On June 8, President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to commend the California National Guard’s response to the unfolding protests in Los Angeles, stating, “Great job by the National Guard in Los Angeles after two days of violence, clashes and unrest.” He expressed gratitude, declaring, “Thank you to the National Guard for a job well done!” However, reports indicated that the National Guard had not yet reached Los Angeles at the time of Trump’s post.
The unrest began on June 6, sparked by a series of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids that prompted widespread protests in downtown Los Angeles. That same evening, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) deemed the protests an “unlawful assembly” and resorted to using tear gas, rubber bullets, and other crowd control measures.
Despite the escalating situation, Trump announced on June 7 that he would deploy 2,000 members of the California National Guard. This decision was met with criticism from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and California Governor Gavin Newsom, both of whom viewed the deployment as an unnecessary escalation of tensions.
Shortly after Trump’s post on June 8 at 02:41 EDT, Mayor Bass clarified on X that the National Guard had not yet been deployed in Los Angeles. She stated, “Just to be clear, the National Guard has not been deployed in the City of Los Angeles.”
Governor Newsom quickly followed suit, pointing out the discrepancies in Trump’s timeline. “For those keeping track, Donald Trump’s National Guard had not been deployed on the ground when he posted this,” Newsom mentioned in his own X post.
According to Diana Crofts-Pelayo, a spokesperson for Newsom, the deployment of the National Guard took place between 05:00 EDT and 07:00 EDT on June 8. This timeframe corresponds to 02:00 PDT to 04:00 PDT, just before Trump’s online commendations.
News reports began surfacing at around 06:00 PDT (09:00 EDT), indicating that the National Guard had arrived in Los Angeles. The first acknowledgment from U.S. Northern Command, which oversees the National Guard, came at 00:51 EDT, stating that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had directed them to assume command of the 2,000 California National Guard members.
Further media reports made it clear that, as of 03:22 EDT, there was still no evidence of National Guard units being present in the area, and CNN stated at 04:32 EDT that it had yet to see any troops on the ground.
Finally, between 05:00 and 07:00 EDT, California National Guard members began to deploy. The Washington Post detailed that some of the earliest images and videos of the troops arriving were perceived around 09:00 EDT.
By 11:03 EDT, U.S. Northern Command confirmed that members of the California National Guard had started arriving in Los Angeles, indicating that elements from the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team were on the scene.
Approximately an hour later, at 12:07 EDT, Northern Command reported the deployment of 300 members at three specific locations throughout Los Angeles. This was followed by reports of troops gathering near the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown L.A. at 12:08 EDT.
As the day progressed, the LAPD stated that the National Guard had been deployed to support federal facilities. By 13:30 EDT, reports indicated that nearly 300 members of the California National Guard had taken positions at various locations around the city, according to the New York Times.
As events unfolded, KABC-TV demonstrated footage of National Guard members present in downtown Los Angeles, including troops traversing through the city of Paramount.
By 12:29 EDT, U.S. Northern Command had shared photographs of California National Guard troops collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security in Los Angeles.
At 17:06 EDT, President Trump reiterated his directive for federal agencies to coordinate their response to the demonstrations in Los Angeles.
The tensions escalated further when Governor Newsom formally requested that the Trump administration rescind the deployment of troops, asserting that they should return under his command. This request was echoed in Newsom’s posts throughout the evening, culminating in a statement made to MSNBC where he announced plans to file a lawsuit against Trump over the matter.
By 20:03 EDT, U.S. Northern Command issued a press release confirming that approximately 2,000 members of the California National Guard had been placed under federal command for their readiness to assist in managing the protests. The release reiterated that 300 troops had already been deployed at designated locations.
As the day wound down, discussions about state rights and federal authority continued, bringing significant attention to the complexities surrounding California’s National Guard and its deployment.
PolitiFact researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.
image source from：https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/6/10/did-trump-thank-national-guard-even-before-troops-reached-los-angeles
