Trump hails troop deployment as California gears up for legal battle

He defends his unprecedented move against anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles

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WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on June 12 that Los Angeles had been "safe and sound" for the past two nights, crediting his deployment of thousands of troops to quell anti-deportation protests as California prepared for a legal showdown over his unprecedented move.

With protests spreading across the United States, a night-time curfew has been in place in its second-largest city, with the authorities tackling vandalism and looting that scarred a few city blocks.

"Our great National Guard, with a little help from the Marines, put the LA police in a position to effectively do their job," Mr. Trump said in a post on Truth Social, adding that without the military, the city "would be a crime scene like we haven't seen in years".

The mostly peaceful protests ignited last week over an escalation in efforts to apprehend migrants in the US illegally, but there were also pockets of violence, including the burning of self-driving taxis and hurling of stones at police.

Mr. Trump deployed several thousand National Guard troops and 700 active-duty Marines over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom, the first such action by a US president in decades.