Not American and maybe I'm just OOTL but this confuses me as well... I'm aware of a peaceful protest against the mass deportations, but what else? Why do they need armed soldiers??
It's the next step in his takeover. He already controls the government. He controls business through tariffs. Now he needs to control the people.
Once he's got control internally, he'll turn his eyes to other countries. What we've seen so far with his threats will become reality as he annexes Canada, Mexico, and Greenland to secure natural resources and wages a full economic war on anyone else who challenges him (China, EU)
It's pretty textbook rise of Nazi Germany 1930s. None of this should be surprising.