California’s governor, Gavin Newson, is leading criticism of Donald Trump over his decision to send 2,000 national guard troops to Los Angeles, likening his actions to those of a “dictator”.
National guard troops clashed with demonstrators protesting Trump’s controversial anti-immigration program on Sunday, while police fired teargas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowds. Trump and his defense chief, Pete Hegseth, have also threatened to send in the Marines.
Newsom has demanded Trump rescind the order and accused the president of inciting and provoking violence, creating mass chaos, militarizing cities and arresting opponents. “These are the acts of a dictator, not a President,” he wrote in a social media post.
He also shared a sharp rebuke signed by all of the country’s Democratic governors describing deployment as “an alarming abuse of power”.
Here are the key stories:
US national guard troops clash with demonstrators
US national guard troops clashed with demonstrators in Los Angeles on Sunday as police used teargas and “less-lethal munitions” to disperse massive crowds of people protesting against Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
There were scenes of chaos amid tense confrontations between authorities and protesters outside the Metropolitan detention center in downtown LA, and a large group of demonstrators brought traffic to a stop in both directions of the 101 freeway. Footage captured on Sunday afternoon showed protesters holding signs on the freeway facing off against law enforcement in tactical gear as the sound of firing munitions echoed through the area.
Sanders warns of authoritarianism after national guard deployment
Bernie Sanders warned of the US’s slide into authoritarianism following Trump’s national guard deployment. Speaking to CNN on Sunday, the leftwing Vermont senator said: “We have a president who is moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism … My understanding is that the governor of California, the mayor of the city of Los Angeles did not request the national guard but he thinks he has a right to do anything he wants.”
Newsom accused of ‘criminal tax evasion’ if he withholds federal taxes
In another face-off between Newsom and the Trump administration, the US treasury secretary, Scott Bessent warned the California governor he would be guilty of “criminal tax evasion” if he withholds his state’s tax payments to the federal government, amid threats of a funding cut by Trump.
Newsom had threatened to cut tax payments to the federal government two days ago, after reports that Trump was preparing huge federal funding cuts targeting Democrat-dominated California, including its state university system.
Trump’s travel ban on 12 countries to go into effect
A sweeping travel ban on citizens of 12 countries will come into effect at 12am ET on Monday, in a move that Trump said would protect the country from “foreign terrorists”. The ban represents one of the most ambitious attempts to reshape the US’s approach to global mobility in modern history and will potentially affect millions of people coming to the US for relocation, travel, work or school.
US immigration agents mistakenly detain deputy marshal in Arizona
A US marshal was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) agents in Arizona after being mistakenly identified as a man that agents were looking for, according to a statement from the US Marshals Service. The deputy marshal matched the “fit the general description of a subject” being sought by Ice and was detained at a federal building in the Old Pueblo in Tucson.
Officials said the detainment was brief and the deputy marshal was released after his identity was “quickly confirmed” by other law enforcement officers.
ABC News suspends journalist after calling Trump and adviser ‘world-class’ haters
ABC News has suspended its senior national correspondent Terry Moran after he described top White House aide Stephen Miller as “richly endowed with the capacity for hatred” and that he and Trump were both “world-class” haters.
Pope Leo criticises ‘exclusionary mindset’ of nationalist movements
Without naming names, newly installed Pope Leo has criticised the emergence of nationalist political movements and their “exclusionary mindset”. Leo, the first pope from the US, asked during a mass on Sunday with tens of thousands in St Peter’s Square that God “open borders, break down walls [and] dispel hatred”.
What else happened today:
Senator Cory Booker says he supports anyone opposing Trump’s tax-spending bill, even Elon Musk, but confirmed he would never accept campaign donations from the tech billionaire.
A former OpenAI board member says that US attacks on science and research are a “great gift” to China on artificial intelligence.
Eight US states are seeking to outlaw chemtrails – even though they aren’t real.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 7 June 2025.
