Only days after protests against the administration’s immigration crackdown began in Los Angeles, President Donald Trump has ordered almost 5,000 troops — including 700 Marines — to the city in a stunning display of force.

But the president hasn’t invoked the Insurrection Act, required for the military to conduct law enforcement on American soil.

“You have violent people, and we’re not going to let them get away with it,” Trump told reporters Sunday , while also noting he didn’t think the violence amounted yet to an “insurrection.”

The deployments, experts and former defense officials say, are technically legal but leave the military performing an awkward and potentially hazardous mission. The troops have been ordered to protect federal personnel and property amid the city’s protests,

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