    The Department of Homeland Security asked Naval Station Great Lakes (a military base outside of Chicago) for “limited support in the form of facilities, infrastructure, and other logistical needs to support DHS operations,” Matt Mogle, spokesperson for the base 35 miles north of Chicago, said Wednesday.

    City leaders said Thursday that the White House hadn’t contacted them about its plans, and a spokesman for the Illinois National Guard said the base hadn’t received requests regarding a Chicago mobilization. 

    DHS did not confirm whether it had asked to use the base. But it said in a statement Thursday that it was working to make “our streets and cities safe again.”

    Trump administration asks military base near Chicago for support on immigration operations (AP)

  • A view from DC

    Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

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  • Combatting crime in DC

    With them, there are now 64 cities that had higher rates of violent crime in 2024 than did D.C. in states whose governors are sending the National Guard to Washington to “combat crime.” Those governors are more worried about the 700,000 residents of D.C., theoretically, than the 1.7 million people in those 64 cities they actually represent.

    https://www.pbump.net/o/more-people-in-ohio-need-protection-from-violent-crime-than-do-people-in-d-c/

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  • Safe and Beautiful

    (c)  The D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force established in Executive Order 14252 of March 27, 2025 (Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful), shall establish an online portal for Americans with law enforcement or other relevant backgrounds and experience to apply to join Federal law enforcement entities to support the policy goals described in Executive Order 14333.  Each law enforcement agency that is a member of the D.C. Safe and Beautiful Task Force, as well as other relevant components of the Department of Justice as the Attorney General determines, shall further, subject to the availability of appropriations and applicable law, immediately create and begin training, manning, hiring, and equipping a specialized unit that is dedicated to ensuring public safety and order in the Nation’s capital that can be deployed whenever the circumstances necessitate, and that could be deployed, subject to applicable law, in other cities where public safety and order has been lost.

    https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/additional-measures-to-address-the-crime-emergency-in-the-district-of-columbia