During Wednesday’s White House Press Briefing, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt answered questions about a memo sent out by military arrest authorities in Los Angeles.
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00:00Over the weekend, Secretary Noem sent a memo to the Pentagon asking Secretary Huxed to have and direct the military that's on the ground in L.A. to arrest and detain what she said were lawbreakers.
00:13Is the President okay with that? And under what authority would the members of the military be able to arrest people inside the United States?
00:20I can't speak for a letter that came from the Department of Homeland Security. I can't speak for the President and what's currently happening on the ground now.
00:26And as you know, the President federalized the National Guard under U.S. Code 10, which he has the authority to do.
00:32And our United States Marines and the National Guardsmen and women who are on the ground right now are helping to create a peaceful environment for ICE and Border Patrol who were being, again, hailed with rocks, who were being violently and viciously attacked.
00:45They needed reinforcements. And so our United States Marines who are on the ground are providing those reinforcements to ensure the environment is peaceful so that these raids and deportations can continue.
00:55But he realizes they can't actually arrest people unless he invokes the Insurrection Act, which, I mean, seemingly was not something that was in Secretary Huxed's memo, a clear distinction she did not make there.
01:06Again, you're trying to conflate a letter that was sent to the Department of Homeland Security to the President's legal authority.
01:11The President understands the legal authority that he invoked, and that's the current situation right now.
01:15When it comes to federalizing the National Guard, what is the specific criteria that the President is using for when he's deciding to do that and in which states?
01:23The President was asked and answered this yesterday. He wants to see an end to the chaos and the violence.
01:27He doesn't want to see law enforcement officers being attacked. He wants to see peace.
01:32He wants law-abiding Californians to be able to bring their kids to school, to be able to go to work without seeing this violence in the streets.
01:38That's what the President's hoping for, and that's why he's taking this action.
01:41John.
01:41Thank you very much.