OAKLAND— California Attorney General Rob Bonta and California Governor Gavin Newsom today secured atemporary restraining orderblocking President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, andtheU.S. Department of Defense from using federalized California National Guard to patrol our communities and engagein law enforcement activity. The order, issued by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California,found that President Trump’sactions were illegal — “both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution” and ordered the Administration to “therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.” The order is stayed until 12pm PT tomorrow.
“With this order, the Trump Administration is blocked from usingfederalized California National Guardtroopsto patrol our neighborhoods or carry out civilian law enforcement work,”said Attorney General Bonta. “The right to peacefully protest is a cornerstone of any healthy democracy. We will not stand idly by as the President attempts to intimidate and silence those who disagree with him. As the President attempts to inflame tensions and stoke fear in our communities, California and our local law enforcement stand ready to protect our communities and their right to make their voices heard safely and peacefully.”
On June 9th, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsomfiled a lawsuitagainst President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth in response to their orders seeking to federalize the National Guardfor 60 days under 10 U.S.C. § 12406.
In the early hours of Sunday, June 8th, the U.S. Department of Defense, at the direction of the President, redirected hundreds of California National Guardtroops from San Diego to Los Angeles, without authorization from the Governor and against the wishes of local law enforcement. In total, the Department has deployed 4,000 California National Guardtroops fromacross the state, as well as an additional 700 Marines, an inflammatory escalation unsupported by conditions on the ground. In response, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsomfiled a motion for temporary restraining orderin their case, arguing that the use of thesetroopsis illegal,creates imminentharm to state sovereignty, deprives the state of its use of the California National Guard, escalates tensions, and promotes rather than quells civil unrest.
A copy of the court’s order is available here.
