9th Circuit rules Trump's California National Guard deployment unlawful

A three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 that President Donald Trump’s deployment of 4,000 California National Guard members to Los Angeles was an unlawful abuse of authority.

The court affirmed a lower court’s preliminary injunction, determining that the administration failed to meet the legal criteria required to federalize state troops over local objections. The majority held that demonstrations in Los Angeles protesting immigration crackdowns did not constitute a rebellion or the danger of one, which are the legal thresholds required under federal law for such an action.

The ruling follows a December U.S. Supreme Court decision that found the federalization of the Illinois National Guard was also illegal. The court noted that the administration’s rationale for the Los Angeles deployment fell outside the “range of honest judgment” and encroached upon the constitutional authority of Congress to call forth state militias.