It begins with an image many thought impossible: US Marines, trained for combat missions in Afghanistan or Syria, preparing to act against American citizens on American soil - right in the middle of Los Angeles. President Donald Trump has ordered the deployment of 700 active-duty soldiers from the 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines, even though more than 4,000 members of the National Guard are already on duty or authorized for deployment. The reason: growing protests against his intensified deportation policy.
The legal situation is precarious, the democratic resistance is massive, and yet the White House seems willing to do what no previous administration has dared - deliberately blur the line between civil order and military power. Is Trump determined to test how far he can bend the American Constitution without formally breaking it?
Kein Insurrection Act – (noch) nicht
Officially, the Insurrection Act - an almost mythical law that allows the president to deploy regular troops to restore law and order - has not yet been activated. The Marines are to "only" protect federal buildings and personnel, not suppress protesting citizens. But that is a fine line. "If these Marines are actually laying hands on civilians, conducting searches or making arrests, we’re facing serious legal issues," warns Elizabeth Goitein of the Brennan Center for Justice. So far, the Pentagon emphasizes, the troops are equipped with firearms but not tear gas - and may only act in self-defense. According to AP-reviewed rules of engagement, warning shots are prohibited. But that is not enough to dispel concerns.
The decision to deploy Marines in a metropolis like Los Angeles carries enormous symbolic weight: the state no longer sees its citizens as partners but as threats. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, an ideologically loyal Trump supporter, announced the possibility of the deployment on his personal X account Saturday evening - before the Pentagon had even deliberated. An affront to many in the top ranks of the armed forces. Even within the Marine Corps there is unrest: should more experienced officers be sent to minimize the risk of poor decisions in dealing with the civilian population?
The protests were sparked by a nationwide raid targeting allegedly "illegal" workers - a measure many see as a calculated act of intimidation. During the operation, David Huerta, president of the California SEIU union, was arrested - another sign that Trump’s administration no longer distinguishes between civil society and enemy of the state.
The Constitution as a Clearance Item?
As the situation in LA escalates - tear gas, roadblocks, burning vehicles - the legal foundation for this deployment appears increasingly brittle. The Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits the military from performing law enforcement duties on US soil. Only in exceptional cases, such as under the Insurrection Act, can these rules be overridden. But so far, no clear legal basis exists for what is now taking shape. The Marines are receiving cards with use-of-force guidelines - a kind of user manual for the application of violence at home. Even the possibility of "temporarily detaining" civilians is mentioned in an internal Pentagon memo. According to the Fourth Amendment, however, no arrest is permitted without reasonable cause. But what does "reasonable" mean when the president himself sets the tone for escalation?
The central question is no longer whether Trump wants to use the military - but how far he is willing to go, and when the last institutional dam will break. The marching orders for the Marines mark not only a legal gray zone but a moral collapse. Anyone who sends combat soldiers into urban protests has given up on democratic processes of negotiation - or never believed in them to begin with.
What is happening now in Los Angeles is not a one-off misjudgment. It is a trial balloon. An attempt to gauge the reactions of the public, the courts, the media, and the international community. The moment when the US may find out just how close it already is to an authoritarian turning point. Donald Trump has chosen to stoke the political fire even further - with gasoline from Twentynine Palms. The question is no longer whether he wants to take things to the extreme. The question is: who will stop him? And how many men in uniform will already be in the streets by then?
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