A federal judge who ruled last week that the Trump administration broke federal law by deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles said Tuesday he will not immediately consider California’s request to bar the ongoing use of 300 Guard troops.
Senior District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco explained in a court order that he was unsure whether he had the authority to review California’s motion for a preliminary injunction, since the case is already on appeal before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He indefinitely paused all proceedings related to the request but suggested California officials could file directly with the 9th Circuit.
The California attorney general’s office did not respond to a late Tuesday email seeking comment.
Breyer’s Earlier Ruling
On September 2, Breyer ruled that the Trump administration “willfully” violated federal law when it ordered troops to carry out domestic law enforcement beyond their legal authority. He wrote that the government used “armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles.”
Although he declined to remove the 300 remaining Guard members, Breyer emphasized that they had received improper training and ordered the administration to stop using them “to execute the laws.” The order, which applied only to California, was set to take effect September 12. However, the 9th Circuit has since put it on hold.
California’s Latest Motion
California later sought a preliminary injunction to block an August 5 order from the Trump administration that extended the Guard deployment for another 90 days. State officials warned that the extended deployment would leave residents “under a form of military occupation until early November,” coinciding with the November 4 election on new congressional maps — “an election with national attention and significance,” they wrote in a court filing.
The Trump administration initially sent the National Guard to Los Angeles in early June following days of protests over immigration raids.
Leave a Reply