A federal judge ruled Tuesday that President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles violated federal restrictions on using the military for domestic law enforcement.
Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California found that Trump’s use of the California National Guard in response to at-times violent protests in June in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 law that bans the use of military personnel for domestic law enforcement.
Trump’s actions would create “a national police force with the President as its chief,” Breyer wrote. Breyer blocked the deployment of National Guard members in California from being used for law enforcement, but the judge also paused his ruling from taking effect until later this month to allow an appeal.
