About 500 of the National Guard troops deployed to the Los Angeles protests have been trained to accompany agents on immigration operations, the commander in charge said Wednesday.

The peaceful protest began shortly after 6 p.m. and soon tripled in size as people congregated in front of a road closure, occupied by at least six members of the California National Guard on

Army veteran and former Secretary of State Chuck Hagel talks about the potential risks about having military troops deployed in L.A.

According to experts, Trump is the first President to deploy the National Guard without a request from the state Governor since 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent federal troops to Alabama to protect those partaking in a civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, led by Martin Luther King Jr.

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell sharply countered President Donald Trump’s claims that the city needed National Guard support, emphasizing Wednesday that protests were “nowhere near” that level.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday defended the administration's mobilization of the National Guard and members of the Marine Corps to Los Angeles amid ongoing immigration protests.