LOS ANGELES — A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act by deploying National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles in June to suppress protests against immigration raids.
Senior US District Judge Charles Breyer barred the administration from using the military to enforce domestic law in California, saying the protests did not constitute a rebellion and civilian law enforcement was capable of responding. Nearly 300 National Guard members remain in Los Angeles three months after the deployment.
The ruling noted that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth had considered similar deployments in other cities, which Breyer said risked creating “a national police force with the president as its chief.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the decision, saying, “No president is a king — not even Trump — and no president can trample a state’s power to protect its people.” The White House dismissed the ruling as judicial overreach, and the Justice Department has appealed.
Brenner Fissell, vice president of the National Institute for Military Justice, said the ruling, while limited to California, will likely influence similar cases nationwide. / XINHUA