California Governor Gavin Newsom to Sue President Donald Trump Over National Guard Deployment in Los Angeles

California Governor Gavin Newsom to Sue President Donald Trump Over National Guard Deployment in Los Angeles

Washington, June 9, 2025
On Sunday night, the Governor of California indicated that his office would file a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment of the state's National Guard to respond to protesters in Los Angeles.

“Donald Trump is escalating this unrest. Seizing a state’s National Guard without consulting the state’s governor is illegal and entirely unethical,” Gavin Newsom wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “California will see him in court.”

In a follow-up post on Monday morning, Newsom said President Trump “illegally federalized the National Guard,” and added, “We are suing him.”

On Sunday, amid a tense weekend, National Guard troops were deployed in downtown Los Angeles, where clashes occurred between protesters and law enforcement. The unrest began following large-scale anti-immigration raids that started on Friday.

Footage captured by CBS Los Angeles showed National Guard troops using what appeared to be tear gas and non-lethal projectiles near the Metropolitan Detention Center as crowds gathered.

At a Sunday evening press conference, LAPD Chief Jim McDonnell stated that 39 individuals had been arrested.

On Saturday night, President Trump announced the deployment of the Guard in response to the protests, and in a social media post on Sunday, he criticized Governor Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. He labeled the protesters as “troublemakers and rebels.”

In his social media posts, Newsom accused Trump of “escalating the situation” and described the deployment as “deliberately provocative.”

In a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Newsom called for the withdrawal of federal troops from Los Angeles and stated that there is “no need for the National Guard at this time.”

Newsom’s office confirmed on Saturday that he spoke with President Trump for about 40 minutes, though it remains unclear whether the conversation occurred before or after the deployment announcement.

In a statement to CBS News, a spokesperson for ICE said the immigration raids resulted in the arrests of “a domestic abuser” and “a child rapist.”