LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta sued the Trump Administration Monday over the federalization of the California National Guard in response to unrest over immigration raids in the Los Angeles area.
Early Sunday, the U.S. Department of Defense, at the direction of President Donald 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, Bonta said.
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority,” Newsom said in a statement. “This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic. Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach. This is beyond incompetence — this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand.”
Trump said over the weekend 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 L.A. 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 appeared to be 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.
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, according to Bonta.
“Donald Trump is putting fuel on this fire,” Newsom posted on social media late Sunday. “Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the governor of that state is illegal and immoral. California will be taking him to court.”
During an appearance on MSNBC Sunday night, Newsom was more blunt, saying Trump “exacerbated the conditions” in the Los Angeles area and “lit the proverbial match.” He insisted local law enforcement was equipped to respond to protests, and deploying the National Guard and threatening to send in hundreds of Marines simply escalated tensions.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Newsom and Bass chose to “lie to the people of California and America by saying that we weren’t needed, and that these are `peaceful protests.’ Just one look at the pictures and videos of the violence and destruction tells you all you have to know.”
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told NewsNation over the weekend that Trump stepped in “to restore law and order because of Gavin Newsom’s feckless leadership and his refusal to stop the violent attacks on American law enforcement.”
“It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” Jackson said. “Everyone saw the chaos, violence, and lawlessness — unless, of course, Gavin Newsom doesn’t think any of that is a problem.”
Newsom on Sunday urged people taking part in demonstrations to do so peacefully, and said people who engage in violence are “fueling Trump’s flames.”
“Trump wants chaos and he’s instigated violence,” Newsom wrote on social media. “Those who assault law enforcement or cause property damage will risk arrest. Stay peaceful. Stay focused. Don’t give him the excuse he’s looking for.”
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.”
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