Federal judge declares Trump's use of National Guard in California illegal

(CN) — A federal judge, on Tuesday, declared that President Donald Trump’s use of thousands of National Guardsmen and Marines in Southern California was illegal, and issued an injunction barring their deployment.

After a three-day bench trial, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, a Bill Clinton appointee and brother of former Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, ruled that Trump’s deployment of about 4,000 troops, including 700 Marines, in response to protests over federal immigration sweeps violated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878, which bars federal troops from engaging in local law enforcement. Breyer wrote that Trump’s use of the National Guard amounted to “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who has positioned himself as perhaps the prominent thorn in the side of the president, praised the ruling.

“Today, the court sided with democracy and the Constitution,” Newsom said in a written statement. “No president is a king — not even Trump — and no president can trample a state’s power to protect its people.” He added, “There is no rampant lawlessness in California, and in fact, crime rates are higher in Republican-led states. Trump’s attempt to use federal troops as his personal police force is illegal, authoritarian, and must be stopped in every courtroom across this country.”

Trump deployed the National Guard on June 7, citing “numerous incidents of violence and disorder” that followed the immigration sweeps by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Los Angeles, calling the protests “a form of rebellion." Trump also authorized Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to “employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property.” Trump has since deployed troops to Washington, D.C., to help the police suppress crime and has suggested that he might do the same in Oakland, Baltimore, Chicago and San Francisco

California sued the Trump administration two days after deployment began, and Judge Breyer issued a temporary injunction returning control of the National Guard to Newsom. The federal government appealed, and the Ninth Circuit stayed the injunction, ruling that the president has broad discretion to deploy the Guard if his ability to execute federal law is “significantly impeded.” But the Ninth Circuit based its decision on claims that Trump had violated the Tenth Amendment and did not address whether Trump’s actions violated the Posse Comitatus Act.

Troops in Los Angeles, under the command of “Task Force 51,” were assigned to protect federal buildings and federal employees. They also helped law enforcement detain protesters and suspected illegal immigrants — for example, they helped set up traffic checkpoints outside cannabis fields that were being raided for illegal immigrants.

“Defendants’ presence to bolster DHS and DEA operations and shows of force exercises regulatory, proscriptive, and compulsory power on the surrounding public, and their participation in operations in numbers that match or outnumber law enforcement agents pervade the activities of those civilian agents,” Breyer wrote. “Defendants’ systemic use of Task Force 51 troops to execute domestic law in and around Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act.”

“In fact,” Breyer added, “these violations were part of a top-down, systemic effort by Defendants to use military troops to execute various sectors of federal law (the drug laws and the immigration laws at least) across hundreds of miles and over the course of several months—and counting.”

LA Mayor Karen Bass praised the ruling, saying in a written statement, “The White House tried to invade the second largest city in the country. That’s illegal. Los Angeles will not buckle and we will not break.”

Trump has not publicly addressed the injunction. But Bill Essayli, acting U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, said on the social media platform X that the judge’s order was “misleading” at the military would “remain in Los Angeles.” He added, “The military has never engaged in direct law enforcement operations here in LA. They protect our federal employees our properties so our federal agents can safely enforce federal laws in the face of the thugs being unleashed and encouraged by state and local politicians.”

Follow @hillelaron