Judge temporarily bars Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Los Angeles
Members of the National Guard on standby during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in Los Angeles on June 12. PHOTO: REUTERS
LOS ANGELES - A US judge on June 12 temporarily barred President Donald Trump from deploying National Guard troops in Los Angeles amid protests over stepped-up immigration enforcement, finding that the Guard was unlawfully mobilised by Mr Trump.
San Francisco-based US District Judge Charles Breyer ordered the National Guard to return to the control of California Governor Gavin Newsom, who sued to restrict its activity. The order will take effect at noon on June 13.
Judge Breyer said the protests in Los Angeles fall far short of 'rebellion'. Mr Trump justified the deployment of troops by qualifying the protests as a rebellion.
'The Court is troubled by the implication inherent in Defendants' argument that protest against the federal government, a core civil liberty protected by the First Amendment, can justify a finding of rebellion,' Judge Breyer wrote.
The Trump administration immediately appealed the judge's order.
Mr Trump summoned military troops to Los Angeles to support a civilian police operation over the objection of Newsom, an extraordinary and rarely used measure.
The ruling came hours after Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to 'liberate' Los Angeles at a press conference that was dramatically interrupted when federal agents dragged Democratic US Senator Alex Padilla out of the room, forced him to the ground and handcuffed him.
The court battle and press conference scuffle underscored the political polarisation generated by Mr Trump's approach to immigration enforcement and use of presidential power.
Mr Trump summoned first the National Guard, then the Marines, to help federal police forces guard federal buildings from protesters and to protect federal immigration agents as they pick up suspected violators.
Mr Trump has defended his decision, saying if he had not done so the city would be in flames. The protests so far have been mostly peaceful, punctuated by incidents of violence and restricted to a few city blocks.
Some 700 US Marines will be on the streets of the city by June 12 or 13, the military has said, to support up to 4,000 National Guard troops.
In his ruling, the judge wrote that the presence of the troops in the city was itself inflaming tensions with protesters and depriving the state of California with the ability to use the Guard for other purposes, such as fighting fires and drug smuggling.
He noted that Mr Trump's deployment threatened other states as well. REUTERS
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