A U.S. federal judge has issued a temporary order halting President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles, where protests have intensified over heightened immigration enforcement. The court found that the mobilization lacked lawful authorization, marking a rare judicial pushback against the president’s use of military force in domestic matters.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, based in San Francisco, ruled that control of the National Guard must be returned to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who had filed a lawsuit seeking to limit the Guard’s deployment. The judge’s directive is set to take effect from noon on Friday.
Judge Breyer stated that the demonstrations in Los Angeles do not meet the threshold of a “rebellion,” countering President Trump’s justification for deploying troops. Trump had labelled the protests as a rebellion to support the mobilization of the National Guard.
Judge Breyer expressed concern over the government’s stance, stating, “The Court finds it deeply troubling that the defendants suggest exercising the right to protest against the federal government—a fundamental freedom safeguarded by the First Amendment—could be construed as grounds for declaring a rebellion.”
The Trump administration promptly filed an appeal challenging the judge’s ruling.
Defying Governor Newsom’s objections, Trump took the unusual step of deploying military troops to Los Angeles to back a civilian police operation — a move seldom seen in domestic affairs.
The ruling followed a dramatic press conference earlier in the day, where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed to “liberate” Los Angeles. The event took a chaotic turn when federal agents stormed in, forcibly removed Democratic U.S. Senator Alex Padilla, pinned him to the ground, and placed him in handcuffs.
The courtroom clash and the tense scene at the press conference highlighted the deep political divisions sparked by Trump’s hardline immigration policies and expansive use of executive authority.
Trump initially deployed the National Guard, followed by the Marines, to reinforce federal police in securing government buildings and safeguarding immigration agents as they detained suspected immigration violators.
Trump has stood by his decision, claiming that without his intervention, the city would have been engulfed in flames. In reality, the protests have remained largely peaceful, with only isolated instances of violence confined to a limited area of the city.
According to military officials, around 700 U.S. Marines are expected to be deployed across the city by Thursday or Friday, joining forces with up to 4,000 National Guard personnel already on the ground.
