US DOJ urges federal court not to limit Trump's use of troops in LA

By Bob Van Voris and Madlin Mekelburg

 

The US Justice Department urged a federal judge not to interfere with the Trump administration’s deployment of the National Guard and US Marines to respond to deportation protests in Los Angeles.  

The Trump administration deployed thousands of National Guard troops and hundreds of US Marines in recent days to respond to protests in Los Angeles, over the objections of state and city officials. California is seeking a court order to limit military involvement in the protests over President Donald Trump’s immigration raids.

 

“There is no rioters’ veto to enforcement of federal law,” the US said in a filing Wednesday. “And the president has every right under the Constitution and by statute to call forth the National Guard and Marines to quell lawless violence.”

 

 

Justice Department lawyers argued that a bid by California to limit the troops to guarding federal property and personnel is illegal and called it “a crass political stunt.” US District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco has scheduled a hearing in the case for Thursday afternoon. 

 

The president and California Governor Gavin Newsom have traded barbs over attempts to quell unrest in the city. Newsom said the decision to send in troops was illegal, and Trump suggested that Newsom should be arrested for his response to the protests.

 

“President Trump continues to violate the US Constitution and federal law by turning the military into his own personal police force against American citizens,” a spokesperson for Newsom said in a statement.

 

The dispute is the latest flash point in a broader legal fight over the limits of president Trump’s executive power.

 

In a joint statement on Wednesday, Democratic attorneys general from 18 states including New York and Illinois said the deployment was “unlawful, unconstitutional and undemocratic” because it was done without California’s consent.  

 

A group of 19 states and the territory of Guam said in a court filing they support Trump’s use of National Guard troops without California’s consent, calling it “responsible, constitutional and authorized by statute.”

 

Among the state leaders supporting for Trump’s decision is Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, who vowed to use National Guard troops if needed in protests planned for June 14 in the state.

 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, also a Republican, offered to deploy members of the Florida State Guard to assist efforts to respond to the California protests, but Newsom rejected his offer, according to the Orlando Sentinel. 

 

At least 400 people have been arrested in the greater Los Angeles area since the weekend amid clashes between police and demonstrators rallying in response to increasingly aggressive raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

 

Mayor Karen Bass imposed a nighttime curfew on Tuesday in a one-square-mile section of downtown where tensions have run high during days of demonstrations. She said 23 businesses were looted the night before, many were also vandalized and the area had been covered in graffiti.

 

Of the federalized National Guard troops, more than 2,000 have been used to protect people and buildings by conducting security patrols, staffing observation posts and securing the perimeter of federal buildings, Army Major General Niave Knell said in a declaration included in the court filing. More than 700 Marines are “currently training in preparation to conduct similar protection operations,” she said.

 

The case is Newsom v. Trump, 25-cv-04870, US District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).