Marines ordered by Trump to LA start deploying

LOS ANGELES, United States: The first US Marines ordered by Donald Trump to Los Angeles will deploy late on Friday, the Pentagon said, raising the stakes in a standoff that pits the president against protesters claiming growing authoritarianism.

The approximately 200 Marines are part of a group of 700 set to join 4,000 National Guard soldiers, while local police conduct a crackdown on unrest over Trump´s sweeps for undocumented migrants. The Marines -- normally used as crack troops in foreign conflicts -- will be equipped with riot gear to guard a federal building starting from 12:00 pm (1900 GMT), Major General Scott Sherman told reporters.

An intense legal battle is underway over Trump´s authority to deploy troops on US soil, as the country braces for widespread protests Saturday, when the Republican will be overseeing a rare large-scale military parade in Washington.

The parade celebrates the 250th anniversary of the US Army but also coincides with Trump´s 79th birthday and will be the first time tanks and other heavy weaponry has rolled through the capital city in three decades.

A “No Kings” movement has sprung up promising to stage protests in more than 2,000 places across the country in response. Trump dispatched about the California National Guard to Los Angeles last weekend following mostly peaceful, but occasionally violent protests against a surge in immigration raids in the second-largest US city.