A federal judge in California ruled on Tuesday that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth broke federal law by using U.S. troops to help with law enforcement in and around Los Angeles during this summer’s immigration crackdown. According to U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer of the Northern District of California, the operation broke the Posse Comitatus Act, a provision from the 1800s that says the military can’t enforce domestic law.
In a 52-page opinion, Breyer wrote that the administration “systematically used armed soldiers … and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence,” concluding, “In short, Defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act.”
The ruling stems from California’s challenge to the deployment of thousands of federalized California National Guard members alongside roughly 700 U.S. Marines after immigration raids triggered protests in early June. The court’s factual findings note that 4,000 Guard troops were federalized and Marines were sent to Los Angeles under U.S. Army North’s Task Force 51.
Breyer issued narrowly tailored injunctive relief for California: Trump, Hegseth and the Defense Department are barred from using federalized Guard or other troops in the state to conduct “arrests, apprehensions, searches, seizures, security patrols, traffic control, crowd control, riot control, evidence collection, [or] interrogation,” or to act as informants—unless a valid constitutional or statutory exception applies. He stayed that injunction until 12:00 noon on Friday, September 12, 2025, to allow the administration time to appeal.
The opinion underscores that, despite early unrest, local police retained control and there was no “rebellion” justifying the military role claimed by the administration under 10 U.S.C. §12406. The court emphasized that federal troops ultimately “executed the laws,” crossing the line Congress drew in 1878.
Breyer also flagged the administration’s stated intent to expand the model to other cities, warning that doing so would effectively “create a national police force with the President as its chief.”
Notably, the judge did not order immediate withdrawal of remaining personnel in Los Angeles; about 300 National Guard members remain on station. The court said the government may use troops in California only in ways consistent with the Act and any valid exceptions.
California’s win arrives after a summer of fast-moving litigation and an appellate stay that previously allowed federal control of the Guard to continue during trial. News agencies also reported the ruling Tuesday, describing the court’s pause on relief and the administration’s argument that troops were merely “protecting” federal personnel and property. An appeal from the administration is expected.
Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, wrote on social media to applaud the court’s decision: “Newsom v. Trump: a federal court granted our injunction, blocking Trump’s illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement. The ruling is clear: Trump is breaking the law by trying to create a national police force with himself as its chief.”
What’s next
The administration can appeal before the injunction takes effect at noon ET on Sept. 12.
If the stay lifts without further appellate action, any troop activities in California that amount to law enforcement would be barred absent a recognized exception.
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