OPINION: This article contain commentary which do not reflects the author’s opinion.

MAJOR BREAKING: CNN reports that a “full Marine battalion” has officially been mobilized to deploy to Los Angeles, marking a “major escalation” in Donald Trump’s fascist efforts to brutally stomp out protests.

This is a dark, dark day in American history…

“We have breaking news from the Pentagon, CNN can now report that roughly 500 Marines are being mobilized in response to the protests in Los Angeles,” said host Boris Sanchez.

“And this is a significant escalation from President Trump who had activated National Guard troops over the weekend without Governor Gavin Newsom’s consent,” added host Brianna Keilar. “In this new move, active duty military members are being deployed as a show of force against U.S. citizens.”

The hosts then threw the segment to CNN’s Natasha Bertrand life at the Pentagon.

“This is something that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth had previewed over the weekend. He said that if necessary, he would deploy the Marines to Los Angeles to help federal agents with handling the protests there,” said Bertrand. “And it appears now that these Marines, according to our sources, they have been mobilized.”

“These 500 Marines — a full Marine battalion based out 29 Palms California which is just outside of San Bernardino about an hour away from Los Angeles — they have been mobilized and they are gearing up to go and help ICE agents as well as other federal officials deal with these protests in Los Angeles,” she continued.

“Importantly, they’re going to be bolstering as well the National Guardsmen and women who have been activated in Los Angeles by President Trump,” she went on.

“But as you said it is a significant escalation of the president’s use of the military as a show of force against these protestors,” said Bertrand. “It’s really not clear the last time Marines were deployed to help essentially with riot control though it’s unclear at this point what their actual tasking will be.”

“Typically if they are deployed to these situations it is expected that they will operate in much the same way that the National Guard does, doing things like perimeter security, maybe some crowd control, but the rules of engagement here we are told are still being finalized,” she continued.

“And Defense Department lawyers are also looking at the kinds of rules of engagement these Marines will have as they encounter protestors possibly on the streets of Los Angeles,” said Bertrand. “But again, this coming at a very, very tense moment with the Governor of California suing the Trump administration over, of course, the deployment of the National Guard by President Trump against his will there in California.”