Donald Trump is now being sued over his latest decision in response to the protests breaking out all across Los Angeles after officials called him out.
The series of protests erupted last Friday (6 June) after it had emerged that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were carrying out raids in areas of the city with prominent Latino populations.
The LA protests only grew further on Monday (9 June), when United States President Donald Trump - who has previously vowed to launch the 'biggest deportation operation' in US history, as part of a 'complete restoration of America' - ordered another 2,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines to deploy to the city following an initial deployment of 2,000 troops.
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And, as painfully ironic as it is, resurfaced footage from 2020 has since shown Trump effectively contradicting his own decision to call in the National Guard.
In the old ABC News clip, he explained that the president cannot legally call in the National Guard to a state without permission from the Governor of that state, something California Governor Gavin Newsom is now accusing him of doing during the anti-ICE protests.
Such a move has been met with widespread backlash, with Newsom warning that US Marines 'shouldn't be deployed on American soil facing their own countrymen to fulfil the deranged fantasy of a dictatorial President. This is un-American'.
The Governor of California also added that violence in parts of LA over ICE raids and arrests is 'exactly what Trump wanted'.
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According to Newsom, the president had 'flamed the fires and illegally acted to federalise the National Guard' with his weekend decision that brought thousands of soldiers into federal service for two months to tackle 'a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States'.
He also highlighted the unsettling point that Trump’s memorandum effectively opens up the possibility of using both National Guard and active duty military to suppress protests nationwide.
"It will allow him to go into ANY STATE and do the same thing," Newsom said, adding: "We’re suing him."
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California's Attorney General, Robert Bonta, said he was working 'in partnership' with Newsom to ask the courts to 'set aside the president’s unlawful action federalising the California National Guard'.
Announcing the litigation, Bonta referred to Trump’s order as 'unnecessary and counterproductive' as well as 'deeply unfair to the members of the National Guard who are hard at work every day protecting our state, preparing for and responding to emergencies, and training so that, if called, they can fight our nation’s wars'.
"The President is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalising the California National Guard is an abuse of the President’s authority under the law - and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order," he added.
The White House has since responded, with spokesperson Abigail Jackson hitting back at the legal threat.
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Accusing Newsom of 'feckless leadership' that made him 'directly responsible for the lawless riots and violent attacks on law enforcement in Los Angeles', she slammed: "Instead of filing baseless lawsuits meant to score political points with his left-wing base, Newsom should focus on protecting Americans by restoring law and order to his state."
Topics: Donald Trump, Politics, US News, Crime, News
Rhiannon Ingle