LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Gov. Gavin Newsom is threatening to sue President Donald Trump’s administration Monday for deploying the National Guard to Los Angeles because of protests sparked by immigration raids without coordinating the move before making the decision.
“There’s a protocol; there’s a process,” Newsom told correspondent Jacob Soboroff Sunday in an interview on MSNBC. “He didn’t care about that. And the worst part? He completely lied.”
Newsom noted that Trump posted on social media that everything was safe after he had sent the National Guard — except the Guard had not been deployed at the time.
Newsom also dared for Trump’s border czar Tom Homan to “arrest me.” Homan threatened on Saturday to arrest anyone who obstructs the immigration effort, including city and state leaders.
“He knows where to find me,” Newsom said of Homan. “That kind of bloviating is exhausting. So, Tom, arrest me. Let’s go.”
Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass have been leading the opposition to Trump’s decision to deploy the National Guard to Los Angeles County after protests over federal immigration raids.
Newsom blasted the move in a fund-raising email sent out Sunday morning.
“Last night, President Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles, using the excuse of protests against his immigration raids. Let me be totally clear about what is happening here. We have been working closely with law enforcement. There is no unmet need. The president is attempting to inflame passions and provoke a response,” Newsom wrote.
“He would like nothing more than for this provocative show of force — and (Secretary of Defense) Pete Hegseth’s absurd threat to deploy United States Marines on American soil — to escalate tensions and incite violence.
“These are not people who have some deep conviction about protecting law enforcement. This is a President who failed to call up the National Guard when it was actually needed — on January 6th — and then pardoned the participants as one of his first acts as president.
“They want a spectacle. They want the violence. They think this is good for them politically. That is why White House aides were posting pictures of Trump getting popcorn last night. This is not the way a civilized country behaves. It is completely deranged behavior.
“To the people of Los Angeles and across the country who are protesting these immigration raids: Don’t give them the spectacle they want. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully and in large numbers. I know many of you have been watching the news about this, so I thought it important to reach out.”
Bass echoed some of those thoughts in an interview with KTLA5.
“I’m very disappointed that he chose to do this, because it’s just not necessary,” Bass told the station Sunday morning. “There was protests last night in Los Angeles — my understanding is that there were about 120 protesters. Several of them did commit acts of vandalism, but there was nothing that was happening in downtown Los Angeles that the Los Angeles Police Department could not manage to deal with, so to me, this is completely unnecessary, I think it’s the administration just posturing. To have 100 troops in Westwood, where nothing had happened at all, and 100 downtown is just overreach.”
Addressing the media on Sunday evening, Bass said the federal administration ought to let local officials take charge, and recall the National Guard troops. She accused Trump of creating an unsafe environment for immigrants during his first term, which has carried onto this second term. Bass also noted the detainees had not been allowed any form of communication.
Stating ongoing recovery from the wildfires, she said the troops and the chaos with it were the “last thing the city needs.” Bass addressed the protesters saying, “I call on all Angelenos to continue expressing your right, your anger, your outrage, but do it peacefully.”
“No matter where you were born, the First Amendment Right gives you the ability to protest peacefully, not create chaos or vandalize property, and that will not be tolerated,” she said.
Bass said she spoke to high-level officials in the Trump administration, including Homan before the Guard deployment, and “expressed to them that things were not out of control in the city of Los Angeles. Paramount has some issues, but I doubt very seriously that there’s a need for the National Guard there either.”
Bass said she told Homan, “If you want there to be chaos, then have troops on the ground when there is absolutely no need for that to happen.”
Earlier in the day, Bass issued the following official statement:
“This morning, President Trump deployed the National Guard into Los Angeles. Deploying federalized troops on the heels of these raids is a chaotic escalation. The fear people are feeling in our city right now is very real — it’s felt in our communities and within our families and it puts our neighborhoods at risk. This is the last thing that our city needs, and I urge protesters to remain peaceful.
“I’ve been in touch this morning with immigrant rights leaders as well as local law enforcement officials. Los Angeles will always stand with everyone who calls our city home.”
Homan, meanwhile, told NBC News that elected officials could be open to federal prosecution if they’re found to be impeding law enforcement.
“It’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job,” Homan said.
“… I don’t think she’s crossed the line yet,” he said of Bass.
“It is SICKENING that Mayor Bass continues to protect violent rioters and criminal illegal aliens at the expense of the safety of American citizens and communities,” the DHS said in a post on social media Sunday afternoon.
“@POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem will restore Law and Order to Los Angeles if its leaders won’t.”
Recent Comments