California has said Trump’s National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was unlawful and intended to suppress protests after immigration raids.
California has said Trump’s National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was unlawful and intended to suppress protests after immigration raids.
The US government’s unprecedented deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles to support President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown was unlawful and must end, a lawyer for the state of California told a federal judge on Tuesday.
Speaking in San Francisco during the second day of a landmark trial, Meghan Strong of the California Attorney General’s Office said evidence showed the troops violated the 19th-century Posse Comitatus Act (PCA), which prohibits the military from engaging in civilian law enforcement.
“The government wanted a show of military force so great that any opposition to their agenda was silenced,” Strong argued.
The dispute stems from Trump’s June order sending 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to days of unrest and protests following mass immigration raids. California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, opposed the move and sued, claiming the deployment crossed legal boundaries.
Justice Department attorney Eric Hamilton countered that the violence in Los Angeles warranted military intervention, insisting that the troops’ role was limited to protecting federal agents and property — an exception to the PCA.
California contends the troops engaged in prohibited policing activities, including setting up roadblocks, diverting traffic, and making arrests. Government witnesses acknowledged such actions are generally barred but argued they were permissible when federal assets were at risk.
US District Judge Charles Breyer questioned whether Trump had unchecked authority to decide when troops were necessary, pressing Hamilton on the president’s June claim that the protests constituted a “rebellion” against federal authority. “Is it a ‘rebellion’ because the president says it is a ‘rebellion’?” Breyer asked.
While many troops have been withdrawn, California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Monday that 300 National Guard members remain active, participating in immigration raids and restricting civilian movement in the state.
Breyer will also hear arguments on Wednesday over whether Newsom has the legal standing to bring the case. The judge has not indicated when he will issue a ruling.
The trial’s outcome is unlikely to directly affect Trump’s separate plan to deploy hundreds of National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., to address crime — an action he has suggested could be replicated in other US cities.
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