SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
gavin newsom
'Authoritarian Escalation': Trump Deploys US Marines to Help Put Down LA Protests
"Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach," said California's Democratic governor, who sued over the president's takeover of the state's National Guard. "We will not let this stand."
Jun 09, 2025
As President Donald Trump deployed U.S. Marines to Los Angeles on Monday in response to protests against immigration raids and the violent arrest of a popular labor leader, California Attorney General Rob Bonta's office announced that he and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over their weekend takeover of the state's National Guard.
"President Trump's order calling federalized National Guard troops into Los Angeles—over the objections of the governor and local law enforcement—is unnecessary and counterproductive. It's also deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation's wars," Bonta said in a statement.
"Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends," he added. "Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the president's authority under the law—and not one we take lightly. We're asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order."
As of press time, the filing was not yet available, but it was set to be shared on Bonta's government website.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) conducted raids in Los Angeles on Friday and Saturday, sparking intense protests. Trump's memorandum came on Saturday, prompting Newsom's Sunday letter formally requesting that the president reverse course. The governor also previewed the new lawsuit during a Sunday interview with MSNBC.
"Donald Trump is creating fear and terror by failing to adhere to the U.S. Constitution and overstepping his authority. This is a manufactured crisis to allow him to take over a state militia, damaging the very foundation of our republic," Newsom, who widely seen as a 2028 presidential contender, said Monday.
"Every governor, red or blue, should reject this outrageous overreach," he argued. "This is beyond incompetence—this is him intentionally causing chaos, terrorizing communities, and endangering the principles of our great democracy. It is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism. We will not let this stand."
Trump's actions and remarks related to the protests against ICE in California have elicited fears of wider repression during his second term.
Criticism continued to mount on Monday, with Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive group Our Revolution, declaring that "this is not law and order—it's tyranny... When power is concentrated in the hands of a corrupt few, and dissent is met with armed repression, democracy itself is under siege. We must call this what it is: a threat to the republic."
Before the Marine deployment on Monday, Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar (D-Texas) said in a statement that "Trump politicizing and weaponizing the National Guard makes us all less safe and less free. His threat to deploy the Marines into the streets of an American city is an illegal and authoritarian escalation."
Politico reported Monday that the administration ordered about 700 Marines to Los Angeles, and while it is not yet clear what role they will play, "one of the defense officials said they will likely support the 2,000 National Guard troops sent to assist law enforcement."
Casar tied the recent events in Los Angeles to congressional Republicans' evolving budget reconciliation package, saying that "Trump's threats have nothing to do with keeping people safe—it's about political theater. He's scapegoating immigrants to distract from the GOP's real agenda: ripping healthcare away from millions to pay for tax cuts for the ultrarich."
"We will not be intimidated," he added. "Progressives are standing up to this administration, including by conducting lawful oversight at ICE detention centers in Los Angeles and across the country. We stand with Angelenos, and we stand with immigrant families everywhere. The president must return command of the National Guard to Gov. Newsom."
Keep ReadingShow Less
With Tanks Heading to DC, Call by 'Dictator' Trump to 'Bring in the Troops' Spurs Fear of Wider Repression
"This is not about protecting communities," said one human rights campaigner, "this is about crushing dissent and instilling fear."
Jun 09, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump's call late Sunday to "bring in the troops" to crush protests in Los Angeles—along with the release of video footage showing the arrival of tanks in the nation's capital ahead of a dictatorial military parade—intensified fears that the White House's actions in southern California are merely the opening salvo in a broader crackdown on opposition to the administration's far-right agenda.
Human rights organizations and civil liberties groups voiced alarm in response to Trump's decision over the weekend to deploy thousands of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in a bid to quell protests against the president's lawless mass deportation campaign.
"This shows the Trump administration is ready to do whatever it takes—including deploying military forces—to target and punish those who speak out in defense of human rights," said Paul O'Brien, executive director of Amnesty International USA. "This is not about protecting communities, this is about crushing dissent and instilling fear."
The move sparked a confrontation with California's government, which did not request support from the state-based military force and spoke out against the deployment. Gavin Newsom, California's Democratic governor, said he intends to sue Trump, whom Newsom called a "dictator" bent on "fanning the flames" of tensions and possible violence in Los Angeles.
Newsom also warned of the far-reaching implications of the memorandum Trump signed over the weekend, noting that its scope isn't limited to California.
"It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing," the governor wrote.
The June 7 memorandum, titled Department of Defense Security for the Protection of Department of Homeland Security Functions, empowers Pentagon Secretary Pete Hegseth to "employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property in any number determined appropriate in his discretion"—an explicit confirmation of Trump's willingness to wield military force across the country.
Asked Sunday about his "bar" for deploying active-duty Marines to U.S. cities, Trump replied, "The bar is what I think it is."
"We're gonna have troops everywhere," the president said.
Trump: Well, we're going to have troops everywhere.
Reporter: What’s the bar for sending in the Marines
Trump: The bar is what I think it is. pic.twitter.com/XUBX9hEZJU
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 8, 2025
Recognizing the potentially sweeping consequences of Trump's actions in Los Angeles, demonstrators took to the streets across the U.S.—from Portland, Maine to Houston, Texas to Salt Lake City, Utah—to show solidarity with protesters facing military repression in California.
The protests came ahead of Trump's June 14 military parade that's set to feature thousands of U.S. soldiers, rocket launchers, and dozens of tanks. The latter were seen arriving in Washington, D.C. via train on Saturday, a week ahead of the event—which coincides with Trump's 79th birthday.
"The military parade will be a parade of force and intimidation by wanna-be authoritarians," said Joanne Freeman, a professor of history at Yale University. "It fits right alongside the outsized military display in CA right now—making the same point."
Keep ReadingShow Less
'A Declaration of War': Trump Sends National Guard to LA Over Anti-ICE Protests
"The Trump administration's baseless deployment of the National Guard is plainly retaliation against California, a stronghold for immigrant communities," one advocate said.
Jun 08, 2025
U.S. President Donald Trump deployed 2,000 National Guard members in response to protests against Immigration and Customs Enforcement activity in Los Angeles over the weekend, as Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened to call in the marines.
The protests kicked off on Friday in opposition to ICE raids of retail establishments around Los Angeles. During Friday's protests David Huerta, president of SEIU California and SEIU-United Service Workers West, was injured and then arrested while observing a raid. His arrest sparked further protests, which carried over into Saturday in response to apparent ICE activity in the nearby city of Paramount.
"The Trump administration's baseless deployment of the National Guard is plainly retaliation against California, a stronghold for immigrant communities, and is akin to a declaration of war on all Californians," Victor Leung, chief legal and advocacy officer at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Foundation of Southern California, said in a statement.
"They yell 'invasion' at the border—but this is the real one: Trump is seizing control of California's National Guard and forcing 2,000 troops into our streets."
Saturday's most dramatic protest occurred outside a Home Depot in Paramount following rumors of an ICE raid there. However, Paramount Mayor Peggy Lemons told the Los Angeles Times that the ICE agents may instead have been staging at a nearby Department of Homeland Security (DHS) office. There were also rumors of an ICE raid on a meatpacking plant that never occurred.
"We don't know what was happening, or what their target was. To think that there would be no heightening of fear and no consequences from the community doesn't sound like good preparation to me," Lemons said. "Above all, there is no communication and things are done on a whim. And that creates chaos and fear."
According to the LA Times, the Home Depot protests began peacefully until officers lobbed flash-bang grenades and pepper balls at the crowd, after which some individuals responded by throwing rocks and other objects at the ICE cars, and one person drove their vehicle toward the ICE agents.
"Many of the protesters did not appear to engage in these tactics," the LA Times reported.
In another incident, Lindsay Toczylowski, the chief executive of Immigrant Defenders Law Center, wrote on social media that ICE agents threw a tear-gas canister at two of the center's female attorneys after they asked the agents if they could see a warrant and observe their activities.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said that over a dozen people were arrested on Saturday for interfering with the work of immigration agents.
The first member of the Trump administration to mention sending in the National Guard was White House border czar Tom Homan, who told Fox News, "We're gonna bring National Guard in tonight and we're gonna continue doing our job. This is about enforcing the law."
Trump then signed a memo Saturday night calling members of the California National Guard into federal service to protect ICE and other government officials.
"To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States," the memo reads in part.
"The only threat to safety today is the masked goon squads that the administration has deployed to terrorize the communities of Los Angeles County."
Instead of using the Insurrection Act, as some had speculated he might, Trump federalized the guard members under the president's Title 10 authority, which allows the president to place the National Guard under federal control given certain conditions, but does not allow those troops to carry out domestic law enforcement activities, which invoking the Insurrection Act would enable.
"On its face, then, the memorandum federalizes 2,000 California National Guard troops for the sole purpose of protecting the relevant DHS personnel against attacks," Georgetown University Law Center professor Steve Vladeck explained in a blog post Saturday. "That's a significant (and, in my view, unnecessary) escalation of events in a context in which no local or state authorities have requested such federal assistance. But by itself, this is not the mass deployment of troops into U.S. cities that had been rumored for some time."
Indeed, several state leaders spoke out against the deployment.
"The federal government is moving to take over the California National Guard and deploy 2,000 soldiers," California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media Saturday. "That move is purposefully inflammatory and will only escalate tensions. LA authorities are able to access law enforcement assistance at a moment's notice. We are in close coordination with the city and county, and there is currently no unmet need."
"The Guard has been admirably serving LA throughout recovery," he continued, referring to the devastating wildfires that swept the city early this year. "This is the wrong mission and will erode public trust."
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) posted on social media that he "couldn't agree more."
"Using the National Guard this way is a completely inappropriate and misguided mission," Padilla said. "The Trump administration is just sowing more chaos and division in our communities."
Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) added, "They yell 'invasion' at the border—but this is the real one: Trump is seizing control of California's National Guard and forcing 2,000 troops into our streets."
While the National Guard's mission is currently limited, Vladeck argued that there were three reasons to be "deeply concerned" about the development. First, troops could still respond to real or perceived threats with violence, escalating the situation; second, escalation may be the desired outcome from the Trump administration, and used as a pretext to invoke the Insurrection Act after all; and third, this could depress the morale of both National Guard members and the civilians they engage with while degrading the relationships between federal, local, and state authorities.
"There is something deeply pernicious about invoking any of these authorities except in circumstances in which their necessity is a matter of consensus beyond the president's political supporters," Vladeck wrote. "The law may well allow President Trump to do what he did Saturday night. But just because something is legal does not mean that it is wise—for the present or future of our Republic."
Leung of the ACLU criticized both the ICE raids and the decision to deploy the Guard.
"Workers in our garment districts or day laborers seeking work outside of Home Depot do not undermine public safety," Leung said. "They are our fathers and mothers and neighbors going about their day and making ends meet. Rather, the only threat to safety today is the masked goon squads that the administration has deployed to terrorize the communities of Los Angeles County."
He continued: "There is no rational reason to deploy the National Guard on Angelenos, who are rightfully outraged by the federal government's attack on our communities and justly exercising their First Amendment right to protest the violent separation of our families. We intend to file suit and hold this administration accountable and to protect our communities from further attacks."
National political leaders also spoke out Sunday morning.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) wrote on social media that it was "important to remember that Trump isn't trying to heal or keep the peace. He is looking to inflame and divide. His movement doesn't believe in democracy or protest—and if they get a chance to end the rule of law they will take it. None of this is on the level."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) posted that the entire incident was "Trump's authoritarianism in real time."
Meanwhile, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth threatened further escalation Saturday night when he tweeted that "if violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized—they are on high alert."
Newsom responded: "The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior."
"This is an abuse of power and what dictators do. It's unnecessary and not needed."
Hegseth then doubled down on the threat Sunday morning, replying on social media that it was "deranged" to allow "your city to burn and law enforcement to be attacked."
"The National Guard, and Marines if need be, stand with ICE," he posted.
Journalist Ryan Grim noted that it was an "ominous development" for the secretary of defense to be commenting on immigration policy or local law enforcement at all.
Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) said of Trump and Hegseth's escalations: "This is an abuse of power and what dictators do. It's unnecessary and not needed."
Writing on his Truth Social platform early Sunday, Trump praised the National Guard for their work in Los Angeles. Yet local and state leaders pointed out that the Guard had not yet arrived in the city by the time the post was made.
As of Sunday morning, the National Guard had arrived in downtown Los Angeles and Paramount, ABC 7 reported.
In the midst of the uproar over Trump's actions, labor groups continued to decry the ICE raids and call for the release of Huerta.
National Nurses United wrote on Friday: "With these raids, the government is sowing intense fear for personal safety among our immigrant and migrant community. Nurses and other union workers oppose this, and are standing up in solidarity with fellow immigrant workers. We refuse to be silent, and people like David Huerta are bravely putting their own bodies on the line to bear witness to what ICE is doing. It's appalling that ICE injured and detained him while he was exercising his First Amendment rights. We demand his immediate release."
AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler and AFL-CIO Secretary-Treasurer Fred Redmond said in a statement Saturday:
The nearly 15 million working people of the AFL-CIO and our affiliated unions demand the immediate release of California Federation of Labor Unions Vice President and SEIU California and SEIU-USWW President David Huerta. As the Trump administration's mass deportation agenda has unnecessarily targeted our hard-working immigrant brothers and sisters, David was exercising his constitutional rights and conducting legal observation of ICE activity in his community. He was doing what he has always done, and what we do in unions: putting solidarity into practice and defending our fellow workers. In response, ICE agents violently arrested him, physically injuring David in the process, and are continuing to detain him—a violation of David's civil liberties and the freedoms this country holds dear. The labor movement stands with David, and we will continue to demand justice for our union brother until he is released.
The unrest in Los Angeles may continue as Barragán told CNN on Sunday she had been informed that ICE would be present in LA for a month. She argued that the National Guard deployment would only inflame the conflict.
“We haven't asked for the help. We don't need the help. This is [President Trump] escalating it, causing tensions to rise. It's only going to make things worse in a situation where people are already angry over immigration enforcement."
Keep ReadingShow Less
Most Popular