California AG sues Trump: Our democracy has "civil, not military, rule"
The Golden State sues Trump and Pete Hegseth over their "unprecedented power grab" in activating the National Guard.
All Rise News always covers Trump’s latest “unprecedented power grab.” We’ll also keep you informed about what to do about these attacks on democracy.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued Donald Trump, Pete Hegseth and the Department of Defense in federal court on Monday for deploying the military in an “unprecedented power grab.”
“One of the cornerstones of our nation and our democracy is that our people are governed by civil, not military, rule,” the 22-page complaint states. “The Founders enshrined these principles in our Constitution — that a government should be accountable to its people, guided by the rule of law, and one of civil authority, not military rule.”
The group Our Revolution, affiliated with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), launch a petition titled “Tell Congress: Stop Trump’s Authoritarian Troop Deployment!”
Despite Gov. Gavin Newsom’s (D) status as the commander-in-chief of the California National Guard, Trump bypassed him by invoking 10 U.S. Code § 12406, a rarely used statute that requires a “rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
By contrast, the lawsuit notes, the Los Angeles protests against Trump’s immigration policies have been “peaceful, non-violent, and legally compliant,” despite some “exceptions.”
“At no point in the past three days has there been a rebellion or an insurrection,” the lawsuit says. “Nor have these protests risen to the level of protests or riots that Los Angeles and other major cities have seen at points in the past, including in recent years.”
Newsom made clear early on that he found National Guard deployment unnecessary, but Trump went ahead anyway, even though the statute he invoked reads: “Orders for these purposes shall be issued through the governors of the States.”
As the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit, Newsom noted that he commented “unequivocally and publicly” on social media that disapproved of Trump’s plan on June 7.
Trump issued his proclamation that evening, in defiance of the governor and, as the lawsuit notes, the Constitution.
“Reflecting the Founders’ distrust of military rule, the U.S. Constitution and the law of our Nation strictly limit the domestic use of the military, including the federalized National Guard,” the complaint states. “The Posse Comitatus Act codifies these strict rules, prohibiting the military from engaging in civil law enforcement unless explicitly authorized by law. The authority to use the military domestically for civil law enforcement is reserved for dire, narrow circumstances, none of which is present here.”
Ripping Trump’s “unprecedented” and “unlawful” use of the military — including the National Guard and Marines — Newsom and the state of California want a federal judge in San Francisco to find Trump’s order illegal and unconstitutional under the 10th Amendment and Administrative Procedure Act.
You can read the complaint in full here.
Listen to a panel discussion with The Contrarian’s Jen Rubin, ex-senior Justice Department official Mary McCord, and me about Trump’s actions here — and learn why this legal issue doesn’t only affect Los Angeles.