U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled their actions violated an 1878 law that generally bars federal troops from participating in civilian law enforcement. The ruling comes as Trump publicly discusses putting troops in Chicago.
"This was intentional—Defendants instigated a months-long deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles for the purpose of establishing a military presence there and enforcing federal law. Such conduct is a serious violation of the Posse Comitatus Act," Breyer wrote.
Although most of the troops are no longer deployed in the city, the judge's order blocks any remaining ones from making arrests and searches or conducting traffic patrols and riot control until the government meets a valid legal exception.
Breyer paused his order until Sept. 12, providing the administration with an avenue to appeal before it goes into effect.
An appeals court blocked a previous Breyer order that found Trump illegally federalized the National Guard and must hand back control to California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D).
"The military will remain in Los Angeles. This is a false narrative and a misleading injunction," acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli wrote on the social platform X. "The military has never engaged in direct law enforcement operations here in LA."
Trump deployed several thousand National Guard troops and hundreds of Marines to Los Angeles in June as protests erupted in the city over the administration's immigration crackdown, turning violent in some cases.
It sparked a major confrontation between Trump and Newsom, who has leaned into his role as a visible Trump foe to energize Democrats eager to see members of their party fight back at the president.
"DONALD TRUMP LOSES AGAIN," Newsom posted on X in response to the ruling. "The courts agree — his militarization of our streets and use of the military against US citizens is ILLEGAL."
Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta (D) had said the deployment is illegal in several respects and demanded that the courts intervene to send the troops home.
"Today's ruling affirms that President Trump is not King, and the power of the executive is not boundless," Bonta said in a statement. "For more than two months, the President has engaged in political theater, using National Guard troops and Marines as pawns to further his anti-immigrant agenda."
After they sued, Breyer quickly issued an emergency ruling in June, finding that Trump had not followed the mandated procedure.
The judge had ordered Trump to return control of the National Guard to Newsom, but the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals halted the ruling until it resolves the administration's appeal, allowing the deployment to remain in place.
As that appeal over Trump's authority remains pending, Breyer moved ahead to consider the legality of the troops' actions on the ground. Breyer, an appointee of former President Clinton, is the brother of retired Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.
Trump, speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, decried Breyer as a "radical left judge" and stressed the National Guard troops still in Los Angeles can remain on the ground.
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
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