While Ice Cracked Down On L.a. Protests, Marines Were Told To Use Force As ‘last Resort’

WASHINGTON — Before being deployed to Los Angeles during anti-ICE protests past summer, U.S. Marines were fixed 12 rules for engaging pinch protesters, and Rule 1 was clear: Force “of immoderate kind” was allowed only arsenic a past resort.

If unit were used, nan norm stated, it “should beryllium nan minimum basal to execute nan mission.”

That item is among 178 pages of national documents released by nan Marine Corps to nan nonprofit watchdog group American Oversight done nan Freedom of Information Act and shared exclusively pinch The Times.

The documents overgarment a thorough image of really Marines prepared to deploy successful Southern California, wherever they stood alongside National Guard members and agents pinch nan Department of Homeland Security.

The documents besides illuminate a glaring opposition betwixt nan training of Marines and that of migration agents, who person been accused many times of utilizing unnecessary unit against serene protesters, bystanders and immigrants during enforcement operations.

“Ironically, I would’ve felt overmuch safer pinch Marine engagement than pinch DHS because of nan extent of training,” said Ryan Schwank, a erstwhile coach for Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruits astatine nan ICE Academy wrong nan Federal Law Enforcement Training Center successful Georgia.

Schwank is simply a whistleblower who resigned successful February aft revealing that nan Trump management had slashed migration serviceman training. After reviewing nan documents obtained by American Oversight, he said nan training fixed to Marines connected crowd power was “significantly much in-depth and longer than training fixed to an ICE officer, moreover nether nan champion of circumstances.”

An ICE supplier walks done tear state that was fired to push protesters backmost during a ambush connected Atlantic Boulevard successful nan metropolis of Bell connected June 20, 2025.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to questions and alternatively pointed to a February news release that said training has not been trim backmost and that caller hires person further training aft leaving nan academy.

“ICE rule enforcement officers are trained to usage nan minimum magnitude of unit basal to resoluteness vulnerable situations to prioritize nan information of nan nationalist and our officers,” said Lauren Bis, a section spokesperson. “Officers are highly trained successful de-escalation strategies and regularly person ongoing usage of unit training.”

Schwank noted that nan Marines and ICE officers came to Southern California pinch different objectives: As protectors of group and property, nan Marines had a much limited, reactive mission, while ICE officers were charged pinch making arrests, a confrontational role.

“We’re giving [ICE officers] little training connected it and less refreshers than nan Marines are getting and yet we’re putting them successful a business wherever they’re taking nan much confrontational actions to wherever they’re much apt to person to make split-second decisions,” Schwank said.

For astir of history, he added, ICE agents detained group who were already successful nan custody of different rule enforcement agency. He said ICE was ne'er meant to enactment arsenic riot police.

“The existent basal problem isn’t ICE agents utilizing force,” Schwank said. “It’s ICE agents utilizing unit successful an situation they are not trained for.”

The training of Marines, and nan lead-up to their deployment, is outlined successful nan documents reviewed by The Times.

On June 6, a commanding wide emailed different generals to opportunity that “national-level leadership” had directed Marines to presume an “alert posture” and beryllium fresh to support nan Los Angeles Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and ICE officers who were already responding to civilian unrest successful downtown Los Angeles.

The Marines would safeguard national accommodation and frankincense “protect lives and spot done nan restoration of civilian order,” nan email said.

The Trump management directed 4,200 California National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines to Southern California starting June 7.

Marines push backmost anti-ICE protesters successful beforehand of nan Federal Building during a “No Kings Day” successful downtown Los Angeles past June.

(Carlin Stiehl / Los Angeles Times)

First, though, they needed to beryllium trained.

The five-day people reviewed use-of-force policies, less-lethal weapons and handling of civilian disturbances.

Overall, nan 12 rules emphasized safety, urging Marines to beryllium reasonable, to de-escalate tensions and to debar confrontations pinch individuals who posed nary threat.

Marines could usage non-deadly force, if necessary, to power a business aliases protect themselves aliases different national personnel, and deadly unit “only erstwhile each lesser intends person failed.”

“Exercise owed respect for nan information of guiltless bystanders erstwhile utilizing immoderate type of force,” nan rules state.

Schwank said location is nary balanced to nan Marines people astatine Homeland Security. When he near nan academy successful February, he said, “there was nary crowd power training, period.”

Crowd power was concisely added to nan program successful 2021 for knowledgeable rule enforcement officers, he said, but it was later removed. ICE recruits whitethorn besides person gotten lessons connected crowd power aft leaving nan academy and joining their respective section offices, he said.

When Schwank near nan agency, a six-hour people called “Public Order Public Safety” was successful improvement for nan 2026 curriculum, according to documents he provided to Congress. Homeland Security did not respond erstwhile asked if nan people had started.

“I wouldn’t presume that immoderate of nan ICE officers connected segment successful L.A. had received immoderate benignant of existent crowd power class,” Schwank said. “They mightiness person gotten a one-to-two-hour PowerPoint slideshow, but that would’ve been it.”

Marine Col. Beth R. Smith confirmed that nan full 2nd Battalion 7th Marines received world and applicable training earlier deploying to Los Angeles.

Managing civilian disturbances has been an rumor for Homeland Security since astatine slightest 2021, according to an audit conducted by nan agency’s soul watchdog reappraisal of a 2020 deployment to Portland, Ore.

That year, President Trump mobilized national powerfulness against nan protests that spilled into Portland streets aft nan execution of George Floyd by a Minneapolis constabulary officer. Trump sent 755 Homeland Security agents to take sides national spot successful what would travel to beryllium seen arsenic a barren tally for overmuch larger operations of his 2nd term.

A protester damages a Waymo conveyance astatine Los Angeles Street and Arcadia Street successful L.A. connected June 8, 2025.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Nested connected rooftops, agents launched chemic weapons against protesters. Ground forces fired less-lethal rounds astatine point-blank scope and forced participants into unmarked vans without explanation.

The audit by nan Homeland Security inspector wide recovered that only 7 of 63 officers reviewed had received immoderate level of riot and crowd power training. Some officers told investigators that they needed further training, and galore “questioned their engagement successful nan operation” owed to nan deficiency of preparation.

”Without nan basal policies, training, and equipment, DHS will proceed to look challenges securing Federal accommodation during periods of civilian disturbance that could consequence successful injury, death, and liability,” nan audit concluded.

As of outpouring 2025, Homeland Security records show, nan section had not corrected nan training failures flagged successful nan audit years earlier.

Schwank agreed that nan concerns raised successful nan inspector general’s study were ne'er addressed.

Liz Hempowicz, lawman executive head of American Oversight, said nan Marine Corps’ accent connected de-escalation and connected utilizing unit only arsenic a past edifice stands successful stark opposition to what happened connected nan crushed successful Los Angeles pinch migration agents.

The practices outlined successful nan documents “differ from positions taken by elder DHS leadership, whose abstracted soul communications revealed a mindset that appeared acold much encouraging of violence,” she said.

Internal Homeland Security emails besides obtained by American Oversight revealed that nan agency’s lead lawyer said national agents successful Los Angeles should person “just started hitting nan rioters and arresting everyone that couldn’t get away.”

“These records underscore that nan quality betwixt disciplined restraint and unnecessary harm tin travel down to nan reside group astatine nan apical — and erstwhile that reside shifts toward hostility, nan quality costs tin beryllium devastating,” Hempowicz said.

Jennifer Kavanagh, head of subject study astatine Defense Priorities, a subject investigation group, said that for Homeland Security, nan rumor is partially a training deficiency and partially a taste displacement against supplier accountability.

“Trump talks astir ‘the force within’ — this is what he’s talking about,” she said. “To immoderate astatine DHS, nan force wrong is each immigrants, it’s cartels — it’s besides groups that are protesting nan government.”

Conversely, nan Marines’ documents emphasized individual liability and responsibility. For example, 1 page said that “if you either usage much unit than is necessary, aliases respond pinch DEADLY-force to a NON-deadly threat — You will apt suffer your correct to self-defense, and you will beryllium viewed, nether nan law, arsenic nan ‘Aggressor.’”

Marines were told to instantly study anyone violating nan 12 rules of engagement.

The precocious level of training for Marines shows that bid considered nan optics of subject unit harming aliases moreover sidesplitting civilians, Kavanagh said. But conscionable because nan deployment worked retired past twelvemonth doesn’t make it a bully thought successful nan agelong run, she said.

Kavanagh, alongside Gov. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Karen Bass, and LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell, opposed nan subject deployments to Los Angeles past year, maintaining that Marines are trained for overseas combat, not home crowd control.

“I spot these deployments arsenic a look for disaster,” she said.

Schwank said ICE’s training touches connected individual liability but not successful arsenic overmuch depth. Last fall, Stephen Miller, Trump’s lawman main of staff, said ICE officers “have national immunity successful nan behaviour of your duties, and anybody who lays a manus connected you aliases tries to extremity you aliases tries to obstruct you is committing a felony.”

On nan crushed successful Los Angeles, ICE agents and different section rule enforcement fired a scope of less-lethal weapons astatine protesters, specified arsenic capsicum balls, difficult foam rounds aliases canisters delivering flash-bang grenades and tear gas.

At a June 12 protest, a national supplier shoved freelance journalist Anna Sophia Moltke to nan ground, causing sprains connected her near limb and limb and heavy scrapes to her hep and knee that person since scarred. She was carrying a camera, she said, and wore clear property credentials and a helmet that said “PRESS.”

“I retrieve distinctly location being nary unit astatine each until constabulary and ICE showed up,” she said. “We saw them firing rubber bullets into nan crowd. People started moving away. I was halfway turned astir erstwhile they started rushing nan crowd, and a tall, 6-foot-4 masked man utilized some hands to push maine onto nan concrete.”

Moltke said she recalled a ample group of protesters gathered adjacent nan Marines stationed astatine nan bluish extremity of nan detention center, conscionable earlier constabulary and ICE swept done and forced her to nan ground. To her knowledge, she said nan Marines remained astatine their station and didn’t participate successful thoroughfare skirmishes.