Judge Temporarily Blocks Trump Admin From Deploying National Guard in Los Angeles

As California Governor Newsom and President Trump continue to square off over the administration’s militarized response to anti-deportation protests in Los Angeles, a California judge has blocked the activation of National Guard troops in the city.

The ruling, issued by Judge Charles Breyer on Thursday per NBC LA, came after hearing arguments from the Trump admin and the state’s opposing request to limit National Guard and Marines’ resources assisting ICE. Protests have continued for nearly a week in Los Angeles as a response to sweeping raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Judge Breyer’s ruling disputes the Trump administration’s definition of the L.A. protests as a “rebellion” and compels the admin to return the state’s National Guard to Governor Newsom. The order, however, does not goes into effect until 12 p.m. PT on Friday; the Trump administration is expected to issue an appeal beforehand.

“Even accepting the questionable premise that people armed with fireworks, rocks, mangoes, concrete, chairs, or bottles of liquid are “armed” in a 1903 sense — the Court is aware of no evidence in the record of actual firearms—there is little evidence of whether the violent protesters’ actions were “open or avowed,” Breyer’s ruling says.

More to come…