A map for orienting the protests and resources to keep your community safe from #ICE in #LA

https://protectlosangeles.carrd.co

But there’s an antidote to us-them messages of hate, fear and exclusion that claim that only a tiny minority of people are truly human. That antidote is to realize that by recognizing the humanity of others we don’t disavow our own humanity: We demonstrate it. It behooves us to demand that all people receive equal protection under the law, and to call out monstrifying narratives that, in the end, dehumanize us all.«
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2025-06-15/immigration-policy-human-rights-monsters
#LosAngeles #Racism #DeHumanization
4/4

Yet some institutional checks continue to function, even if unevenly. The federal #judiciary has been a source of significant pushback against the admin. Already, a federal district court judge in #California has ruled that #Trump’s deployment of the #NationalGuard in CA was illegal (though the ruling was almost immediately put on hold for further review).

#Trump has stacked the #DOJ & the #Pentagon with personal #loyalists, & has tended to bypass the Office of Legal Counsel [#OLC] — the institution traditionally responsible for vetting the legality of executive actions. Although the standard guidelines & procedures for past #domestic deployments remain on the books, there is substantial reason to doubt that the civilian leadership will follow them.

The #political conditions surrounding the current deployment are dramatically different from those during that prior wave. #Polarization has spread from society to the political elites, who now, more than ever, seek to use the #military for political gain. On the #Republican side, Donald #Trump appears eager to deploy the #Army against left-wing #protesters.

More mundanely, the explanation may come down to logistics. The #MarineCorps is a relatively small force & has rarely been stationed near sites of #domestic unrest. However, Camp Pendleton—home to the largest concentration of #Marines in the continental #UnitedStates—sits just a few hours from #LosAngeles & is far closer than the nearest viable #Army unit, 45 miles south of Seattle. There may have been practical reasons to deploy the Marines.

And the #Marines were held in reserve on several occasions: after #MLK won his battle against Bull Connor in the 1963 #Birmingham, #Alabama, campaign for #desegregation of downtown stores, during which firebombings of a #CivilRights headquarters & King’s brother’s hotel room had sparked riots, & during the 1963 #MarchOnWashington.

The #Marines—who have a reputation for lethality—were deployed only twice during this period: once during the 1967 #protest at the #Pentagon, where they appear to have played a minor role, & again amid the violent unrest in Washington, DC, following #MLK’s #assassination. President John F. Kennedy considered sending them to help #desegregate the University of #Mississippi in 1962 but ultimately declined.

Leadership & #lawyers at the #DOJ & the #Pentagon, & leadership in the #ArmedServices, worked closely w/ senior officers in the #Army to develop standing operating procedures & situation-specific #RulesOfEngagement aimed at minimizing the #UseOfForce.

The Army’s conduct during these deployments was far from flawless. In addition to credible allegations of #ExcessiveForce, the #Army carried out extensive #domestic #surveillance, often tracking #civilians & #protest groups without legal #authority or #oversight. And although its own use of force was generally restrained, its involvement helped blur the line between #military & #police roles.

By contrast, people remember the #KentState #massacre of 1970 because it was a bloody failure by the #NationalGuard, during which 4 #students were #killed. Indeed, during this period, many #police & National Guard units responded to unrest with heavy-handed tactics that resulted in many #civilian injuries & #fatalities.

As pressure mounted, commanders deployed paratroopers from the 1st Battalion, 325th Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, who engaged demonstrators outside the entrance & helped stabilize the scene. By day’s end, 21 civilians were reported injured—7 treated at the scene & 14 hospitalized—but, remarkably, no fatalities had occurred.

That 1967 deployment was perhaps the most extraordinary. In a surreal prelude to the confrontation, as the rock band the #Fugs played, #AbbieHoffman & #AllenGinsberg chanted to levitate the building, turn it orange, & exorcise its demons—a ritual humorously sanctioned in the #protest permit.