National Guard troops will leave the Los Angeles area beginning Sunday, one week after being deployed to assist in managing protests and scattered looting.
"After nearly a week assisting civil authorities on the streets of California, soldiers with the California National Guard will begin transitioning back to their home armories," California National Guard Adjutant General, Maj. Gen. David Baldwin said in an email.
Baldwin added, "The citizens of California know that whenever they need their California National Guard, whatever the situation, when called, we will respond – we are always ready and always there.”
The Cal Guard will still maintain a quick reaction force in multiple locations across the state ready to respond if local law enforcement request assistance, the National Guard said.
Images: Violence Flares Up on the Streets of Los Angeles
National Guard troops arrived after a fourth day of protests on May 30th. Mayor Eric Garcetti said he asked Gov. Gavin Newsom for 500 to 700 members of the Guard to assist the 10,000 Los Angeles Police Department officers after demonstrators clashed repeatedly with officers, torched police vehicles and pillaged businesses. Additionally, LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva, along with the Board of Supervisors, made a request for assistance from the National Guard.
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Up to 1,000 troops arrived in Los Angeles on the first night, with the governor increasing those numbers in the days that followed. The troops did not directly police and were used to assist law enforcement in holding and guarding key sites across the county and city.
In all, Newsom mobilized more than 7,000 National Guard members to assist local authorities across the state, according to the California National Guard.
