A federal appeals court rejected a lower court’s ruling that President Donald Trump wrongfully federalized the California National Guard in response to the protests occurring in southern California over immigration enforcement.
The three-judge panel included two Trump appointees from his first term in office and a Joe Biden appointee. In their 38-page ruling issued on Thursday, the panel argued that Trump did in fact have constitutional authority to deploy the National Guard against protesters due to the heightened violent acts.
The undisputed facts demonstrate that before the deployment of the National Guard, protesters “pinned down” several federal officers and threw “concrete chunks, bottles of liquid, and other objects” at the officers. Protesters also damaged federal buildings and caused the closure of at least one federal building. And a federal van was attacked by protesters who smashed in the van’s windows," the unanimous ruling said.
“The federal government’s interest in preventing incidents like these is significant.”
A stark contrast from the ruling that came earlier from U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, who said Trump’s actions were illegal, overstepping his power by going over California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wishes. Newsom previously called Trump’s deployment of 4,000 California National Guard soldiers on protesters an abuse of power.
Following the latest ruling on Thursday, Newsom said in a statement that, “The court rightly rejected Trump’s claim that he can do whatever he wants with the National Guard and not have to explain himself to a court. The president is not a king and is not above the law. We will press forward with our challenge to President Trump’s authoritarian use of U.S. military soldiers against citizens.”
Trump posted on Truth Social that the ruling was a “BIG WIN.”
“The Judges obviously realized that Gavin Newscum is incompetent and ill prepared,” Trump’s post continued. “But this is much bigger than Gavin, because all over the United States, if our Cities, and our people, need protection, we are the ones to give it to them should State and Local Police be unable, for whatever reason, to get the job done. This is a Great Decision for our Country, and we will continue to protect and defend Law abiding Americans. Congratulations to the Ninth Circuit, America is proud of you tonight!”
Though protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have slowed down, the ruling will allow the federal government to continue the National Guard as long as it sees fit while the lawsuit is ongoing.
