Federal judge rejects state’s emergency request on military deployment in LA

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (KESQ) - A federal judge Tuesday denied a request by the state of California for an emergency order blocking the deployment of additional federalized National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to the Los Angeles area.

The ruling came hours after California filed an emergency motion against the Trump administration asking the court to take immediate action to block President Donald Trump and the U.S. Department of Defense from expanding the current mission of National Guard personnel and Marines in Los Angeles.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer scheduled a hearing for Thursday afternoon in San Francisco federal court on the state's request for a restraining order.

The lawsuit brought late Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta follows Trump's escalation of military forces in the Los Angeles area through the takeover of 4,000 National Guard soldiers and what state officials call the unlawful deployment of 700 Marines to act beyond simply guarding federal property.  

"The federal government is now turning the military against American citizens,'' Newsom said in a statement. "Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy. Donald Trump is behaving like a tyrant, not a President. We ask the court to immediately block these unlawful actions."  

The request was filed as part of the state's lawsuit filed against Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the DOD, charging violations of the U.S. Constitution and the president's authority, not only because the takeover occurred without the consent or input of the governor, as federal law requires, but also because, Newsom said, it was unwarranted.   

A U.S. Department of Justice spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the litigation.   

"The President is looking for any pretense to place military forces on American streets to intimidate and quiet those who disagree with him,'' Bonta said. "It's not just immoral -- it's illegal and dangerous. Local law enforcement, not the military, enforce the law within our borders. The President continues to inflame tensions and antagonize communities. We're asking the court to immediately block the Trump Administration from ordering the military or federalized national guard from patrolling our communities or otherwise engaging in general law enforcement activities beyond federal property.''   

According to state officials, in the early hours of Sunday morning, the DOD, at the direction of Trump, redirected hundreds of National Guard troops from San Diego to Los Angeles, without authorization from the governor and against the wishes of local law enforcement. In total, the department deployed 4,000 National Guard troops from across the state, as well as an additional 700 Marines, "an inflammatory escalation unsupported by conditions on the ground,'' according to Bonta.

Trump has said that the deployment of the National Guard was a matter of law and order carried out in response to protests that erupted Friday during a series of immigration raids in the Los Angeles area, then worsening protests on Saturday.

On Monday, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass should be thanking him for the deployment, saying that without it, ``Los Angeles would have been completely obliterated.'' He did not elaborate on the actions of Guard members, who were primarily deployed around federal buildings such as the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown, rather than actually working to quell the protests in the streets.   

In the lawsuit, Newsom and Bonta ask the court to hold that the orders federalizing the National Guard are unlawful, arguing that:   

-- The federalization of the National Guard deprives the state of resources to protect itself and its citizens, and of critical responders in the event of a state emergency;

-- the rarely used order in which the president may call the National Guard into federal service requires that the governor consent, which Newsom was not given the opportunity to do prior to their deployment; and   

-- the president's order infringes on Newsom's role as commander-in- chief of the state National Guard and violates the state's sovereign right to control and have available its National Guard in the absence of a lawful invocation of federal power.

Trump's decision to deploy troops to Los Angeles amid mass deportation protests will likely cost $134 million, the Pentagon's budget chief told lawmakers during a budget hearing Tuesday with Hegseth, who said the president is enforcing ``law and order."

Bonta said Trump's order attempts to usurp state authority. He said the law cited by Trump has been invoked on its own only once before -- when then-President Richard Nixon called upon the National Guard to deliver the mail during the 1970 Postal Service strike.

It is also the first time since 1965 -- when President Lyndon Johnson sent troops to Alabama to protect civil rights demonstrators -- that a president has activated a state's National Guard without a request from the state's governor, Bonta said.

On Sunday, Tom Homan, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, made comments suggesting Newsom and other officials could face arrest if they interfere with federal enforcement actions. The agency later walked back the comment, saying Homan was not threatening to arrest Newsom. But on Monday, Trump told reporters he would support Homan arresting the governor.

"I think it's great,'' Trump said. "Gavin likes the publicity. ... He's done a terrible job. I like Gavin Newsom, he's a nice guy, but he's grossly incompetent, everybody knows."

Newsom responded during an appearance on MSNBC over the weekend.   

"Come after me, arrest me. Let's just get it over with, tough guy, you know?'' Newsom said. ``I don't give a damn. But I care about my community. I care about this community. The hell are they doing? These guys need to grow up. They need to stop, and we need to push back. And I'm sorry, to be so clear, but that kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let's go."