Judge Rules Against Trump’s Use of Federal Troops in California

On Monday, Judge Charles Breyer, a senior judge in the Northern District of California, determined that President Donald Trump overstepped his authority by deploying troops in Los Angeles.

Breyer, who was appointed by Bill Clinton and is related to retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, concluded that Trump violated the Posse Comitatus Act of 1878. This act prohibits the use of federal troops for state or local law enforcement purposes. The law was established partially in response to federal forces’ involvement during the Reconstruction era in the South.

In his ruling, Breyer found Trump’s call for National Guard and U.S. Marines to protect federal law enforcement officials, including customs officers, against protestors unlawful.

California Governor Gavin Newsom applauded the court’s decision during a press conference, casting it as a win for democracy and constitutional principles. He emphasized that the president is not above the law.

“Today, the courts sided with democracy and the Constitution. The president is not the king, especially not Trump. We cannot let the power of the nation be trampled upon to protect our citizens. The court has ruled that Trump is creating a national police force with himself in charge. We’ve warned against this for months. In California, we are not extending any kind of ramp. Crime rates are actually high in Republican-led states. Trump’s attempts to use federal forces as personal security are illegal and authoritarian, and they need to be curtailed by every court in the country,” he stated.

Newsom often claims that crime rates in “red” states are high, while overlooking the fact that crime in these areas is often concentrated in “blue” cities governed by Democrats.

The governor had celebrated lower-court victories in the past, but those were sometimes reversed upon appeal. Recently, the 9th Circuit Court unanimously found that Trump had the authority to consolidate the California State Guard, contradicting Newsom’s stance. This appeals court also disagreed with Judge Breyer’s viewpoint in that case.

On Tuesday, the judge implied that while his ruling applied only to California, the president still possessed the potential to invoke the Insurrection Act to deploy federal forces.