A federal judge has turned down California Governor Gavin Newsom’s urgent bid for a temporary restraining order aimed at halting President Donald Trump’s deployment of military forces to safeguard federal personnel and property amid unrest in Los Angeles.
Following a lawsuit filed by California Attorney General Rob Bonta on Monday that sought to block the use of both National Guard troops and U.S. Marines, Newsom submitted an emergency motion on Tuesday seeking prompt judicial intervention.
The court filing was supported by a statement from Paul Eck, deputy general counsel for the California Military Department, who asserted that federal forces planned to assist with immigration enforcement. Their duties would reportedly involve securing perimeters around areas targeted for immigration raids and providing street security for federal officers.
Federal agents were reportedly attacked during lawful immigration enforcement activities conducted in Los Angeles over the weekend, while similar but less severe confrontations have occurred elsewhere in the U.S.
At present, military forces have been tasked with protecting federal facilities, although it remains uncertain whether their role might shift in the near future.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer rejected Newsom’s emergency request for immediate relief but approved the Trump administration’s petition for an extension to respond. The administration now has until 2 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday to reply to California’s legal action.
The emergency request did not challenge the deployment of National Guard troops for the protection of federal property but aimed to “avoid irreparable harm to our communities and the rule of law that is likely to result” from troops enforcing immigration laws. In a formal rebuttal, the Trump administration criticized Newsom’s legal maneuver as “legally meritless.”
“Defendants, including President Trump and Secretary of Defense Hegseth have sought to bring military personnel and a ‘warrior culture’ to the streets of cities and towns where Americans work, go to school, and raise their families,” Newsom’s filing said. “Now, they have turned their sights on California with devastating consequences, setting a roadmap to follow across the country.”
The ruling coincides with ongoing tensions in Los Angeles, which may be entering a fifth consecutive night of civil unrest. On Monday evening, National Guard troops were called in to assist local police with riot control for the first time.
After demonstrators were dispersed from the vicinity of the federal building near city hall, some splinter groups moved into areas such as Little Tokyo and other downtown districts, where they began looting stores.
Trump has left the door open to invoking the Insurrection Act, which authorizes the president to deploy military forces inside the U.S. to suppress rebellion or domestic violence, if the unrest continues. “If there’s an insurrection, I would certainly invoke it. We’ll see,” the president said while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office Tuesday. “But I can tell you last night was terrible, and the night before that was terrible.”
