On Tuesday, September 2, a federal judge ruled that President Trump’s deployment of the National Guard and a small number of Marines in California was illegal. This summer, in response to riots and protests erupting in California, the president ordered the deployment of the National Guard to maintain order, which was opposed by the local government.
In a 52-page ruling, Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court in San Francisco stated that the evidence presented during the trial proved that the Trump administration systematically used armed soldiers and military vehicles to set up checkpoints, blockades, control crowds, and demonstrate military presence in Los Angeles and its surrounding areas.
“In short, the defendant (Trump and his administration) violated the Posse Comitatus Act,” Breyer said.
This nearly 150-year-old law prohibits the military from participating in domestic law enforcement activities.
In June of this year, large-scale riots erupted in Los Angeles in response to Trump’s immigration enforcement actions. Trump had ordered the deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles to support federal authorities in carrying out immigration raids. However, this move was opposed by California Governor Gavin Newsom.
Newsom subsequently filed a lawsuit, alleging that these troops violated long-standing U.S. norms and the Posse Comitatus Act.
During the trial, Major General Scott Sherman, who was responsible for overseeing the activities of the California National Guard, testified that soldiers received training on how to comply with the Posse Comitatus Act. Breyer noted that this demonstrated the relevance of the law in this case, but the Trump administration argued that the law did not apply in this instance because the National Guard was protecting federal officials, not enforcing the law.
In his ruling, Breyer wrote, “President Trump and Secretary Hagges have indicated their intention to deploy the National Guard in other cities across the country… thereby establishing a national police force under the president’s command.”
To prevent a violation of the Posse Comitatus Act in California again, Breyer’s ruling prohibited President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hagges from using the military in California for arrests, searches, detentions, security patrols, traffic control, crowd control, riot control, evidence collection, interrogations, or acting as informants.
The judge’s ruling will take effect on September 12 to allow the Trump administration time to appeal.
This ruling applies only to prohibiting the Trump administration from using the National Guard in California and not nationwide. Judge Breyer did not order the Department of Defense to withdraw the 300 National Guard troops stationed in Los Angeles. Breyer noted that the government was not prohibited from deploying the military under the Posse Comitatus Act and stated that they could continue to protect federal property in ways permitted by law.