California’s Emergency TRO Blocked as Marines Await Domestic Use-of-Force Training
Efforts by California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta to immediately halt what they described as the Trump administration’s “unlawful militarization” of Los Angeles were denied Tuesday by a federal judge.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer refused the state’s request for a temporary restraining order aimed at stopping the continued deployment and expanded mission of National Guard troops and U.S. Marines in Los Angeles. The ruling came just hours after the emergency motion was filed. While denying the request, Breyer granted the Trump administration additional time to file a response. A hearing on the matter is scheduled for Thursday.
The Trump administration has claimed that 2000 National Guard members have been deployed in Los Angeles, and another 2000 are to be mobilized soon, because President Donald Trump has labeled protests in the city as an “insurrection.” However, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement posted photos of an ICE raid with National Guard troops guarding ICE agents as they abducted Los Angeles residents today on social media.
The allegedly illegal deployment of CalGuard and the threatened mobilization of Marines from Twenty Nine Palms may have had another purpose entirely.
The Marine battalion has not arrived in Los Angeles because they did not have the proper training for use of force in a domestic setting, according to a US Defense official quoted by Jennifer Griffin, Fox News’ Chief National Security Correspondent, despite Defense Secretary Hesgeth’s statements to the contrary.
The Marines are in Seal Beach receiving training.
The legal motion forms part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by California against President Donald Trump, Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the U.S. Department of Defense. It accuses the federal government of overstepping its authority by using military personnel to support immigration enforcement efforts and expanding the deployment without gubernatorial consent.
State officials have argued that the federalized National Guard presence in Los Angeles, alongside active-duty Marines, escalates tensions in response to immigration raids and protest activity rather than calming unrest.
Newsom and Bonta’s filing contends that the military buildup is unlawful and undermines state sovereignty, especially when aimed at enforcing domestic policies traditionally handled by civilian agencies.
