A federal judge ruled on Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles was illegal, delivering a major blow to the president as he prepares to deploy the military to other U.S. cities.
Judge Charles Breyer found that the president’s actions violated the Posse Comitatus Act by having armed soldiers carry out domestic law enforcement activities.
In the 52-page opinion, the Clinton appointed judge noted the president has indicated plans to deploy the National Guard for “federal service in other cities across the country—including Oakland and San Francisco, here in the Northern District of California—thus creating a national police force with the President as its chief."
Trump called for the deployment of 4,000 National Guard and 700 active duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in early June in response to protests against immigration raids.
The president did not invoke the Insurrection Act but called on the military to protect ICE and other government personnel carrying out their work, including federal law enforcement, and to protect federal property.
Breyer found however that the deployed task force was “expressly instructed that it could engage in certain law enforcement activities: setting up protective perimeters, traffic blockades, crowd control, and the like” and that it executed domestic law enforcement in prohibited ways.
“Defendants instigated a months-long deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles for the purpose of establishing a military presence there and enforcing federal law. Such conduct is a serious violation of the Posse Comitatus Act,” he wrote.
The court described the violations as a “top-down, systemic effort” to use military troops to “execute various sectors of federal law.”
The judge noted that the trial found that the military’s federal law enforcement operations in Southern California also expanded beyond Los Angeles.
As of August 11, 300 National Guard members remain deployed in Southern California.
While the judge found that the Trump administration had violated the law, it did not order the troops to be withdrawn from Los Angeles; instead, it required that they be used more narrowly and consistently with the law, essentially allowing them to continue protecting federal property.
What the Trump administration is not allowed to do is to deploy or order the National Guard or other military troops in California to carry out the law, “including but not limited to engaging in arrests, apprehensions, searches, seizures, security patrols, traffic control, crowd control, riot control, evidence collection, interrogation, or acting as informants.”
Breyer found that if the president wants to avoid violating the Posse Comitatus Act, “he must invoke a valid exception—like the Insurrection Act, along with its requisite showing that state and local law enforcement are unable or unwilling to act."
The ruling comes as the president has indicated he wants to send the National Guard into Chicago, New York, Baltimore, and other U.S. cities after also deploying troops to the District of Columbia last month.
However, the injunction issued on Tuesday only applies to the National Guard in California, not nationally.
California Governor Gavin Newsom, who sought the end of the National Guard deployment in his state, celebrated the court’s decision.
“DONALD TRUMP LOSES AGAIN,” he wrote on X. “The courts agree -- his militarization of our streets and use of the military against US citizens is ILLEGAL.”
The White House on Tuesday blasted the decision and claimed the president had “saved” Los Angeles while vowing the fight would continue.
“Once again, a rogue judge is trying to usurp the authority of the Commander-in-Chief to protect American cities from violence and destruction,” said spokesperson Anna Kelly in a statement.
“While far-left courts try to stop President Trump from carrying out his mandate to Make America Safe Again, the President is committed to protecting law-abiding citizens, and this will not be the final say on the issue,” she added.
