Latest news with #12406
Axios
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
National Guard in LA: What they can do after Trump called them in to quell protests
Amid days of fiery protests against federal immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, President Trump signed an order deploying the National Guard — despite objection from the state's Democratic leaders. The big picture: Trump's Saturday memorandum called up 2,000 National Guard troops for 60 days, but it stopped short of a possibly more dramatic escalation: invoking the Insurrection Act. Context: The demonstrations again have pitted Trump against Governor Gavin Newsom (D), one of the president's top foes who has called the deployment of troops in the LA area "unlawful" and "a serious breach of state sovereignty." Newsom said that the state would sue the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard, calling it an "unconstitutional act" in an interview with MSNBC. As of Sunday, dozens of people had been arrested amid the unrest that was becoming "increasingly worse and more violent," LAPD officials said. What did Trump's National Guard memorandum do? Trump's presidential memorandum federalizing troops cited 10 U.S.C. 12406, a provision that allows the president to call members of a state's National Guard whenever, among other situations, there a "a rebellion" or "the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States." The White House's memorandum said that to the extent that protests "directly inhibit the execution of the laws," they constitute a rebellion. It marks the first time in some six decades, dating back to the civil rights movement, that the president has activated a state's National Guard without the state's governor requesting it, the Brennan Center for Justice's Elizabeth Goitein told The New York Times. Around 300 members of the California Army National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team had deployed throughout the greater LA area as of Sunday. Zoom in: The president tasked units with temporarily protecting ICE and other personnel performing "[f[ederal functions" and to protect federal property. He also authorized Hegseth to use regular troops "as necessary" to augment the protection of federal functions and property. Between the lines: Steve Vladeck, a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, wrote in his analysis of Trump's memorandum that the National Guard will have limited enforcement capabilities and will not be able to engage in ordinary law enforcement activity. "[T]his provision provides no additional substantive authority that the federal government did not already possess," he wrote, pointing to a law that bars federal troops from engaging in civilian law enforcement except when authorized. What is The Posse Comitatus Act? The Posse Comitatus Act, which is more than 140 years old, was originally passed to ensure the federal military wouldn't be used to intervene in establishing Jim Crow after Reconstruction, per the Brennan Center. A "posse comitatus" in American law is a group of people mobilized by a sheriff to stifle lawlessness and means"the power of the county." In practice, it means federal military personnel can't participate in civilian law enforcement — though there are statutory exceptions, according to the Brennan Center. When Guard members are called into federal service, they become part of the federal armed forces and are thereby covered by the Act. Will Trump invoke the Insurrection Act? The Insurrection Act provides the primary exception to the Posse Comitatus Act, allowing the president to deploy military members for civilian law enforcement. According to the Brennan Center, there are three sections of the Act covering different situations in which troops can be deployed — two of which do not require a request from the affected state and permit deployment even against the state's wishes. Flashback: The Act has been invoked at several points in American history, most recently in 1992. In that case, President George H.W. Bush responded to a request for aid from California officials amid civil unrest prompted by the acquittal of four white police officers who were filmed beating a Black motorist Rodney King. What he's saying: Trump in his first term flirted with the idea of using the U.S. military for domestic law enforcement and to crush protests. And ahead of his second term, he seemingly continued to lean in. Trump said he would deploy U.S. military "if a city or state refuses to take the actions necessary to defend the life and property of their residents" during nationwide protests in 2020 sparked by the murder of George Floyd. What we're watching: U.S. Northern Command said in a Sunday statement some 500 Marines are also prepared to deploy if necessary, a move Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth previously floated.
New York Post
a day ago
- Politics
- New York Post
Trump wields little-used law to deploy National Guard to LA riots despite Gov. Newsom's protests: ‘Unable to handle the task'
President Trump has ordered the California National Guard to secure Los Angeles from the anti-ICE rioters, despite the vocal objections of Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom and LA Mayor Karen Bass. It's the first time in 60 years that the commander-in-chief deployed a state's National Guard without the governor's blessing, and members of the Trump administration are saying the move is justified because the protests represent a 'violent insurrection' against the country. 'This is a violent insurrection,' White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller posted Saturday night. Vice President JD Vance also used the word in describing the riots: 'Insurrectionists carrying foreign flags are attacking immigration enforcement officers, while one half of America's political leadership has decided that border enforcement is evil,' he said on X. California Democrats seethed over the rare move from a US president. The last time the National Guard was federalized in Los Angeles was in 1992 over the Rodney King riots, when the president had the state's backing. 5 Rioters wreaked havoc on Los Angeles in response to immigration enforcement activity in the area. REUTERS 'The federal government is sowing chaos so they can have an excuse to escalate. That is not the way any civilized country behaves,' Newsom said on X. The rarely used power stems from '10 U.S.C. 12406,' part of the US Code on Armed Services that allows the federal government to mobilize the National Guard in the event of 'a rebellion, or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.' 'The federal government is taking over the California National Guard and deploying 2,000 soldiers in Los Angeles — not because there is a shortage of law enforcement, but because they want a spectacle,' Newsom added in another X post. 'Don't give them one. Never use violence. Speak out peacefully.' Bass, who previously put out a statement blasting the ICE arrests of illegal migrants in Los Angeles, said she tried to convince Trump's border czar Tom Homan not to put the National Guard on the streets. 'I'm very concerned about the potential civil unrest if there was federal intervention,' she told KNX radio. But Trump rebuked California's leaders over the riots in a Truth Social post in the wee Sunday morning hours. 'We have an incompetent Governor (Newscum) and Mayor (Bass) who were, as usual (just look at how they handled the fires, and now their VERY SLOW PERMITTING disaster. Federal permitting is complete!), unable to … handle the task,' he wrote. 5 President Trump has lashed out at California Democrats over the chaos. POOL/AFP via Getty Images President Lyndon B. Johnson, in 1965, was the last commander in chief to federalize a state's National Guard without the governor's OK. In that instance, the troops were deployed to protect civil rights protesters in Alabama. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Saturday that the National Guard deployment was justified because the protests were interfering with ICE agents who were trying to combat a 'dangerous invasion' that was spurred by 'foreign terrorist organizations' — referencing the Mexican traffic cartels that have been designated terror groups by the Trump administration. 'The violent mob assaults on ICE and Federal Law Enforcement are designed to prevent the removal of Criminal Illegal Aliens from our soil; a dangerous invasion facilitated by criminal cartels (aka Foreign Terrorist Organizations) and a huge NATIONAL SECURITY RISK,' he wrote. He added the US Marines from Camp Pendleton in San Diego were being stood up for possible deployment. Newsom called the possibility of using active duty troops against American citizens, 'deranged.' 'Deranged = allowing your city to burn & law enforcement to be attacked,' Hegseth shot back. Meanwhile, Homan told NBC News that 'someone is going to lose their life' in the protests and suggested that Newsom and Bass could be referred to the Justice Department for criminal charges over their handling of the riots. 5 Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass hit back at President Trump's claim about the National Guard reining in the mayhem. AP 5 California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused the Trump administration of deliberately inflaming the situation. REUTERS National Guard troops were seen arriving in Los Angeles County earlier in the day on Sunday. Newsom dredged up an old clip of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem warning former President Joe Biden against federalizing the National Guard to prevent Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) from using the troops to secure the border. Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.), whose congressional district encompasses Paramount, claimed that local law enforcement has the situation 'under control' and doesn't need assistance from the National Guard. 5 Rep. Nanette Barragán claims that local law enforcement has gotten the riots under control. AP 'I have spoken to the sheriffs on the ground, who have said they have things under control, there is no need for the National Guard, they have the manpower that they need,' she told CNN's 'State of the Union' Sunday. 'This is really just an escalation of the president coming into California. We haven't asked for the help. We don't need the help. This is him escalating it, causing tensions to rise,' she continued. 'It's only going to make things worse.'
