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By Gabe Whisnant and Sonam Sheth
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Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman, the officer overseeing the National Guard response to ongoing protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles, said guardsmen are not temporarily detaining civilians, after earlier saying that they were.
Sherman leads Task Force 51, which is overseeing more than 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines deployed to the area. The commander initially told the Associated Press on Wednesday that guardsmen had temporarily detained several civilians.
But he later retracted that claim, clarifying to the outlet that his remarks were based on photos and video footage he mistakenly believed represented the National Guard in Los Angeles, which was ultimately not the case.
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The Context
The protests in Los Angeles erupted after ICE raided a number of downtown neighborhoods with high immigrant populations and labor-intensive industries as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on undocumented migrants.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly pledged to round up migrants and deport them, but his administration's approach has drawn sharp criticism for sweeping up people who are legally permitted to be in the U.S. and those without legal status who have not been convicted of crimes and are seeking legal pathways to residency.
The administration has also acknowledged that some deportees were removed from the country by mistake.
What To Know
Although the anti-ICE demonstrations in L.A. have been largely peaceful, some have devolved into violence, with people throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails, cement and other items at law enforcement.
More than 330 people have been arrested in L.A. since protests began Friday.
Sherman initially said the detentions took place over the past few days but added that the number of detentions has decreased as tensions in the city have subsided in recent days.
He also emphasized that National Guard personnel do not directly engage in law enforcement actions and that detainees are handed off to police once they secure the situation.
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Approximately 500 National Guard troops have now been trained to support immigration operations, with many receiving specialized instruction to accompany federal agents on enforcement missions.
Sherman told the AP that the National Guard is bracing for renewed unrest, even though the situation in L.A. has subsided, at least for the time being.
"We are expecting a ramp up," he said, citing a rise in nationwide discussions about protests. "I'm focused right here in L.A., what's going on right here. But you know, I think we're, we're very concerned."
All deployed National Guard troops are undergoing multi-day training on managing civil unrest. Those selected to assist with immigration raids receive additional legal and operational instruction, including practice exercises with immigration agents.
What People Are Saying
John Miller, CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst, said of Sherman's initial comments: "Once you are not free to go, you are technically under arrest. If the National Guard says to you, 'You're being detained,' and you're like, 'You know what, you're a soldier, not a cop, I'm leaving,' and they force you to stay, you are under arrest because you are not free to go."
He added: "There is no difference between being detained, if you can't leave, and being under arrest. It's different from being charged. So what they're saying is they're acting under their authority, which is not coming from the government, it's coming from being federalized by the Department of Defense, on the orders of the president, to detain people in the streets.
"So, let's pause for a minute," Miller said. "Members of the Army, assigned to the National Guard, are detaining Americans in the streets of the United States for violations of local law. We've crossed over something there."
Anthony Michael Kreis, a professor of constitutional law at the Georgia State University College of Law, wrote on X: "In America, we do not let the military police our streets absent the most extreme and dire circumstances, and only under the unambiguous invocation of legal authority. This is not that."
What Happens Next
Trump has not given a definitive timeframe for when he'll withdraw his orders to the National Guard and the Marines stationed in L.A. California has sued the Trump administration and the president to get Trump to rescind his orders, accusing the president of an "unprecedented power grab" that runs afoul of the Constitution.
The Associated Press contributed reporting to this story.
Update: 6/11/25, 7:34 p.m. ET: This headline and article have been updated with Maj. Gen. Scott Sherman's retraction of his earlier statements.
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