Latest news with #CharlesBreyer
Free Malaysia Today
38 minutes ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Judge blocks Trump's use of national guard in protest-hit Los Angeles
US national guard soldiers assemble during deployment for duty for the Los Angeles protests. (AP pic) WASHINGTON : The Trump administration slammed a judge's 'extraordinary intrusion' on presidential powers Thursday, after he ruled that the decision to send the California national guard to protest-hit Los Angeles was 'illegal.' The ruling by US district judge Charles Breyer ordering Donald Trump to return control of the reserve force to California's governor Gavin Newsom infringes on the president's authority as commander-in-chief, the department of justice said in an emergency appeal. Breyer stayed his order until Friday, however, giving the administration time to launch a swift appeal. Within minutes the higher court issued its own ruling staying Breyer's order for several more days to give it time to consider the appeal, with a hearing set for June 17. The stay means Trump would still control the national guard in California during protests planned for Saturday. Sporadic though spectacular violence has rocked Los Angeles over days of demonstrations against immigration raids launched by the Trump administration. But the clashes fell 'far short' of the 'rebellion' the president described to justify his decision to send in the national guard, Breyer said in a 36-page opinion released earlier Thursday. Trump's actions 'were illegal … He must therefore return control' of the guardsmen to Newsom, Breyer said. 'That order is an extraordinary intrusion on the President's constitutional authority as Commander in Chief,' the justice department wrote in the appeal. Newsom, however, was quick to celebrate Breyer's order, potentially a much-needed win in just one of several fronts that wealthy, Democratic California is currently fighting against the White House. Trump 'is not a monarch, he is not a king, and he should stop acting like one,' the 57-year-old Democrat said. Protests over the immigration crackdown first began in Los Angeles on Friday, and were largely confined to just a few blocks of the sprawling city. Damages include vandalism, looting, clashes with law enforcement and several torched driverless taxis. Trump, who has repeatedly exaggerated the scale of the unrest, deployed 4,000 national guard troops and 700 US marines to Los Angeles despite the objections of local officials, claiming that the city was 'burning' and they had lost control. It was the first time since 1965 that a US president deployed the national guard over the wishes of a state's governor. Critics have accused Trump of a power grab. Anger at Trump's crackdown and the use of masked, armed immigration agents, backed by uniformed soldiers, is rousing protests in other cities, though Los Angeles was calm on Thursday night. The ruling came after California's stand-off with the administration ratcheted up earlier Thursday, when a sitting US senator was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a press conference on the immigration raids. The shocking incident was slammed by furious Democrats who said it 'reeks of totalitarianism.' Video footage shows California senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, being pushed from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem about the raids. 'I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP. Footage filmed by Padilla's staff outside the room shows the senator being pushed to the ground and handcuffed. The incident 'reeks of totalitarianism,' Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said, calling for an investigation. The White House hit back, claiming it was a 'theater-kid stunt' and claiming without evidence that Padilla 'lunged toward secretary Noem.' Trump was elected last year after promising to launch historic mass deportations. But with his mounting crackdown rippling through industries heavily reliant on immigrant labor, Trump said he had heard employers' complaints and hinted at a forthcoming policy shift. 'We're going to have an order on that pretty soon, I think,' he said. Breyer's ruling comes two days ahead of the nationwide 'No Kings' protests expected on Saturday, the same day Trump attends a highly unusual military parade in the US capital. The parade, featuring warplanes and tanks, has been organised to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US army but also happens to be on the day of Trump's 79th birthday.
Al Arabiya
an hour ago
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Judge blocks Trump's use of National Guard in protest-hit Los Angeles
President Donald Trump will be 'relieved of his command' of the California National Guard after a judge ruled his deployment of them to protest-hit Los Angeles was 'illegal,' Governor Gavin Newsom said Thursday as he notched a victory in his state's growing standoff with the White House. Sporadic but spectacular violence that has rocked Los Angeles over days of demonstrations against immigration raids fell 'far short' of the 'rebellion' the president described to justify his extraordinary decision to send in the reserve force, US District Judge Charles Breyer ruled. Trump's actions 'were illegal... He must therefore return control' of the guardsmen to Newsom, Breyer said in the 36-page opinion. He stayed his order until 12:00 p.m. local time (1900 GMT) Friday, and the White House swiftly launched an appeal that could go all the way to the Supreme Court. But Newsom was quick to celebrate the victory – a much-needed win in just one of several fronts that the wealthy, Democratic state is currently fighting against the White House. 'Donald Trump will be relieved of his command at noon tomorrow,' Newsom said in televised comments after the ruling was issued. 'He is not a monarch, he is not a king, and he should stop acting like one,' the 57-year-old Democrat said. Protests over the immigration crackdown ordered by the Trump administration first began in Los Angeles on Friday, and were largely confined to just a few blocks of the sprawling city. Damages include vandalism, looting, clashes with law enforcement and several torched driverless taxis. Trump, who has repeatedly exaggerated the scale of the unrest, deployed 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 US Marines to Los Angeles despite the objections of local officials, claiming that the city was 'burning' and local officials had lost control. It was the first time since 1965 that a US president deployed the National Guard over the wishes of a state's governor. Critics have accused Trump of a power grab. But he has been unrepentant, taking credit Thursday for making Los Angeles 'safe' and declaring that Newsom – a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2028 – had 'totally lost control.' Anger at Trump's crackdown and the use of masked, armed immigration agents, backed by uniformed soldiers, is rousing protests in other cities. The ruling came after California's standoff with the administration ratcheted up earlier Thursday, when a sitting US senator was handcuffed and forcibly removed from a press conference on the immigration raids. The shocking incident was slammed by furious Democrats who said it 'reeks of totalitarianism.' Video footage shows California Senator Alex Padilla, a Democrat, being pushed from the room at a federal building in Los Angeles as he tried to ask Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem about the raids. 'I'm Senator Alex Padilla. I have questions for the secretary,' he said as two men grappled with him in front of journalists, including from AFP. Footage filmed by Padilla's staff outside the room shows the senator being pushed to the ground and handcuffed. 'If this is how this administration responds to a senator with a question... you can only imagine what they're doing to farm workers, to cooks, to day laborers out in the Los Angeles community,' Padilla said later. The incident 'reeks of totalitarianism,' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, calling for an investigation. The White House hit back, claiming it was a 'theater-kid stunt' and claiming without evidence that Padilla 'lunged toward Secretary Noem.' California also sued Trump's administration Thursday over his move to scrap the state's tailpipe emission rules and its drive to phase out gas-powered cars. Trump was elected last year after promising to launch historic mass deportations. But with his mounting crackdown rippling through industries heavily reliant on immigrant labor, Trump said he had heard employers' complaints and hinted at a forthcoming policy shift. 'We're going to have an order on that pretty soon, I think. We can't do that to our farmers – and leisure too, hotels,' he said. Breyer's ruling on the National Guard came two days ahead of the nationwide 'No Kings' protests expected on Saturday, the same day Trump attends a highly unusual military parade in the US capital. The parade, featuring warplanes and tanks, has been organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the US Army but also happens to be on the day of Trump's 79th birthday.
New Indian Express
2 hours ago
- Politics
- New Indian Express
Appeals court temporarily blocks judge's ruling to return control of National Guard to California
SAN FRANCISCO: The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday temporarily blocked a federal judge's order that directed President Donald Trump to return control of National Guard troops to California after he deployed them there following protests in Los Angeles over immigration raids. The court said it would hold a hearing on the matter on Tuesday. The ruling came only hours after a federal judge's order was to take effect at noon Friday. Earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled the Guard deployment was illegal and both violated the Tenth Amendment and exceeded Trump's statutory authority. The order applied only to the National Guard troops and not Marines who were also deployed to the LA protests. The judge said he would not rule on the Marines because they were not out on the streets yet. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who had asked the judge for an emergency stop to troops helping carry out immigration raids, had praised the earlier ruling. 'Today was really about a test of democracy, and today we passed the test,' Newsom said in a news conference before the appeals court decision. The White House had called Breyer's order 'unprecedented' and said it 'puts our brave federal officials in danger.'
Los Angeles Times
3 hours ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Gov. Gavin Newsom comments on judge ruling National Guard must return to his power
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer delayed enforcement of the order until noon Friday, giving the Trump adminstration a chance to appeal the ruling to a higher court. California Gov. Gavin Newsom called the ruling 'a win for all Americans.'
CNN
4 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Judge rules Trump illegally used California's National Guard in Los Angeles protests; DOJ appeals the decision
President Donald Trump unlawfully federalized thousands of members of California's National Guard and must return control of the troops to the state, a federal judge ruled Thursday. The ruling from senior US District Judge Charles Breyer is a significant win for Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this week after the president called the troops into federal service in the wake of protests in the Los Angeles area over Trump's hardline immigration policies. 'His actions were illegal – both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith,' the judge wrote in his 36-page ruling. Breyer is pausing his temporary restraining order until noon Friday. The Justice Department appealed the ruling minutes after it was issued. Breyer, of the federal district court in San Francisco, said Trump had not satisfied any of the requirements that must be met in order to call up members of a state's National Guard and that the president had not complied with a procedural aspect of federal law that requires presidents to issue an order 'through the governor' when they want to federalize state troops. 'Regardless of whether Defendants gave Governor Newsom an opportunity to consult with them or consent to the federalization of California's National Guard, they did not issue their orders through him, and thus failed to comply with' federal law, he wrote. In federalizing the guardsmen, Trump pointed to a provision of federal law that says he can call up a state's troops to suppress a 'rebellion.' But Breyer said in his ruling that 'the protests in Los Angeles fall far short of 'rebellion.'' 'Violence is necessary for a rebellion, but it is not sufficient,' Breyer wrote. 'Even accepting the questionable premise that people armed with fireworks, rocks, mangoes, concrete, chairs, or bottles of liquid are 'armed' in a 1903 sense – the Court is aware of no evidence in the record of actual firearms – there is little evidence of whether the violent protesters' actions were 'open or avowed.'' The judge added: 'Nor is there evidence that any of the violent protesters were attempting to overthrow the government as a whole; the evidence is overwhelming that protesters gathered to protest a single issue – the immigration raids.' And he was extremely critical of arguments pushed by DOJ that the protests in and around Los Angeles against Trump's immigration policies constituted a rebellion. '(T)he 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,' he wrote. 'In short, individuals' right to protest the government is one of the fundamental rights protected by the First Amendment, and just because some stray bad actors go too far does not wipe out that right for everyone,' Breyer said. 'The idea that protesters can so quickly cross the line between protected conduct and 'rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States' is untenable and dangerous.' The judge also said Trump had violated California's rights under the 10th Amendment, writing that 'it is not the federal government's place in our constitutional system to take over a state's police power whenever it is dissatisfied with how vigorously or quickly the state is enforcing its own laws.' 'The federalization of 4,000 members of California's National Guard necessarily prevents Governor Newsom, as the commander-in-chief of his state's National Guard, from deploying them as needed,' Breyer wrote. Breyer also suggested that having too much firepower on the ground may be making things worse. 'Federal agents and property may actually well be served by de-militarization and a concurring de-escalation of the situation,' the judge wrote. 'Regardless, Plaintiffs and the citizens of Los Angeles face a greater harm from the continued unlawful militarization of their city, which not only inflames tensions with protesters, threatening increased hostilities and loss of life, but deprives the state for two months of its own use of thousands of National Guard members to fight fires, combat the fentanyl trade, and perform other critical functions,' he added. Attorneys from DOJ had argued during a hearing earlier Thursday that Trump's actions were lawful, pushing back on claims by the state that the president had violated federal law because he didn't involve Newsom in the process of federalizing the troops. Importantly, Breyer on Thursday did temporarily bar Trump from using Marines for law enforcement activities in California, as the state had requested. He noted that there was dispute between each side over whether both the federalized guardsmen and several hundred Marines deployed to LA would be engaged in such activities. 'The Court does not at this point reach any conclusion on this issue,' he wrote. Breyer set a hearing for next Friday to hear arguments over whether his temporary order should not be converted into an indefinite ruling in the state's favor. This story is breaking and will be updated.
