Judge Rules Trump's LA Troop Deployment Illegal

A federal judge ruled Tuesday that National Guard troops ran afoul of the law in Los Angeles when President Trump deployed them in June after immigration protests that turned violent.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled their actions violated an 1878 law that generally bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement.

“This was intentional—Defendants instigated a months-long deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles for the purpose of establishing a military presence there and enforcing federal law. Such conduct is a serious violation of the Posse Comitatus Act,” Breyer wrote.

Though most of the troops are no longer deployed in the city, the judge’s order blocks any remaining ones from making arrests and searches or conducting traffic patrols and riot control until the government meets a valid legal exception.

Breyer paused his order until next Friday, providing the administration with an avenue to appeal before it goes into effect.

An appeals court blocked a previous Breyer order that found Trump illegally federalized the National Guard and must hand back control to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).

“The military will remain in Los Angeles. This is a false narrative and a misleading injunction,” acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on X.

“The military has never engaged in direct law enforcement operations here in LA,” he continued. “They protect our federal employees our properties so our federal agents can safely enforce federal laws in the face of the thugs being unleashed and encouraged by state and local politicians.”

Trump deployed several thousand National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles in June as protests erupted in the city over the administration’s immigration crackdown, turning violent in some cases.

It sparked a major confrontation between Trump and Newsom, who has leaned into his role as a visible Trump foe to energize Democrats eager to see members of their party fight back at the president.

“DONALD TRUMP LOSES AGAIN,” Newsom responded to the ruling on X. “The courts agree — his militarization of our streets and use of the military against US citizens is ILLEGAL.”

Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) had said the deployment is illegal in several respects and demanded the courts intervene to send the troops home.

After they sued, Breyer quickly issued an emergency ruling in June finding Trump didn’t follow the mandated procedure.

The judge had ordered Trump return control of the National Guard to Newsom, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted the ruling until it resolves the administration’s appeal, allowing the deployment to remain.

As that appeal over Trump’s authority remains pending, Breyer moved ahead to consider the legality of the troops’ actions on the ground. Breyer, an appointee of former President Clinton, is the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

During a three-day bench trial last month, the judge heard testimony from three Defense and immigration officials as the Trump administration insisted the troops’ actions complied with the Posse Comitatus Act.

Breyer’s ruling rejects the administration’s arguments that the law doesn’t apply to the Los Angeles deployment and Newsom had no right to sue.

The judge went on to declare the troops’ actions illegal, emphasizing many went beyond the vicinity of federal property in downtown Los Angeles to assist immigration raids.

“In fact, these violations were part of a top-down, systemic effort by Defendants to use military troops to execute various sectors of federal law (the drug laws and the immigration laws at least) across hundreds of miles and over the course of several months—and counting,” Breyer wrote.

The judge briefly noted Trump has since deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., and has threatened to do so in other Democrat-led cities.

But Tuesday’s ruling does not impact those moves, and the unique structure of D.C. and its National Guard raises additional legal questions.