Newsom formally requests Trump administration rescind ‘unlawful’ deployment of national guard
California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, said he has made a formal request to the Trump administration to rescind its “unlawful” deployment of national guard troops in LA and return them to his command, calling the deployment “a serious breach of state sovereignty”.
“We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved,” Newsom said in a post on X. “This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed. Rescind the order. Return control to California.”
I have formally requested the Trump Administration rescind their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles county and return them to my command.
We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved. This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while… pic.twitter.com/tOtA5dcfxc
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 8, 2025
Earlier, in a joint statement by Democratic governors condemning Trump’s deployment of the California national guard as an “alarming abuse of power”, Newsom and the other governors wrote: “Governors are the Commanders in Chief of their National Guard and the federal government activating them in their own borders without consulting or working with a state’s governor is ineffective and dangerous.”
Key events
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump has lashed out against LA governor Gavin Newsom, and mayor Karen Bass.
“Governor Gavin Newscum and “Mayor” Bass should apologize to the people of Los Angeles for the absolutely horrible job that they have done, and this now includes the ongoing L.A. riots. These are not protesters, they are troublemakers and insurrectionists. Remember, NO MASKS!”
More photos from Los Angeles today, where law enforcement officers have clashed with protestors railing against raids by immigration authorities, which began on Friday.
This footage of Australian reporter, Lauren Tomasi, from Channel 9 news appears to show her being shot by a rubber bullet fired by police while covering the protests in downtown LA.
On Trump’s deployment of the National Guard:
President Trump has justified deployment of the National Guard by citing a provision of Title 10 of the US Code on the Armed Forces.
However, as Reuters points out, Title 10 also says the “orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States”.
It was not immediately clear if the president had the legal authority to deploy the National Guard troops without Newsom’s order.
Governor Gavin Newsom has likened the actions, what he described as inciting violence, creating mass chaos, and arresting opponents, as the “act of dictator, not a President”.
Title 10 allows for National Guard deployment by the federal government if there is “a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
Those troops are only allowed to engage in limited activities and cannot undertake ordinary law enforcement activities.
Trump’s memo says the troops will “temporarily protect ICE and other United States Government personnel who are performing Federal functions, including the enforcement of Federal law, and to protect Federal property, at locations where protests against these functions are occurring or are likely to occur.”
The dramatic scenes unfolding on the streets of downtown Los Angeles – in pictures.
Several Waymos self driving cars have been burning on the streets.
A man waves a flag as smoke and flames rise from a burning vehicle.
A demonstrator holds a placard with the message: “Ice, Out of our communities”.
“We are the city of Angels. Ice and National Guard GO AWAY!!!”
Police are seen through smoke on the 101 Freeway.
Today so far
Massive protests continue on the streets of Los Angeles after Donald Trump deployed the national guard to the city in response to demonstrations against his administration’s immigration crackdown. Here’s what we’ve seen so far:
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The Trump administration has taken the stunning step of bringing hundreds of California national guard soldiers into federal service to respond to the protests, and has said it could bring US marines to the city “if violence continues”. About 500 marines are ready to deploy to the city if directed.
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California governor Gavin Newsom and the LA mayor Karen Bass have asked the administration to rescind its order to deploy troops with Newsom calling it a “a serious breach of state sovereignty.” Democratic governors across the US have described it as an “alarming abuse of power”.
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Protests have continued in large numbers. National guard troops clashed with demonstrators and police used teargas and “less-lethal munitions” to disperse people from a federal complex and the 101 freeway, where protesters brought traffic to a standstill in both directions. In some areas, autonomous vehicles have been set on fire.
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The Los Angeles police department said the agency has declared an “unlawful assembly” in the civic center area of downtown Los Angeles, and that officers have arrested “a number” of people. Police are patrolling areas of the downtown on horseback.
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Karen Bass urged protesters to remain peaceful. She said she has asked the Trump administration to remove troops from the city. “We do not need to see our city torn apart,” she said, adding that people are “terrified.”
500 US marines ‘prepared to deploy’ to Los Angeles
About 500 US marines in southern California are “prepared to deploy” to Los Angeles if directed to do so by Donald Trump’s administration.
The US Northern Command said in a statement that marines from Twentynine Palms, California, about two hours east of Los Angeles, are in “prepared to deploy status should they be necessary to augment and support the DoD’s protection of federal property and personnel efforts”.
Pete Hegseth had spoken earlier about deploying US marines onto the streets of California following the protests that erupted in the wake of raids from Ice authorities in the state. Gavin Newsom has described that possibility as “deranged”.
There are currently roughly 300 members of the California national guard deployed in Los Angeles and the Trump administration has placed 2,000 soldiers under federal command.
Pussy Riot: ‘Police State exhibit closed due to Police State’
Lois Beckett
As police helicopters hovered overhead, and clusters of people who showed up to protest the recent Ice raids in Los Angeles moved through downtown Los Angeles, the city’s Museum of Contemporary Art announced had closed one of its locations early for “safety” reasons.
That meant closing the doors on its new exhibit, Police State, a live durational performance in which Nadya Tolokonnikova, the Pussy Riot co-founder and former Russian political prisoner, made art from within a replica Russian prison cell built in the art gallery.
“Police State Exhibit Closed Today Due to the Police State,” Tolokonnikova posted on Instagram after the closure was announced.
A spokesperson for the artist said in an email that Tolokonnikova “will continue her durational performance and installation POLICE STATE at Moca, even though the museum will close out of caution due to the LA protest,” and that she was live streaming audio from the protests outside into the exhibit.
Buildings around the gallery, the Geffen Contemporary at Moca were spray-painted with “Fuck Ice” slogans.
The Los Angeles police department said the agency has declared an “unlawful assembly” in the civic center area of downtown Los Angeles, and that officers have arrested “a number” of people.
The development comes as the California Highway Patrol is attempting to remove people from the nearby 101 freeway, where protesters have brought traffic in both directions of the highway to a standstill. Meanwhile, Los Angeles police are now patrolling areas of the downtown on horseback, as some people appear to have set fire to an autonomous vehicle.
While speaking just minutes ago, the Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass urged protesters to remain peaceful and said that people should not be on the freeway or throw objects at police.
“The most important thing right now is that our city be peaceful,” Bass said. “Protest is appropriate to do, but it is just not appropriate for there to be violence.”
Bass has condemned the decision to deploy the national guard and said she joins the governor in asking the administration to rescind the order.
Karen Bass: ‘We do not need to see our city torn apart’
The Los Angeles mayor Karen Bass has said the deployment of the national guard is “the last thing Los Angeles needs”, and said she has received little information about how long troops will remain the city.
Bass, who is speaking at a press conference now, said she had discouraged the administration from bringing in the national guard. “I was hoping to prevent this situation from happening,” Bass said. “Our city is still trying to recover from the wildfires.”
“We do not need to see our city torn apart,” she said, adding that people are “terrified.”
Bass added that protests must remain peaceful. “I call on all angelenos to continue expressing your right, your anger, your outrage, but to do it peacefully.”
Trump doesn’t rule out sending marines to California
As protests over immigration enforcement operations continue in Los Angeles, Donald Trump did not rule out sending active-duty marines to California, confirming his secretary of defense’s earlier suggestion.
Asked what the bar is to send marines, Trump said the bar is “what I think it is”.
The bar is what I think it is. If we see danger to our country and to our citizens, and we’ll be very, very strong in terms of law and order.
Earlier Pete Hegseth, Trump’s controversial and hardline defense secretary, raised the possibility of deploying US marines onto the streets of California following the protests that erupted in the wake of raids from Ice authorities in the state.
“Under President Trump, violence & destruction against federal agents & federal facilities will NOT be tolerated. It’s COMMON SENSE,” Hegseth wrote on social media.
“If violence continues, active duty Marines at Camp Pendleton will also be mobilized – they are on high alert,” Hegseth said. Camp Pendleton is a large military base south of Los Angeles and north of San Diego.
In response, California’s governor, Gavin Newsom, called the potential deployment of US marines “deranged” .
“The Secretary of Defense is now threatening to deploy active-duty Marines on American soil against its own citizens. This is deranged behavior,” Newsom wrote on X.
Kamala Harris condemns Trump’s ‘dangerous escalation’
Kamala Harris, who resides in Los Angeles, has released a statement on the chaos unfolding in the city after Donald Trump took the stunning step of deploying the national guard against the wishes of the state’s governor.
“Deploying the national guard is a dangerous escalation meant to provoke chaos,” the Democratic presidential nominee said. “In addition to the recent Ice raids in southern California and across our nation, it is part of the Trump administration’s cruel, calculated agenda to spread panic and division.”
As law enforcement and national guard troops deployed by Donald Trump clashed with protesters in Los Angeles on Sunday, Gavin Newsom, the California governor, compared the president’s actions to those of a dictator.
– Inciting and provoking violence
– Creating mass chaos
– Militarizing cities
– Arresting opponentsThese are the acts of a dictator, not a President. https://t.co/e4YjBMPtna
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 8, 2025
