President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he’s expecting a grand military parade in Washington this coming weekend—and warned that any protesters seeking to disrupt it would be met with “very heavy force.”
The June 14 military parade—which caps a week-long celebration of the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday—will include military demonstrations, static equipment displays, and culminate in an evening concert and fireworks show.
“We’re going to celebrate big on Saturday,” Trump told reporters at the Oval Office on June 10. “If any protesters want to come out, they will be met with very big force.”
While Trump said he hadn’t heard of any plans to protest the parade—which also falls on the president’s 79th birthday—he said that anyone who would do such a thing has no respect for America.
“I haven’t even heard about a protest, but you know, this is people that hate our country, but they will be met with very heavy force,” he said.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on and clarification of Trump’s remarks.
Trump’s comments came immediately after he spoke with reporters about sending the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles in response to violent protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the city.
Over the weekend, Trump mobilized 2,100 Guard members to help respond to anti-ICE protests and riots, amid objections by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and local leaders.
While the president said that Los Angeles would have been “completely obliterated” if he hadn’t sent in the troops, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said the federal response was a needless show of force. Newsom filed a lawsuit against the deployment, arguing that Trump’s decision illegally bypassed the governor, undermined state sovereignty, and wasted resources.
On Sunday, the Trump administration activated 700 active-duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles, though Marine Corps Gen. Eric Smith told lawmakers during a budget hearing on Tuesday that the deployed battalion has not been assigned to any protests, and is there solely to protect federal property and personnel.
On Monday, Trump authorized another 2,000 National Guard troops to be sent to Los Angeles, and on Tuesday, he told reporters at the Oval Office that, absent the federal response, “right now Los Angeles would be burning.”
Trump added that he would consider invoking the Insurrection Act, if needed. The act authorizes the president to use the military to respond to rebellions and other domestic acts of violence under certain circumstances.
“These are paid insurrectionists,” Trump said of agitators in Los Angeles who were spotted breaking up concrete sidewalks to be used as projectiles and throwing them at police, soldiers, and others during the riots.
Trump and members of his administration have said that federal resources were needed because Bass and Newsom were slow to react to the violence. The two officials have denied the accusations, while Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said Tuesday that the department is fully capable of managing large-scale demonstrations.
The protests have grown beyond Los Angeles, spreading to cities such as San Francisco, Santa Ana, Dallas, and Austin, Texas. In Austin, police reported using tear gas and pepper spray balls to break up a crowd after officers were injured by thrown rocks and bottles.
