How a Live-Fire Exercise on No Kings Day Went Off the Rails
Despite claims of safety — and the Trump administration yelling at Governor Newsom for closing the 5 Freeway — some vehicles were damaged.
It was supposed to be a party celebrating the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Marines. The Vice President was at Camp Pendleton, basking in the show of force while No Kings Day protests filled Los Angeles and San Diego.
Part of the plan included firing high-explosive M777 howitzer rounds into designated ranges over Interstate 5. Federal officials insisted all safety measures were in place and that no public highways needed to be closed.
California officials weren’t so sure.
Friday evening, the Marines ran a test without telling the state. They fired over the 5 while it was packed with traffic.
By morning, Governor Newsom had seen enough. He ordered part of the freeway closed for the main event.
He turned out to be right. The CHP says one of its cruisers was hit by shrapnel after a round exploded midair — in the wrong place. A motorcycle officer also reported hearing shrapnel hit his vehicle, with more of it striking the ground nearby. The show ended early.
You can imagine how much worse it could have been if they’d kept firing.
The Los Angeles Times quoted Carlton Haelig, a defense strategy expert at the Center for a New American Security, who said that firing artillery over populated areas is “inherently risky,” even if the weapons are manufactured under strict controls. “If there is a premature explosion or something like that,” he said, “shrapnel over a populated area would be a main concern.”
Other sources told the paper that firing rounds over the freeway is extremely rare and that none of Pendleton’s usual artillery zones sit west of the 5.
When Newsom closed the freeway, the White House blasted him:
“Not only did nobody at the White House or the Marines ask him to do so, the Marines repeatedly said there are no public safety concerns with today’s exercises,” the administration posted.
They criticized him even after they themselves, on the Thursday before the event, had directed Amtrak and Metrolink to temporarily cancel service on the rail lines in the area.
A live video feed showed Vice President JD Vance watching from a shoreline vantage point. As weapons fire echoed, an announcer called out, “Thuuunderrrr. The guns recoil. The earth shakes and a 155-millimeter shell tears through the air. ... Steel rain inbound.”
But then the announcer fell silent.
The CHP report says the Marines had planned to fire about 60 rounds over five minutes. After one exploded prematurely, scattering debris, the exercise was stopped immediately.
Newsom later accused Trump and Vance of “putting lives at risk to put on a show.”
“This could have killed someone,” he said.