Medaria Arradondo, the former Minneapolis police chief who led the department during the George Floyd case and testified against Derek Chauvin in 2021, now serves as a law enforcement analyst on CNN.
On CNN, Arradondo said:
“I think that certainly chiefs in major cities are looking at the manner in which Chief McDonald is handling this in Los Angeles, which is unprecedented in terms of the federalized National Guard coming in as well as having Marines deployed to that area. Major city chiefs are absolutely going to be communicating because this is probably going to be — not probably — this will be sort of the normal, I imagine, over the course of this year…”
The claim that the deployment of federalized National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles in June 2025 is “unprecedented” is incorrect. Historical precedents clearly show that similar combinations of federalized National Guard and federal military forces — both with and without state approval — have been used before, with local police departments actively coordinating.
Historical Precedents for Federal Troop and Guard Deployments
🔹 1992 Los Angeles Riots (With State Approval & With Police Coordination)
Why Not Unprecedented: President George H.W. Bush deployed 3,500 active-duty troops (Army and Marines) and over 6,000 National Guard troops in response to riots after the Rodney King verdict. California Governor Pete Wilson formally requested the deployment. LAPD Chief Daryl Gates coordinated with these federal forces to restore order in the city.
📎 Source: https://www.britannica.com/event/Los-Angeles-Riots-of-1992
Parallels to 2025: Like 1992, 2025 saw federalized Guard and Marines deployed to LA, with Chief McDonald coordinating with federal entities — a direct echo of Gates’ leadership.
🔹 1957–1958 Little Rock, Arkansas (Without State Approval & With Police Coordination)
Why Not Unprecedented: In 1957, President Eisenhower invoked Title 10 to federalize the Arkansas National Guard and deployed the 101st Airborne to enforce school desegregation, overruling Governor Orval Faubus.
📎 Source: https://www.archives.gov/milestone-documents/executive-order-10730
Police Coordination: The Little Rock Police initially escorted the Little Rock Nine. As tensions escalated, Mayor Woodrow Mann formally requested federal help, showing that local law enforcement supported and coordinated with federal forces.
📎 Police role and mayoral request: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/central-high-school-integrated
Parallels to 2025: Federalized National Guard and federal troops worked in cooperation with local law enforcement — a precedent mirrored in modern Los Angeles.
🔹 1965 Selma, Alabama (Without State Approval & With Police Coordination)
Why Not Unprecedented: After violence against civil rights marchers, President Lyndon Johnson federalized 1,900 members of the Alabama National Guard and deployed 2,000 Army troops to protect protesters. This was done without Governor Wallace’s consent under 10 U.S.C. § 12406.
📎 Source: https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/lbj-sends-federal-troops-to-alabama
Police Coordination: National Archives photo records show civil police marching alongside federalized Guard during the Selma-to-Montgomery march, confirming coordination between local and federal authorities.
📎 Coordination visuals and context: https://unwritten-record.blogs.archives.gov/2016/01/14/from-selma-to-montgomery-the-selma-voting-rights-movement/
Parallels to 2025: Coordination between federal troops and police in Selma challenges the idea that today’s joint effort is without precedent.
🔹 1967 Detroit Riots (With State Approval & With Police Coordination)
Why Not Unprecedented: President Johnson sent 4,700 federal troops and federalized the Michigan National Guard during the 1967 Detroit riots, at the request of Governor George Romney.
📎 Source (Kerner Commission report): https://www.eisenhowerfoundation.org/docs/kerner.pdf
Police Coordination: Detroit police worked directly with National Guard and Army troops, as detailed in post-riot analysis. The report describes joint operations between local law enforcement and federal entities.
Parallels to 2025: Like McDonald’s LAPD in 2025, Detroit law enforcement functioned side-by-side with federal forces in a crisis.
Legal Authority: Title 10, Section 12406
Why Not Unprecedented: Trump’s use of Title 10, Section 12406 mirrors past presidents’ decisions during internal unrest. It permits federalization of the National Guard during “insurrection” or when states cannot maintain public order.
📎 Legal authority: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/12406
This section was used:
In 1957, to federalize the Arkansas Guard during the Little Rock desegregation crisis.
In 1965, during the Selma marches.
In 2025, for the Los Angeles deployment.
Arradondo’s suggestion that the deployment and police response in 2025 are “unprecedented” doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Past presidents have deployed similar combinations of federalized National Guard and federal troops during domestic unrest — sometimes with state approval, sometimes without. And in each of those cases, local police departments worked in coordination with federal forces, much like what’s happening in Los Angeles now.