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
We are closing this blog now, but you can continue to monitor our live coverage of the protests in Los Angeles in our new blog here.
California governor Gavin Newsom calls for president Trump to “stand down”
In a new post on X, California governor Newsom has criticised the president further, saying:
“Donald Trump has manufactured a crisis and is inflaming conditions.
If he can’t solve it, we will.
“To the bad actors — Violent acts will not be tolerated. You will be arrested. You will be prosecuted. You are doing more than just damage to buildings and property. You are damaging the very foundation of our republic. Democracy is in the balance. Donald Trump is using you as an excuse to militarize a city and circumvent our democracy.
“To the many, many peaceful protesters —we want to keep you safe. We want you to exercise your fundamental rights.
“And to our law enforcement on the streets— that are enforcing the laws respectfully and responsibly—we want to keep you safe as well.
“But Donald Trump needs to pull back. He needs to stand down.”
An update on Australian reporter Lauren Tomasi from 9News, which has released this statement:
“While reporting from protests in Los Angeles, 9News reporter Lauren Tomasi was struck by a rubber bullet. Lauren and her camera operator are safe and will continue their essential work covering these events. This incident serves as a stark reminder of the inherent dangers journalists can face while reporting from the frontlines of protests, underscoring the importance of their role in providing vital information.”
LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell described some protestors as “anarchists”
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The LAPD arrested 10 people on Sunday.
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A further 29 people were arrested on Saturday night.
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Three officers have been injured.
LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell on the deployment of the National Guard:
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“I believe we would have gone through a number of steps before we would have deployed the national guard or requested” that.
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Instead it came “top down” from the president.
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“Do we need them? Well looking at tonight, this thing has gotten out of control”.
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“Before I can answer that I need to know more about what their capabilities are, [and what] their role is intended to be to be able to make that determination.”
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“Looking at the violence tonight, I think we have to make a reassessment”.
LAPD Police Chief Jim McDonnell said people were shooting “commercial grade fireworks” at officers, which “can kill you”.
He said police tactics have been adapted to take these people in custody and keep them accountable.
LAPD police chief Jim McDonnell says they respect Ice, which has its own law enforcement duties, and they have every right to do that, adding:
“I ask people in the community to trust the LAPD. We are not there for that purpose.”
The violence in LA, he says, is “disgusting”.
What we saw the first night was bad. What we have seen subsequent to that is getting increasingly worse and more violent.”
More comments from the Los Angeles Police news conference
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LAPD does “not coordinate with immigration and customs enforcement on civil immigration enforcement”.
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LAPD will “treat every Angelino with respect regardless of their immigration status”.
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LAPD says: “Our job is not to divide communities or politicise law enforcement. Our job is to keep everyone safe”.
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“We will continue to support peaceful protests and enforce the law.”
LAPD at today’s press conference says:
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LAPD met with Governor Newsom, Mayor Bass, and other officials, including Ice acting director.
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LAPD says its supports and protects the first amendment right to free speech
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In recents days many protests across the city have been peaceful.
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However, when peaceful protests devolve into acts of violence and vandalism, especially violence directed at innocent people, law enforcement officers “must respond firmly”.
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Claim that LAPD delayed responding to a federal officer’s request for assistance by more than 2 hours was false.
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LAPD response was impacted by traffic, crowd density, hazardous conditions caused by tear gas deployed by federal agents.
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At no point did LAPD ignore or delay requests for help.
LAPD is holding a press conference on today’s events
We will bring you the latest comments and updates.
Thousands of Angelenos enraged by Donald Trump’s decision to commandeer their state national guard swamped the streets around city hall and the federal courthouse on Sunday, bringing a major freeway to a standstill. The demonstrators were met by law enforcement. But the national guard, hemmed in by the protesters and by dozens of Los Angeles police cruisers, played almost no role in any of it.
Read this dispatch by Guardian reporter, Andrew Gumbel, as below.
Senator Alex Padilla has shared his view of events in LA today, writing on X that he thinks the president is trying to “distract from his failed agenda”.
“Donald Trump is intentionally creating chaos and sowing division in our communities,” he said, “It’s all a distraction from his failed agenda. And it won’t work.”
Trump implies protestors are ‘paid insurrectionists’
In a post on Truth Social, President Trump has lashed out against LA governor Gavin Newsom, whose name he appeared to deliberately misspell, 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!”
In a subsequent post he implied the demonstrators were paid, writing: “Paid Insurrectionists!”
More photos from Los Angeles today, where law enforcement officers have clashed with protestors railing against raids by immigration authorities, which began on Friday.
View the gallery below:
A police officer fires a soft round near the metropolitan detention center of downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, 8 June, 2025, following last night’s immigration raid protest. Photograph: Eric Thayer/AP
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.
