California filed suit [6] against the Trump administration June 9, asserting that its activation and deployment of the state National Guard to quell protests in Los Angeles is unconstitutional. The suit asks the US District Court for the Northern District of California to halt President Donald Trump's "unlawful militarization" of Los Angeles.
Calling Trump's actions an abuse of power that needs to be ended, Gov. Gavin Newsom further described the administration's actions as "an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism." The governor stated that the calling up of the California National Guard unit, after the governor expressed his objection [9], only escalated the violence and chaos in Los Angeles. The governor characterized the administration's "federalizing the California National Guard" as an illegitimate takeover that had no legal basis. Finally, Newsom warned that the memorandum [10] Trump issued on June 7, entitled "Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions," could be used for the president to "assume control of any state militia."
California's lawsuit comes as the US Northern Command has announced [11] that it is activating 700 Marines to Los Angeles. The Marines are set to join the California National Guard members who were deployed there over the weekend for the purpose of "protecting federal personnel and federal property in the greater Los Angeles area." The Northern Command press release stated that the National Guard members who had already been deployed to Los Angeles and the 700 Marines are both "trained in de-escalation, crowd control, and standing rules for the use of force." Together the Guard and Marine personnel are to be designated Task Force 51.
The unrest began on Friday June 6, when protesters gathered outside the Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles following reports that Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were conducting raids throughout the city. The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) was called to the protests, which were later classified as an "unlawful assembly [12]." On the following night, Trump issued his memorandum [10] activating some 2,000 California National Guard troops to be deployed to the protests. This came despite Newsom's expressed preference for the LAPD to deal with the protesters. On June 8, after the National Guard troops arrived in Los Angeles, the governor demanded that they be withdrawn. Newsom called Trump's activation of the National Guard illegal, citing 10 USC § 12406(3) [13].
From JURIST [14], June 10. Used with permission.
See our last reports on domestic militarization [15] and the struggle in California [16].
