A protester places debris in a fire as Border Patrol personnel in riot gear and gas masks stand guard outside an industrial park in Paramount, California, on Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
After a jury acquitted four LAPD officers in the brutal beating of Rodney King, riots erupted across Los Angeles. The chaos prompted then-California Gov. Pete Wilson to request federal assistance.
Then-President George H.W. Bush invoked the Insurrection Act, deploying 4,000 U.S. Army soldiers and 1,500 Marines in addition to National Guardsmen. The riots left more than 60 people dead, thousands injured and large swaths of the city burned.
Bush condemned the violence in a televised address.
"What followed Wednesday's jury verdict in the Rodney King case was a tragic series of events… nearly 4,000 fires, staggering property damage, hundreds of injuries, and the senseless deaths of over 30 people."
A notable incident underscored the challenges of military-civilian coordination. During a tense exchange, a police officer reportedly yelled "Cover me!" to nearby Marines, asking them to watch his back during a domestic disturbance response. Trained in combat response, they misunderstood the command and fired over 200 rounds into a house, believing they were providing covering fire, according to an article printed in an Army War College publication.
Violent unrest broke out after the killing of Martin Luther King Jr. (Rowland Scherman/Getty Images)
One of the most violent civil disturbances in U.S. history broke out after a police raid on an unlicensed bar in Detroit. The five-day riot left 43 dead, more than 1,000 injured and 400 buildings destroyed.
Then-Michigan Gov. George Romney called in 8,000 National Guardsmen. Johnson followed by deploying 4,700 federal troops from the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions to support overwhelmed local forces.
POSSE COMITATUS ACT AT CENTER OF TRUMP-NEWSOM NATIONAL GUARD DISPUTE IN LA
Men who were part of a mob outside the Little Rock high school were ordered away at gunpoint by the Army 101st Airborne. (Getty Images)
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During the Civil War, the Union’s first draft law allowed wealthy men to pay $300 to avoid military service—sparking resentment among working-class Irish immigrants.
The protests quickly descended into four days of racially charged riots, with mobs targeting Black Americans and overwhelming local police. Then-President Abraham Lincoln redirected battle-hardened Union troops from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, to quell the violence.
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