California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth got into a heated back-and-forth on social media over the explosive anti-ICE protests that have taken over Los Angeles.
The White House deployed 2,000 National Guard troops to arrest protesters as tensions continue to grow Sunday, the third day of protests sparked by a series of immigration raids by ICE agents on Friday.
Hegseth on Saturday threatened to deploy the U.S. military to take control of the protests – much to the ire of Newsom, who said the administration’s threats would “only escalate tensions.”
“If violence continues, active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized — they are on high alert,” Hegseth said on X.
Hegseth’s message seemingly provoked Newsom, who called it “deranged behavior” Saturday.
“The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens,” Newsom wrote, adding, “This is deranged behavior.”
Hegseth fired back at Newsom Sunday morning, writing on X: “Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked.”
He continued: “There is plenty of room for peaceful protest, but ZERO tolerance for attacking federal agents who are doing their job. The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE.”
In a later post, Hegseth shared an image of unruly protesters in front of a burning car, writing,” Another 'mostly peaceful protest' brought to you by @GavinNewsom. DEPORT.”
The former Fox & Friends host then shared a screengrab of a post made by President Donald Trump on his Truth Social platform in which he claimed the National Guard was in Los Angeles working to shut the protests down, before they had actually arrived.
“For those keeping track, Donald Trump's National Guard had not been deployed on the ground when he posted this,” Newsom later jabbed.
The first members of the national guard arrived Sunday morning around 9 a.m. local time in response to the clashes between federal immigration authorities and protesters looking to stop them from carrying out deportations.
Trump said he was deploying 2,000 California National Guard troops to Los Angeles to put an end to the protests, which he called “a form of rebellion.”
The move came despite objections from Newsom. It was the first time in decades, since 1965, that a state’s National Guard had been activated without the governor's request, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
The troops deployed on Sunday were limited to a small area in downtown Los Angeles.
With reporting from the Associated Press.
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