California National Guard personnel stand outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building after their deployment by U.S. President Donald Trump, in response to protests against immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025.
David Ryder | Reuters
California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked a federal judge Tuesday to quickly block President Donald Trump’s deployment of National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles to quell protests against immigration raids there.
State Attorney General Rob Bonta told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that a temporary restraining order against the deployments should be issued by 1 p.m. PT to “prevent immediate and irreparable harm to Plaintiffs.”
Without such prompt relief, the deployments pose “imminent harm to State Sovereignty, deprives the State of vital resources, escalates tensions and promotes (rather than quells) civil unrest,” Bonta argued in a filing in San Francisco federal court.
Trump in recent days has authorized the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops to LA, with about 700 Marines mobilized to support those troops.
Newsom, in a statement Tuesday on the filing, said, “Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy.”
“Donald Trump is behaving like a tyrant, not a President,” Newsom said. “We ask the court to immediately block these unlawful actions.”
The Democratic governor’s request came a day after he sued the Republican president, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Pentagon.
The lawsuit says Trump broke the law when he federalized the California National Guard over the weekend without Newsom’s consent or input. The complaint also says Trump’s actions are unwarranted and are stoking more fear and civil unrest in LA.
Trump and administration officials insist that the scale of the protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city justifies the deployments.
But Newsom’s lawsuit says that the recent unrest pales in comparison to past examples in Los Angeles, including the 1992 riots after the acquittal of police officers charged in the beating of motorist Rodney King.
Most of the protesters against the ICE raids have been engaged in nonviolent activity protected by the First Amendment, the suit said.
But “there have no doubt been exceptions, including some who have thrown things at law enforcement officers or set fires to property, the suit notes.
However, the suit says that “at no point in the past three days has there been a rebellion or an insurrection,” despite Trump’s repeated claims to the contrary.
Trump on Tuesday defended his decision to federalize the California Guard and send in the Marines.
“Look, if we didn’t get involved right now, Los Angeles would be burning just like it was burning a number of months ago,” Trump said, referring to devastating wildfires that tore through swaths of the city.
“Los Angeles right now would be on fire, and we have it in great shape,” he said.
