LOS ANGELES (CNS) – Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will sue the Trump Administration Monday over the federalization of the California National Guard in response to unrest over immigration raids in the Los Angeles area.
“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, said 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 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 be deployed solely around federal buildings such as the Metropolitan Detention Center downtown, rather than actually working to quell the protests.
Trump wrote 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.”
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