
California governor calls Trump a 'dictator', says National Guard deployment in LA unlawful
A man waves a Mexican flag as smoke and flames rise from a burning vehicle during a protest against federal immigration sweeps, near Los Angeles City Hall in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS/David Swanson
California National Guard troops were deployed to the streets of Los Angeles on Sunday to help quell a third day of protests over President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement, a step the state's Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, called unlawful.
Police were making more arrests after at least 10 on Sunday and 29 the previous night, Los Angeles police officers told a news briefing.
National Guard troops guarded federal government buildings, as police and protesters clashed in separate demonstrations over federal immigration raids in Los Angeles.
Los Angeles police declared several rallies to be 'unlawful assemblies', accusing some protesters of throwing concrete projectiles, bottles and other items at police.
Video images showed several self-driving cars from Alphabet's Waymo were set ablaze on a downtown street on Sunday evening.
Los Angeles police officers on horseback attempted to control the crowds.
Demonstrators shouted 'Shame on you!' at police and some appeared to throw objects, video images showed. One group blocked the 101 Freeway, a major downtown thoroughfare.
Groups of protesters, many carrying Mexican flags and signs denouncing U.S. immigration authorities, gathered in spots around the city.
The Los Angeles branch of the Party for Socialism and Liberation organized speakers outside City Hall for an afternoon rally.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he requested the Trump administration to withdraw its order to deploy 2,000 National Guard troops in Los Angeles county, calling it unlawful.
In an interview with MSNBC, Newsom said he planned to sue the administration over the deployment, adding that Trump 'has created the conditions' around the protests.
Newsom accused Trump of trying to manufacture a crisis and violating California's state sovereignty. 'These are the acts of a dictator, not a president,' he wrote in a post on X.
However, Police Chief Jim McDonnell told a media briefing on Sunday night that the protests were getting out of control.
Asked if the National Guard was needed, McDonnell said police would not 'go to that right away,' but added, 'Looking at the violence tonight, I think we've got to make a reassessment.'
In a social media post, Trump called on McDonnell to do so.
'He should, right now!!!' Trump added. 'Don't let these thugs get away with this. Make America great again!!!'
The White House disputed Newsom's characterization, saying in a statement, 'Everyone saw the chaos, violence and lawlessness.'
Earlier, about a dozen National Guard, along with Department of Homeland Security personnel, pushed back a group of demonstrators outside a federal building in downtown Los Angeles, video showed.
U.S. Northern Command said 300 members of the California National Guard had been deployed to three spots in the Los Angeles area. Their mission was limited to protecting federal personnel and property.
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump called the demonstrators 'violent, insurrectionist mobs' and said he was directing his cabinet officers 'to take all such action necessary' to stop what he called 'riots.'
Speaking to reporters in New Jersey, he threatened violence against demonstrators who spit on police or National Guard troops, saying, 'They spit, we hit.'
He did not cite any specific incidents.
'If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, it will be very, very strong in terms of law and order,' Trump said.
The FBI offered a $50,000-reward for information on a suspect accused of throwing rocks at police vehicles in Paramount, injuring a federal officer.
Despite Trump's rhetoric about the demonstrations, he has not invoked the Insurrection Act, an 1807 law that empowers a president to deploy the U.S. military to suppress events like civil disorder.
Asked on Sunday whether he was considering doing so, he said, 'It depends on whether or not there's an insurrection.'
'HIGH ALERT'
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has warned that the Pentagon was prepared to mobilize active-duty troops 'if violence continues' in Los Angeles, saying the Marines at nearby Camp Pendleton were on 'high alert.'
U.S. Northern Command said about 500 Marines were prepared to deploy if ordered.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass blamed the Trump administration for inciting tension by sending in the National Guard, but also condemned protesters who became violent.
'I don't want people to fall into the chaos that I believe is being created by the administration completely unnecessarily,' Bass told a press conference.
Vanessa Cárdenas, the head of the immigration advocacy group America's Voice, accused the Trump administration of 'trumping up an excuse to abuse power, and deliberately stoke and force confrontations around immigration.'
On Sunday, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem told CBS' 'Face the Nation' that the National Guard would provide safety around buildings to people engaged in peaceful protest and to law enforcement.
Trump has pledged to deport record numbers of people in the country illegally and lock down the U.S.-Mexico border, setting ICE a goal of arresting at least 3,000 migrants a day.
Census data suggests a significant part of the population in Democratic-run Los Angeles is Hispanic and foreign-born.
But the sweeping enforcement measures have also included legally residents, some with permanent residence, spurring legal challenges.
On Sunday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum criticized the U.S. government over the immigration raids and National guard deployment.
'We do not agree with this way of addressing the immigration issue,' Sheinbaum, who has sought to cultivate a positive relationship with Trump, said at a public event.
'The phenomenon will not be addressed with raids or violence. It will be by sitting down and working on comprehensive reform.'
TRUMP'S JUSTIFICATION
Trump's justification for the National Guard deployment cited a provision of Title 10 of the U.S. Code on the Armed Forces. However, Title 10 also says the 'orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States.'
It was not immediately clear if the president had the
legal authority
to deploy the National Guard without Newsom's order.
Title 10 allows for National Guard deployment by the federal government if there is 'a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the government of the United States.'
Those troops are only allowed to engage in limited activities and cannot undertake ordinary law enforcement activities.
Trump's memo says the troops will 'temporarily protect ICE and other United States government personnel who are performing federal functions, including the enforcement of federal law, and to protect federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring, or are likely to occur.'

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Ya Libnan
3 hours ago
- Ya Libnan
Growing fears of massive strikes on Iran as nuclear negotiations sputter
If the U.S.-Iranian talks fail, and strikes on Iran occur, the ramifications could be very far-reaching. U.S. President Donald Trump has been presented with a broad array of potential military options against Iran should ongoing nuclear negotiations with that country fail. Israel is already reportedly moving ever closer to at least being in a position to launch its own strikes on Iranian nuclear sites . The direct and indirect blowback from any such operations against Iran could be immense. Fears that U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks are on the verge of collapse have been steadily growing in the past week or so amid statements from both sides outlining potentially intractable positions. Iran's ability to continue domestic enrichment of nuclear material that could be used to produce nuclear weapons has emerged as a key stumbling block to reaching a deal. 'If the President directed [it], is CENTCOM [U.S. Central Command] prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran?' Congressman Mike Rogers, an Alabama Republican, asked U.S. Army Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla at a hearing of the House Armed Services Committee today. Kurilla is currently head of CENTCOM, making him the top officer overseeing operations across the Middle East. 'I have provided the Secretary of Defense [Pete Hegseth] and the President [Trump] a wide range of options,' Kurilla said in response. 'I take that as a yes?' Rogers, the present chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, asked in return, appearing to refer to the specific wording of his question, to include the possible use of 'overwhelming force.' 'Yes,' Kurrila said. Top U.S. military commander in the Middle East General Kurilla confirms that he has presented military options on Iran to President Trump & SecDef Hegseth in House Armed Services Committee this morning. It is important to note here that U.S. presidents and defense secretaries regularly ask to be briefed on potential military options in light of crises or heightened risks of one erupting. Being presented with a full range of operational possibilities, including large-scale strikes or other significant direct action, does not mean the United States is automatically committed to pursuing any specific course of action, something we will come back to later on. Publicly, Trump has consistently advocated for reaching a deal with Iran to avoid any need to take military action, though he has also raised the possibility of military action in the event talks reach a dead end. He has separately said that he has pressed his Israeli counterpart, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to hold off on striking Iranian targets while negotiations are ongoing. There have been reports of significant friction between the two leaders , as well. Amid all this, the U.S. president is said to be facing increasingly intense pressure from a faction of domestic political allies to acquiesce to and/or join in on Israeli attacks on Iran, according to a new report just today from Politico . TWZ


MTV Lebanon
3 hours ago
- MTV Lebanon
Troops in LA can detain individuals, military official says, as protests spread across US
U.S. troops deployed in Los Angeles are authorized to detain people until police can arrest them, their commanding officer said on Wednesday, as hundreds of Marines prepared to move into the city as it entered a sixth day of protests. Protests over President Donald Trump's immigration raids have spread from California to other U.S. cities, with hundreds of nationwide demonstrations planned for Saturday. Trump's decision to dispatch troops to Los Angeles over the objections of California Governor Gavin Newsom has sparked a national debate about the use of the military on U.S. soil. Newsom's administration has sued the U.S. government over the deployment. The 700 Marines and 4,000 National Guard troops that Trump has ordered to Los Angeles do not have arrest authority, U.S. Army Major General Scott Sherman, who is commanding the troops, told reporters. But Sherman said they do have the power to detain individuals temporarily until law enforcement can arrest them, if needed to fulfill their mission of protecting federal personnel or property. The Marines, who have been training at Seal Beach just south of Los Angeles County, will move to the city "soon," but not on Wednesday, Sherman said. They will not carry live ammunition in their rifles, he added. A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Sherman's comments reflect regular rules of engagement and did not reflect an expansion of authorities. In addition to protecting government buildings and personnel, the Pentagon has said the troops will safeguard Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers during raids. ICE posted photos online on Tuesday of National Guard troops standing guard with weapons in hand as ICE officers handcuffed apparent migrants against the side of a car in Los Angeles. An 1878 law, the Posse Comitatus Act, generally forbids the U.S. military, including the National Guard, from taking part in civilian law enforcement. The troops in California are deployed under a separate federal law that does not override that prohibition, but allows troops to protect federal agents carrying out law enforcement activity. For example, National Guard troops cannot arrest protesters, but they could protect ICE officers who are carrying out arrests. California Attorney General Rob Bonta, whose office filed the lawsuit challenging Trump's deployment orders, told Reuters on Tuesday that allowing troops to accompany ICE agents into communities could potentially lead to violations of the act, given the thin line between providing protection and engaging in enforcement. Sherman did not give a specific number of raids on which troops had accompanied ICE agents, but told reporters that about 1,000 troops had taken part in operations to protect federal buildings and law enforcement. The Trump administration responded on Wednesday in a court filing to California's lawsuit ahead of a Thursday court hearing, arguing that the president has the discretion to determine whether a "rebellion or danger of a rebellion" requires a military response. Trump says the military deployment in Los Angeles prevented violence, which has included some clashes between protesters and police, from raging out of control, an assertion Newsom and other local officials have said was untrue. The protests, which erupted on Friday after federal immigration raids in the city, have been largely peaceful and limited to about five downtown streets. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass imposed a curfew over one square mile of the city's downtown starting on Tuesday night after some businesses were looted. The Los Angeles Police Department said it arrested 225 people on Tuesday, including 203 for failing to disperse and 17 for violating the curfew. Elsewhere, protesters marched in New York, Atlanta and Chicago on Tuesday night, chanting anti-ICE slogans and at times clashing with law enforcement. The governor of Texas, Republican Greg Abbott, said he will deploy the National Guard on Wednesday ahead of planned protests in San Antonio and other parts of the state, making him the first governor to take that step. The protests are set to expand on Saturday, when several activist groups have planned more than 1,800 anti-Trump demonstrations across the country. That day, tanks and other armored vehicles will rumble down the streets of Washington, D.C., in a military parade marking the U.S. Army's 250th anniversary and coinciding with Trump's 79th birthday. A coalition calling itself "No Kings" has planned demonstrations and other events in over 1,800 locations across the U.S. on Saturday. Trump has warned that any protesters at the parade will be met by "very big force." Thousands of agents, officers and specialists are being deployed from law enforcement agencies across the country for the parade. The No Kings coalition includes over 100 civil rights and other groups and says it is planning peaceful protests against Trump and his administration's policies. The standoff in Los Angeles is the most intense flashpoint in the Trump administration's efforts to deport migrants living in the country illegally. The Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, said on Monday that ICE had arrested 2,000 immigration offenders per day recently, far above the daily average of 311 in fiscal year 2024 under former President Joe Biden. "President Trump promised to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in American history and left-wing riots will not deter him in that effort," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Wednesday. An immigration raid on Tuesday at a meat production plant in Omaha, Nebraska, was the "largest worksite enforcement operation" in the state during the Trump presidency, DHS said. Republican Congressman Don Bacon told local media that 75 to 80 people were detained. The company, Glenn Valley Foods, said it was surprised by the raid and had followed the rules regarding immigration status.


LBCI
6 hours ago
- LBCI
Musk says some of his posts about Trump 'went too far'
Billionaire businessman Elon Musk said on Wednesday that he regretted some of the posts he made last week about U.S. President Donald Trump, as they had gone "too far." Trump said on Saturday his relationship with Musk was over after they exchanged insults on social media, with the Tesla and SpaceX CEO describing the president's sweeping tax and spending bill as a "disgusting abomination." Musk has since deleted some posts critical of Trump, including one signaling support for impeaching the president, and sources close to the world's richest man say his anger has started to subside, and he may want to repair the relationship. "I regret some of my posts about President Donald Trump last week. They went too far," Musk wrote in a post on his social media platform X on Wednesday, without saying which specific posts he was talking about. Reuters