US District Judge, Charles Breyer has ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law when he deployed National Guard troops to southern California amid protests against a series of aggressive immigration raids.
Breyer did not require the remaining troops to be withdrawn, however. He set his order to go into effect on Friday.
The order comes after California sued the Trump administration for deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles without the consent of state officials, that the troops were violating a law that prohibits military enforcement of domestic laws.
Lawyers for Trump’s Republican administration have argued the Posse Comitatus Act doesn’t apply because the troops were protecting federal officers, not enforcing laws. They say that the troops were mobilized under an authority that allows the president to deploy them.
Trump deployed roughly 4,000 National Guard soldiers and 700 Marines in Southern California over the objections of Democratic Governor, Gavin Newsom, citing a law that applies when the nation “is invaded,” when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government,” or when the President is otherwise unable “to execute the laws of the United States.”
Breyer accused the Trump administration of “willfully” violating the law, saying it used troops for functions barred by their training, refused to “meaningfully coordinate with state and local officials” and “coached” federal law enforcement agencies as it used armed soldiers and military vehicles to block traffic, engage in crowd control and otherwise act beyond its authority.
The judge’s decision comes as Trump has discussed National Guard deployments in Democratic-led cities like Chicago, Baltimore and New York. He has already deployed the guard as part of his unprecedented law enforcement takeover in the nation’s capital, where he has direct legal authority over the D.C. National Guard.
Breyer noted in his ruling the Trump administration’s possible plans to call National Guard troops into other US cities.
Reacting to the judge’s ruling, Newsom posted on X, in an all-caps reflection of Trump’s own social media style, “DONALD TRUMP LOSES AGAIN,” adding, “The courts agree — his militarization of our streets and use of the military against US citizens is ILLEGAL.”
Ramirez Reacts To Trump’s Threat Of Troop Deployment To Chicago
Sharing a news update about a federal judge finding Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles illegal, Congresswoman Delia Ramirez of Illinois, where Trump has threatened to carry out another deployment in Chicago, said that doing so in that city would be illegal as well.
“It was illegal when Donald Trump abused military power in LA. It would be in Chicago, too, if he unlawfully moves forward with his threats.
“The deployment of military personnel in Democratic cities is not about safety and security. It is about control.”
Delia Ramirez
Meanwhile, Governor JB Pritzker is set to hold a news conference to address the Trump administration’s threats of sending increased federal law enforcement – and possibly National Guard troops – to Chicago, the largest city in Illinois.
The announcement came as Trump again upped criticism of crime in the city on his Truth Social account.
On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told a news agency that federal immigration enforcement would soon be bolstered in the city. However, it was not clear if that would also mean the deployment of National Guard troops.
Speaking on a news channel, Pritzker had said, “Any kind of troops on the streets of an American city don’t belong unless there’s an insurrection, unless there is truly an emergency, and there’s not.”
He added that he expected there soon to be “some type of militarised activity by the federal government” in Chicago, but the nature of it remained unclear.
