DeSantis offers Florida’s State Guard to Los Angeles. No thanks, says Newsom – Miami HeraldAfter the Trump administration sent Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to the protests against immigration enforcement, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed adding another group to the mix: the Florida State Guard.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, however, declined DeSantis’ offer.“Given the guard were not needed in the first place, we declined Governor DeSantis’ attempt to inflame an already chaotic situation made worse by his party’s leader,” Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo told the Herald in an email.

DeSantis’ offer comes amid his criticism of California’s efforts at controlling protesters while going toe-to-toe with Newsom on social media. Reports of vandalized businesses, damaged police cruisers, road shutdowns and looting this past week in downtown Los Angeles have spurred DeSantis’ attacks, calling the protests “disgraceful.”

“That would never fly in the state of Florida, not for one minute,” DeSantis said during a Tuesday press conference in Jacksonville. “You would end up in the slammer very quickly.”

After the Trump administration sent Marines and National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to the protests against immigration enforcement, Gov. Ron DeSantis proposed adding another group to the mix: the Florida State Guard.

“Given the guard were not needed in the first place, we declined Governor DeSantis’ attempt to inflame an already chaotic situation made worse by his party’s leader,” Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo told the Herald in an email. A state guard, maintained in 23 states, is a state-trained, state-funded volunteer force meant to respond to “man-made and natural disasters.” Florida’s guard was inactive for around 75 years until DeSantis reactivated it in 2022. He sent it across state lines in 2024 to fortify the Texas border and again to aid North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The Florida State Guard, which faced controversy for its militaristic training, was revived not just for emergencies, but also aiding law enforcement with riots and illegal immigration, according to its officials.