Los Angeles residents may begin seeing Marines in the area as soon as Thursday, with protection operations in coordination with the National Guard set to begin Friday.

The 700 Marines were reportedly sent by President Donald Trump to Seal Beach, which is south of L.A. County, to train for nonlethal weapons training—including hand-to-hand combat and crowd control.

Seal Beach training recently finished, and the Marines have moved to “familiarization” training alongside the National Guard in Los Angeles, a U.S. defense official told Fox News. 

U.S. National Guard are deployed around downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following an immigration raid protest the night before. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)

“[It’s] not about lethality. It’s about maintaining law and order on behalf of law enforcement agents who deserve to do their job without being attacked by mobs of people,” Hegseth said. “We are very proud that the National Guard and the Marines are on the streets defending the ICE agents, and they will continue.” 

Despite legal challenges by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Hegseth said there is “plenty of precedent” for the U.S. supporting law enforcement officers.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.