Judge rules Trump’s use of National Guard in LA illegal

Donald Trump has deployed federal officers and the National Guard to Washington DC to assist in crime prevention in the nation's capital. Photo / Getty Images

A federal judge in California has dealt a huge blow to US President Donald Trump, ruling his use of the National Guard in Los Angeles was illegal.

The Governor of California said the judge has “sided with democracy”.

The National Guard is a usually state-controlled military force made of part-time members. It generally can only be used by the federal government if there is a national emergency.

Trump put the California National Guard under federal control earlier in the year and then put the troops on the streets of LA to quell protests, the White House said. But those protests only occurred because of widespread round-ups of immigrants by federal law enforcement.

On Tuesday, US time, Trump repeated social media posts hitting out at Chicago, claiming it was the “murder capital of the world”.

There’s no doubt Chicago is a US city with an elevated crime rate – even if much of this is concentrated in specific suburbs.

But it’s not even the “murder capital” of the US, let alone the world. Cities in Mexico and some other Latin American nations are far more dangerous.

Trump’s posturing, however, could be ahead of an announcement of an expected federal law enforcement surge in Chicago. It’s a move that Chicago politicians are dead set against, seeing it as an abuse of Trump’s powers and akin to an “invasion”.

But a wrinkle to Trump’s plan may have come from California where a federal judge on Tuesday ruled the mobilising of 4000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines was illegal.

Threat unclear

US District Court Judge Charles Breyer said it was unclear what the “threat” was that demanded the military to be involved in policing civilians.

He ruled on Tuesday that the federal government’s use of the National Guard for domestic purposes went against a law from 1878, which forbids it without approval from Congress.

“There were indeed protests in Los Angeles, and some individuals engaged in violence,” Judge Breyer wrote.

“Yet there was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond to the protests and enforce the law.”

“What’s the threat today? What was the threat yesterday? What was the threat last week or two weeks ago?” Judge Breyer asked lawyers acting for the federal government.

“It’s the absence of any limits to a national police force. That’s what I’m sitting here trying to figure out.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom said the court had “sided with democracy and the Constitution”.

“No president is a king — not even Trump — and no president can trample a state’s power to protect its people.

“Trump’s attempt to use federal troops as his personal police force is illegal, authoritarian, and must be stopped in every courtroom across this country.”

The number of National Guard troops in Los Angeles has decreased significantly since June when several thousand were seen protecting federal buildings and helping immigration officers.