Federal Judge Rules Trump National Guard Deployment Los Angeles Illegal

A federal judge, Charles Breyer, ruled that President Donald Trump's deployment of nearly 5,000 National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles to manage protests and enforce immigration laws violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. The ruling prohibits their use in law enforcement activities such as arrests, crowd control, and security patrols unless a valid constitutional or statutory exception applies. The deployment was challenged by California Governor Gavin Newsom and State Attorney General Rob Bonta, who argued the federalization occurred without state consent and effectively turned soldiers into immigration police. The Trump administration contended that the troops were only protecting federal agents and not engaging in arrests, asserting broad authority under national security statutes. Despite a previous appellate court ruling that allowed the deployment due to evidence of protest-related violence, Breyer's latest order limits the administration's ability to unilaterally deploy military forces in domestic law enforcement roles. This decision sets a significant legal precedent restricting the federal government's use of the military in domestic unrest and immigration enforcement, and signals judicial pushback against Trump's expanding use of troops in urban areas.