LIVE: LA Police Clash With Protesters Amid Military Order

The arrival of the California National Guard on the streets of Los Angeles has been confirmed by the US Northern Command, the body tasked with military support to non-military authorities in America.

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It said units from the 79th infantry brigade had begun stationing in the “Los Angeles area” and “additional information will be provided as units are identified and deployed”.

The California National Guard, which has more than 24,000 troops, is the largest in the US.

When its troops are called up by the president, as in this case, the president serves as its commander-in-chief.

As well as at home, the Guard has served overseas, including in Iraq and Afghanistan. Its headquarters are in Sacramento.

Republicans backed Trump in dismissing claims by Gavin Newsom, the California governor, that the protests had been largely peaceful, and that deployment was against their wishes and would exacerbate tensions.

“I have no concern about that at all,” Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, told ABC’s This Week, adding that Newsom “has shown an inability or unwillingness to do what is necessary there, so the president stepped in”.

As for threats by Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, to send in active-duty Marines on top of the Guard troops, Johnson said he did not see that as “heavy-handed”.

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