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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced plans to file a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump for the unauthorized deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles, calling the move “illegal and immoral” as protests erupted over a wave of immigration raids across the region.
“Commandeering a state’s National Guard without consulting the Governor of that state is illegal and immoral,” Newsom said in an interview with MSNBC on Sunday.
The legal challenge comes amid a dramatic escalation in tensions between state and federal officials, with Guard troops patrolling downtown Los Angeles, protesters clashing with police, and parts of the city engulfed in smoke and chaos.
Guard Deployed Without Governor’s Request
Trump’s order sent 2,000 National Guard members to the city, with roughly 300 troops already deployed as of Sunday. The president cited “insurrectionist mobs” as justification for the move, invoking a federal law that allows troop deployment when a rebellion threatens U.S. authority.
But Newsom slammed the decision as a “serious breach of state sovereignty” and said Trump had never mentioned Guard deployment during a phone call on Friday.
“Trump wants chaos and he’s instigated violence,” Newsom said Sunday. “Stay peaceful. Stay focused. Don’t give him the excuse he’s looking for.”
Violence Erupts in Downtown Los Angeles
By Sunday evening, Los Angeles had experienced its third straight day of protests, sparked by ICE raids that led to over 100 immigrant arrests. Demonstrators shut down parts of the 101 Freeway, and in a dramatic act of resistance, at least four self-driving Waymo cars were torched, sending black smoke billowing into the sky.
Authorities responded with tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bang grenades. Dozens of protesters were arrested throughout the weekend, including a man accused of hurling a Molotov cocktail at officers.
“Looking really bad in L.A. BRING IN THE TROOPS!!!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling for the arrest of masked protesters.
LAPD Pushes Back on Federal Claims
Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell said his officers were “overwhelmed” at times but denied allegations from the Trump administration that local police had failed to cooperate with federal agents.
“We responded as quickly as we could,” McDonnell said, emphasizing that the LAPD had not been notified in advance of Friday’s raids.
The Guard troops were assigned primarily to protect federal buildings, including the downtown detention center where many of the protests have focused. Guard members stood shoulder-to-shoulder on downtown streets Sunday, armed and clad in riot gear as demonstrators chanted “Shame!” and “Go home!”
A Rare and Historic Clash
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, this appears to be the first time since 1965 that a U.S. president has deployed the National Guard to a state without the governor’s consent. The last instance was during the civil rights era, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent troops to protect marchers in Alabama.
The move has drawn fierce condemnation from Democrats nationwide. All 23 Democratic governors issued a joint statement over the weekend denouncing the federalization of the California National Guard.
“It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said in a statement defending the move.
San Francisco Also Sees Protests
In San Francisco, protests against federal immigration policies spilled into the streets Sunday night. Police declared an unlawful assembly after demonstrators became violent, vandalizing buildings and a police cruiser. Dozens were arrested.
As the legal battle unfolds, the political and legal stakes are rising fast, with Newsom’s lawsuit potentially setting a precedent for federal overreach — and putting state sovereignty at the center of a volatile national debate over immigration enforcement and civil protest.
