Marines deploy in force in LA

TROOPS DETAIN US CITIZENS AHEAD OF MASS ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTS

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Armed Marines arrived on the streets of Los Angeles Friday, part of a large deployment of troops ordered by Donald Trump that has raised the stakes between the US president and opponents criticising him of growing authoritarianism.

Men in fatigues and carrying semiautomatic rifles were seen around a federal building, where passersby questioned why they were in an area 18 kilometres from the protests against immigration raids.

"Taxpayer dollars could be used for other things," RonNell Weaver told AFP. "Is this really necessary?"

AFP witnessed Marines temporarily detaining one man at the federal building before they handed him over to law enforcement.

The US military would not say why he was detained, despite multiple requests, but the incident appeared to be a minor — albeit extremely rare — example of federal troops detaining a US civilian.

Seven hundred Marines — normally used as crack troops in foreign conflicts — along with 4,000 National Guard soldiers are tasked with protecting federal buildings, while local police handle protests over Trump's sweeps for undocumented migrants.