California: High-ranking U.S. military officials agree: Trump’s takeover of Los Angeles is illegal
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Jun 12, 2025

High-ranking U.S. military officials agree: Trump's takeover of Los Angeles is illegal

What you need to know: Former secretaries of the Army and Navy and retired four-star admirals and generals filed an amicus brief in support of the Governor's motion to block the Trump administration's illegal militarization of downtown Los Angeles.

SACRAMENTO – Veterans of the U.S. Air Force, Army, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, and Navy, who collectively served under each president from John F. Kennedy to Barack H. Obama,  recently filed an amicus brief in support of Governor Gavin Newsom's motion to stop President Trump's illegal takeover of California National Guard units and deployment of the Marines to downtown Los Angeles.

"Veterans of our military agree that President Trump's takeover of Los Angeles is not only illegal – it poses a dangerous and serious risk to Americans who may find themselves in the crosshairs of troops ordered to act against their fellow Americans."

Governor Gavin Newsom

Recently, several veterans and veteran rights' groups came together to decry Trump's militarization of California.

Illegal militarization

On June 7, one day after the protests began, President Trump issued a memorandum purporting to authorize the DOD to call up 2,000 National Guard personnel into federal service for a period of 60 days, and declaring a "form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States" and directing the Secretary of Defense to coordinate with state governors and the National Guard to commandeer state militias.

The action puts state sovereignty in danger, as his order was not specific to California and suggests that the President could assume control of any state militia.

The U.S. Constitution and the Title 10 authority the President invoked in the memo require that the Governor consent to federalization of the National Guard, which Governor Newsom was not given the opportunity to do prior to their deployment and which he confirmed he had not given shortly after their deployment. The President's unlawful order infringes on Governor Newsom's role as Commander-in-Chief of the California National Guard and violates the state's sovereign right to control and have available its National Guard in the absence of a lawful invocation of federal power.

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Additionally, DOD is now expanding the duties of these federal soldiers, ordering them to assist ICE agents in civilian law enforcement activities — including arresting and detaining immigrants and others who may be suspected or accused of interfering with ICE — a direct violation of the U.S. Constitution and the rights of American citizens.

Cleaning up Trump's mess

On Saturday, there were 250+ protesters pre-National Guard deployment. On Sunday, the protesters grew to 3,000+ after the federal government commandeered the National Guard. Their presence is inviting and incentivizing demonstrations.

Since President Trump's impulsive memo and actions to send the military to the Los Angeles region, the state continued to work with local partners to surge additional state and local law enforcement officers into Los Angeles to clean up President Trump's mess.  Local and state law enforcement has had to intervene to protect public safety. Federal soldiers are currently standing sentry outside federal buildings, with local and state law enforcement doing all of the work.

The President's actions have not only caused widespread panic and chaos, but have unnecessarily created an additional diversion of resources as the state tries to calm a community terrorized by this reckless federal action

Hypocrisy on full display

President Trump agrees he's breaking the law in California — here's the evidence.

In 2020, Trump said he wouldn't federalize National Guard members without the approval of the state's Governor first. His own Department of Homeland Security leader said just last year that federalizing the National Guard would be a direct attack on state rights. The federal administration is adding more National Guard soldiers and Marines to an already charged situation when they are unneeded. Read more about the lawsuit here.

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