A historic military deployment on American territory is made possible by the Trump White House.

According to administration officials on Wednesday, President Donald Trump is ready to deploy National Guard troops into additional American cities if demonstrations against immigration raids spread outside of Los Angeles. This could pave the way for the largest deployment of military force on American territory in contemporary history.

In testimony before Congress, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth stated that the Pentagon might deploy additional National Guard troops to additional cities "if there are other riots in regions where law enforcement officials are threatened." Protesters outside of Los Angeles were cautioned by White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt that further "lawlessness" would only strengthen Trump's resolve.

"Let this be a clear warning to left-wing extremists across the nation who may be considering a similar act of violence to halt this administration's mass deportation efforts," Leavitt stated. "You will not be successful."

The message from the White House comes as Trump has been using more aggressive rhetoric lately, threatening to use force against protesters who try to interrupt the military parade that will take place in Washington on Saturday to commemorate the Army's 250th anniversary as well as against immigration activists.

Trump has long desired the parade, which will include tanks, helicopters, and Army parachutists. It is expected to be a symbolic conclusion to a week in which the president not only publicly supported military displays but also prepared for a historic use of force against domestic enemies. The president celebrated the nation's military might during a speech at Fort Bragg in North Carolina on Tuesday, while fort commanders displayed a number of tactical displays.

"Our adversaries have repeatedly discovered that if they dare to pose a threat to the American people, an American soldier will pursue them, crush them, and drive them into oblivion," Trump stated.

Notably, Trump made no distinction between those who were peacefully protesting his policies and those who were engaging in violent crimes when he threatened to use force against demonstrators. In response to a query on the topic during Wednesday's White House briefing, Leavitt stated that "of course" the president supports the right to peaceful protest and called the investigation a "dumb question."

The administration's more aggressive tone has drawn comparisons to the language of autocrats abroad, where authorities are more likely to utilize their armed forces domestically.

White House officials insist that while Democrats soften their stance on violent agitators, the president is demonstrating power and authority while defending "law and order." To support his actions despite local officials' protests, Trump and his advisors have cited videos of looting and burning cars.

White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson stated, "President Trump is keeping his pledge to the American people to deport illegal aliens and shield federal law enforcement from violent rioting."

Harvard University government professor Steven Levitsky, who has long warned that Trump threatens American democracy, said, "This kind of thing does not happen in democracies, and it is becoming a common feature of our politics." (A Harvard employee called Steven Levitsky has given tiny campaign contributions to Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign finance records.)

This term, Trump has granted himself greater latitude to intensify military action and to challenge democratic norms with less restraint. Trump's deployment of soldiers within the United States was blocked by military commanders during his first administration. He has surrounded himself with loyalists this time, but he may still run into legal issues. California has filed a lawsuit to prevent the government from sending troops inside its boundaries.

Philadelphia, Chicago, and San Francisco are among the new places where protests against the administration's immigration policy are taking place. As part of a nationwide "No Kings Day," activists are planning more events this weekend to protest Trump's attempts to use executive power and, according to demonstrators, to flout the legal system.

According to a recent poll conducted by The Washington Post and the Schar School at George Mason University, opinions among Americans on the protests in Los Angeles and Trump's choice to dispatch the National Guard to respond are divided. According to the survey, the majority of Democrats are against Trump's National Guard action, while Republicans strongly support it. The majority of Californians are against the action, and independents tend to be against it as well.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the Democratic whip, stated that Trump's decision to send troops across the nation would be "a serious choice" amid protests in Chicago. According to Durbin, he has not discussed the prospect of Trump doing so in Illinois with Governor JB Pritzker (D).

Trump is handling the National Guard military deployment "as this normal decision," according to Durbin.

"Using our military force to police our nation's criminal laws is not routine," he stated.

Trump threatened this week to employ "equivalent or greater force" than what was used in Los Angeles to quell any protests against immigration sweeps in other cities. He merely gave a speculative timeframe for the troops' deployment, saying they would stay in the city "until there is no risk."

Trump and California officials have argued about whether the troops were ever needed in response to the demonstrations, which have been limited to a few blocks and have occasionally involved violent outbursts.

He stated that if he saw it necessary, he "would surely" use the Insurrection Act, which allows presidents to increase the military's participation in response to domestic events.

According to a number of academics, it is concerning that he is even thinking about it.

Levitsky asserted that "people in democratic societies do not have to think twice or three times about nonviolent demonstrations of opposition—that is what life is like in a free society." Because there is a chance of government reprisals, people under authoritarian regimes are reluctant to voice their opinions. It is possible that you may be arrested, that you will be investigated, that you will be audited by the IRS, or that you will be sued.

Since Saturday, when Trump sent the National Guard to California without California Governor Gavin Newsom's (D) consent because he thought sending troops would intensify the protests, the battle against the military involvement has gotten more intense.

In a speech on Tuesday, Newsom cautioned that the deployment was the first step in a far larger campaign by Trump to undermine democracy.

California could be the first, but it is obvious that this is just the beginning. Next are other states," Newsom stated. "The next step is democracy. Before our very eyes, democracy is being attacked. We have worried that this moment has come.

Prior to scheduled protests, Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) also declared Tuesday that he was sending the state's National Guard. According to an Abbott adviser, Trump's remarks had no bearing on the decision. In the past, such as during the George Floyd protests in 2020, the governor has sent Guard personnel in advance of protests.

"This is not a pointless matter. Dave Carney, Abbott's veteran political consultant, stated, "This is not a political matter." He would have taken the same action if this had occurred eight or four years earlier. This is a natural way to keep people safe.

Republican governors, according to Carney, are unlikely to mobilize the National Guard unless they have "solid intelligence of what is being planned."

Despite GOP politicians promising to punish violent agitators, governors in other Republican-run states that have recently clashed with ICE—either through rallies or Democratic-leaning localities resisting enforcement—have refused to announce proactive deployments.

According to a person with knowledge of the situation in Atlanta who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss plans freely, state officials believe local and state law enforcement have been able to control the protests in the city, where police used tear gas and made arrests Tuesday as anti-ICE demonstrators threw fireworks at them. Similar to this, there have been no significant protests and no military deployment announced by the Republican governor of Nashville, where DOHS officials have disputed with the city's mayor. Nashville is a largely Democratic city.