Trump’s deployment of troops in LA was illegal, judge rules

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles during immigration enforcement and protests was illegal.

Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco issued the ruling, finding that the deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act,  which bars most uses of U.S. troops on U.S. soil.

It is unlawful for U.S. military troops to enforce domestic laws. The Trump administration has argued that the troops were there to protect federal officers and property and they were not performing local policing duties.

“Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles wasn’t just extreme — it was illegal,” Senator Alex Padilla said on Bluesky. 

The ruling, which follows a lawsuit by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and a three-day trial in San Francisco federal court, goes into effect at noon on Sept. 12.

"Today, the court sided with democracy and the Constitution," according to a statement from Newsom. "No president is a king -- not even Trump -- and no president can trample a state's power to protect its people. As the court today ruled, Trump is breaking the law by `creating a national police force with the President as its chief.'

An appeal is expected from the Trump administration.

"Once again, a rogue judge is trying to usurp the authority of the Commander-in-Chief to protect American cities from violence and destruction," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly said. "The President is committed to protecting law-abiding citizens, and this will not be the final say on the issue."

Trump deployed 4,000 National Guard and 700 Marines to Los Angeles in June.

The injunction applies only to the military in California, not nationally. Trump, who recently deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., said he may send troops to Chicago.

The president said last month that he can "do anything I want to do ... if I think our country is in danger."

According to the ruling, the Trump administration's use of federalized National Guard troops and Marines for civilian law enforcement in Los Angeles is illegal and the administration is permanently banned from engaging in the same or similar activity in the future.

That activity includes "arrests, apprehensions, searches, seizures, security patrols, traffic control, crowd control, riot control, evidence collection, interrogation, or acting as informants, unless and until defendants satisfy the requirements of a valid constitutional or statutory exception, as defined herein, to the Posse Comitatus Act," Breyer wrote in the 52-page order.

"Today's ruling affirms that President Trump is not King, and the power of the executive is not boundless," Attorney General Rob Bonta said in a statement Tuesday. "For more than two months, the President has engaged in political theater, using National Guard troops and Marines as pawns to further his anti-immigrant agenda.

"In doing so, he trampled on one of the very basic foundations of our democracy: That our military be apolitical and the activities of troops on U.S. soil be extremely limited to ensure civil liberties and protect against military overreach. I applaud the District Court for firmly rejecting the Trump Administration's reckless interpretation of the Posse Comitatus Act and rebuking its unprecedented use of military troops for civilian law enforcement in California communities."

Newsom also applauded the decision, saying that Trump's use of the military for civilian law enforcement must be stopped throughout the country.

"That's exactly what we've been warning about for months. There is no rampant lawlessness in California, and in fact, crime rates are higher in Republican-led states. Trump's attempt to use federal troops as his personal police force is illegal, authoritarian, and must be stopped in every courtroom across this country."

About 300 National Guard troops remain deployed to Los Angeles, and the Trump administration has said they would stay in the area at least until November.

In a post on X, Mayor Karen Bass also praised Breyer's ruling.

"I applaud the court for today's important ruling," she said. "The White House tried to invade the second largest city in the country. That's illegal. Los Angeles will not buckle and we will not break. We will not be divided and we will not be defeated."

U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli of the Central District of California blasted the judge's order.

"The military will remain in Los Angeles," he posted on social media. 

Additional reporting by City News Service