The U.S. Marine Corps previously said it would not close any public highways for the event, which Vice President JD Vance is expected to attend.
The 5 Freeway will be closed for four hours during a live-fire event at Camp Pendleton on Saturday, despite the U.S. Marine Corps' previous insistence that public highways would remain open.According to the California Highway Patrol, the 5 will be closed between Harbor Drive and Basilone Road from 11 a.
m. to 3 p.m. About 80,000 drivers travel the route, which connects San Diego and Orange counties, every day.The Amtrak Surfliner train service, a popular rail line Southern California residents frequently use for weekend trips to the beach, will also be shut down midday.The event, which the Marine Corps calls an 'Amphibious Capabilities Demonstration,' is set to take place at Red Beach to mark the 250th anniversary of the military branch. Vice President JD Vance, a Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, is expected to appear at the celebration, the White House confirmed.In its initial announcement, the Marine Corps said 'no public highways or transportation routes will be closed' on Saturday. The service branch has framed the festivities as 'training events' in a news release issued earlier in the week, stating that the activities ensure its servicemembers' 'readiness to defend the homeland.'In a statement, Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said the federal government informed the state that live munitions will be fired over the freeway around 1:30 p.m. local time. The decision to close the 5 Freeway was recommended by traffic safety experts at the CHP, who cited 'extreme life safety risk and distraction to drivers, including sudden unexpected and loud explosions,' the statement said.Newsom called Saturday's Marine Corps event an 'absurd show of force' from President Trump's administration.The President is putting his ego over responsibility with this disregard for public safety,' Newsom said. 'Firing live rounds over a busy highway isn't just wrong — it's dangerous. Using our military to intimidate people you disagree with isn't strength — it's reckless, it's disrespectful, and it's beneath the office he holds. Law and order? This is chaos and confusion.'Saturday's events coincide with 'No Kings' protests scheduled nationwide, including across Southern California. It's the second round of No Kings protests, as millions of demonstrators took to the streets in June as part of an anti-Trump movement.
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