A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles violated federal restrictions on using the military for domestic law enforcement.
Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found that Trump’s use of the California National Guard in response to at-times violent protests in June in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that bans the use of military personnel for domestic law enforcement.
Trump’s actions would create “a national police force with the President as its chief,” Breyer wrote. Breyer blocked the deployment of National Guard members in California from being used for law enforcement, but the judge also paused his ruling from taking effect until later this month to allow an appeal.
“Congress spoke clearly in 1878 when it passed the Posse Comitatus Act, prohibiting the use of the U.S. military to execute domestic law,” Breyer wrote.
Actions taken by the National Guard, such as shows of force alongside immigration raids, helping to set up traffic cordons for search warrants, and other actions violated the bar on the use of military personnel for domestic law enforcement, the judge wrote.
While the Nation Guard deployment has shrunk to 300 members, Breyer wrote that he had “serious concerns” about whether Trump intends to continue deploying National Guard troops elsewhere in violation of federal law.
Breyer, the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, issued the ruling after a trial last month over whether Trump’s deployment violated that 1878 law.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, filed the court case shortly after Trump deployed the state’s National Guard to Los Angeles over the governor’s objections, arguing that the deployment was not needed and violated federal law.
Breyer initially sided with Newsom, finding that the federalization of the state guard contingent likely violated federal law and the Constitution. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit put that ruling on hold in response to a Trump administration appeal.
Trump has deployed the National Guard in the District of Columbia over the summer and threatened to use them in Chicago and other big cities. Trump has claimed the ability to “do anything I want” in response to perceived crime in large, Democrat-run cities.
Tuesday’s order, if upheld, could undermine that strategy.
The case is Gavin Newsom et al. v. Donald Trump et al.
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