Trump’s use of the National Guard during Los Angeles immigration protests is illegal, a judge says

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https://apnews.com/article/trump-newsom-los-angeles-national-guard-d6c8450a3ac2de34e669ef0836d22cbc

President Donald Trump’s administration violated federal law by sending National Guard troops to Southern California during immigration enforcement operations and accompanying protests, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday.

U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco did not require the several hundred remaining troops to be withdrawn and set his order to go into effect Sept. 12.

Breyer’s scathing ruling accused the Trump administration of “willfully” violating the law, saying it used troops for functions that were barred by their own training materials, refused to “meaningfully coordinate with state and local officials” and “‘coached’” federal law enforcement agencies on the language to use when requesting assistance.

“These actions demonstrate that Defendants knew that they were ordering troops to execute domestic law beyond their usual authority,” he wrote. “The evidence at trial established that Defendants systematically used armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles.”