Judge blocks Trump's use of National Guard in protest-hit Los Angeles

 

US Customs and Border Protection agents disperse protester in front of the Federal Building during ongoing demonstrations in response to federal immigration operations in downtown Los Angeles on June 12, 2025. [AFP]

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.

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, though Los Angeles was calm on Thursday night.

'Reeks of totalitarianism'

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 "theatre-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 labour, 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 it also coincides with Trump's 79th birthday.