Judge Breyer Calls Trump’s National Guard Deployment a Breach of Federal Law

Senior District Judge Charles Breyer, based in San Francisco, made a determination last week that the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles by the Trump administration was indeed a breach of federal law. On Tuesday, however, he was reluctant to consider an urgent request to put a halt to the current deployment of 300 Guard members. Despite the judge issuing an official court order, he expressed doubts about his power to contemplate a preliminary injunction by California impeding the administration’s continued execution of state National Guard troop deployment.

The uncertainty surrounding the judge’s authority arises from the fact that the case currently awaits appeal at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Consequently, Judge Breyer has decided to put a hold on all proceedings in connection with the state’s request. However, Judge Breyer has suggested that the California officials have a viable option to submit their request directly to the 9th Circuit.

The ruling issued by Judge Breyer on September 2nd has drawn significant attention, especially given President Donald Trump’s recent discussions regarding potential National Guard deployments to additional cities governed by Democrats. He specifically mentioned cities like Chicago, Baltimore, and New York as potential destinations for such deployments.

The Trump administration’s decision to dispatch troops to the region surrounding Los Angeles took place in early June. As per Judge Breyer’s determination, the administration had knowingly violated federal law. They knowingly commanded troops to conduct domestic operations outside of their standard scope of authority.

The military presence in and around Los Angeles, the usage of military vehicles, the establishment of safeguarding boundaries, traffic barricades, and the involvement of crowd control measures were indicators that the Trump administration had willingly overstepped the line. Judge Breyer’s ruling pointed toward these overreaches as direct evidence of the administration’s intentional flouting of federal law.

Despite his ruling, Breyer chose not to enforce the dispersion of the remaining 300 soldiers. His rationale was linked to the fact that these servicemen had received improper training. He did, however, order the administration to cease using them in executing laws, starkly criticizing their current deployment.

Judge Breyer’s ruling, while significant, applies exclusively to the state of California. It was initially set to come into effect on September 12th. However, the 9th Circuit Court decided to temporarily stop its implementation.

In response to an order from the Trump administration extending the 300-troop deployment for an additional 90 days, California later filed a request for a preliminary injunction. The aim was to halt any further deployment, which the state officials viewed as an unnecessary extension.

According to California officials, this extended troop deployment would result in what can be likened to military occupation of the state until early November. This has raised concerns among the citizenry, as they are due to vote on November 4th on whether to accept new congressional maps.