WEST HOLLYWOOD—On Friday, June 5 at 8:33 a.m., the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department in West Hollywood took to Twitter to explain the National Guard’s role as a support to them. The National Guard was reported stationed outside the West Hollywood Sher
iff’s Station at the time.
In their Twitter post, the LASD specifies that the National Guard serves a “safety function,” and is not authorized to fulfill a policing role, and the National Guard provides mostly logistical support.
They may also “[hold] a stationary post when there may be imminent threats to critical infrastructure such as the West Hollywood Sheriff’s Station and our local Fire Stations.”
The presence of the National Guard allows the local station to “maximize personnel in the field.”
Governor Gavin Newsom moved the National Guard to Los Angeles County on May 30 in response to the proclaimed state of emergency in Los Angeles County. Businesses in Beverly Hills, Santa Monica, and Fairfax Avenue were looted and destroyed.
It was the fourth day in a row of protests in Los Angeles. Earlier that day, Black Lives Matter Los Angeles and BLD PWR scheduled a rally at Pan Pacific Park. According to BLM-LA’s Twitter, it was “in the name of #GeorgeFloyd in Minneapolis and in LA.”
As of Saturday, June 6, the National Guard has not yet left the area.
