California will sue President Trump over National Guard deployment

California will sue the Trump administration over its decision to send in National Guard troops in response to protests over immigration enforcement, the state’s Attorney General said.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said that the Trump administration’s decision of deploying hundreds of National Guard members to Los Angeles over the weekend was “unlawful.”

Bonta said President Donald Trump’s move to federalize 2,000 members of the state National Guard on Saturday in response to protests against the administration’s immigration actions was unnecessary and an “infringement” on Governor Gavin Newsom’s authority.

The suit, which was expected to be filed later Monday, will seek a court ruling that Trump’s order was illegal, he said. “The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends. Federalizing 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,” Bonta said.

The White House had contended the move was necessary to combat “lawlessness that has been allowed to fester” in Los Angeles, referring to clashes and confrontations between federal agents carrying out immigration raids and protesters.

“We did the right thing,” Trump told reporters Monday, adding that the “place would be burning down” if they hadn’t. “I’m very happy I got involved. And I think Gavin, in his own way, is probably happy I got involved.”

Newsom had said that there was no need to deploy the National Guard and that Trump took the drastic step out of a desire for a “spectacle.” Tensions between rioters and law enforcement escalated Saturday, with some rioters throwing objects and law enforcement deploying pepper balls and flash-bangs. Videos also showed looting and a car on fire.

The President is indeed granted the power to call in the National Guard in a case of emergency, and has the discretion to judge when the emergency point is reached.