Pastor Calls Christians to Pray for LA as Trump Deploys Hundreds of Marines
President Donald Trump deployed hundreds of U.S. Marines on Monday to quell the ongoing anti-ICE riots that erupted in Los Angeles over the weekend. According to ABC News, 700 Marines from the 2nd Battalion and 7th Marines in Twentynine Palms, California, were rushed into the city, while CNN saw 500 Marines mobilized from the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in California.
"I mean, I think we have it very well under control," Trump said. "I think it would have been a very bad situation. It was heading in the wrong direction. It's now heading in the right direction."
Trump initially deployed the National Guard to L.A. on Saturday and criticized both Gov. Gavin Newsom and L.A. Mayor Karen Bass for allowing the anti-ICE protests to turn into riots to take place, resulting in an attack on federal, state, and local law enforcement officers.
"He's done a terrible job," the president said of Newsom. "Look, I like Gavin Newsom, he's a nice guy, but he's grossly incompetent."
Meanwhile, the state of California sued Trump for deploying the National Guard, alleging that Trump is "trying to manufacture chaos and crisis."
"This is a manufactured crisis. He is creating fear and terror to take over a state militia and violate the U.S. Constitution," Newsome wrote on X. "The illegal order he signed could allow him to send the military into ANY STATE HE WISHES. Every governor — red or blue — should reject this outrageous overreach. There's a lot of hyperbole out there. This isn't that. This is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism that threatens the foundation of our republic. We cannot let it stand."
NEW: We are suing Donald Trump.
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 9, 2025
This is a manufactured crisis. He is creating fear and terror to take over a state militia and violate the U.S. constitution.
The illegal order he signed could allow him to send the military into ANY STATE HE WISHES.
Every governor -- red or…
Marines are expected to relieve some of the 2,000 National Guard troops two days after being in the city. So far, about 300 troops have been deployed on the streets.
In an interview with CBN News, Mario Adriel Ortiz, lead pastor of The Church On The Way—En Espanol, explained the importance of prayer, the first response Christians should have to the current chaos.
"Well, I think we've got to pray first. We've got to bring God into the conversation Ortiz said. "How does the gospel inform this?"
He added that "where the people are, that's where God's heart is," regardless of whether they are undocumented immigrants, documented immigrants, as well as federal agents.
The pastor also stressed that professing Christians must look at themselves primarily as Christians beyond their political affiliation.
"And so as a follower of Christ, if you're a follower of Christ, listen, you should be a Christian first before you are a Democrat Christian, before you are a Republican Christian, before you're a progressive Christian. How about you are just a Christian."
Regarding the riots, Ortiz explained that it is ultimately a spiritual issue rather than a social issue and that Christians must pray first above all things.
"Romans 8:26 tells us that when we don't know how to pray because we got to pray first, but sometimes we don't know how to pray," Ortiz told the outlet. "Well, the Holy Spirit can help us pray."
"And so our first response as Christians is to pray and not cast judgment," he added.
WATCH: Violent Riots Erupt in LA - How Should Christians Respond?
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Jim Vondruska/Stringer
Originally published June 10, 2025.
