(The Center Square) – California Gov. Gavin Newsom Monday sued President Donald Trump over the latter’s deployment of the California National Guard in Los Angeles following the weekend’s riots.
About 300 of 2,000 deployed troops arrived around 4 a.m. Sunday on Trump’s order but without Newsom’s consent.
The lawsuit names Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and the U.S. Department of Defense as plaintiffs. It calls Trump’s use of the National Guard unconstitutional and in excess of the president’s Title 10 authority related to the guard.
The suit contends the takeover of the National Guard was done without Newsom’s consent, as required by federal law, and was unwarranted, according to a news release from the governor’s and attorney general’s offices. A copy of the suit wasn’t immediately made available to the media.
According to the news release, the suit contends Trump made an unlawful order that infringes on California’s sovereignity and interferes with Newsom’s work as commander-in-chief of the California National Guard. The lawsuit also says there was no invasion by a foreign country, rebellion against the U.S. government or an inability to execute federal laws, which are criteria for federalization of the National Guard.
“Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority,” Newsom said. “This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic.”
The Democratic governor accused the Republican president of making “an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta, a Democrat who joined Newsom in filing the suit, said Trump’s decision to federalize the National Guard troops is “unnecessary and counterproductive.” Bonta accused Trump of abusing his authority.
“Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion,” Bonta said. “The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends.”
In an email earlier Monday to The Center Square, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security defended the decision to use the National Guard after the escalation of violence. During the weekend, protesters threw lit fireworks and other objects at local law enforcement and federal detention officers, burned cars and approached federal facilities.
“As rioters have escalated their assaults on our DHS law enforcement and activists’ behavior on the streets becomes increasingly dangerous, the federal government is calling in the California National Guard for additional support to ensure the safety of all citizens, law enforcement and public property,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin of Homeland Security said.
Todd Lyons, acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, noted it took over two hours, despite repeated calls, for the Los Angeles Police Department to respond Friday when anti-ICE protesters confronted federal agents and surrounded the Edward R. Roybal Federal Building in downtown Los Angeles. In a statement Saturday, Lyons said ICE officers were outnumbered as “over 1,000 rioters surrounded and attacked a federal building.”
Monday’s lawsuit by Newsom came as one of the latest volleys in the war of words between the two chief executives. Trump Monday said that if he were border czar Tom Homan, he would arrest Newsom. But the president didn’t give instructions to do so.
