❓WHAT HAPPENED: A Bill Clinton-appointed federal judge ruled President Donald J. Trump’s deployment of troops to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and federal buildings in Los Angeles, California, was largely unlawful, barring their use for police functions.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: President Trump, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
📍WHEN & WHERE: The ruling was issued in September 2025, related to the Trump administration’s response to pro-illegal immigrant riots starting in June 2025, in Los Angeles.
💬KEY QUOTE: “There was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond to the protests and enforce the law,” Judge Breyer claimed.
🎯IMPACT: The ruling restricts military involvement in domestic law enforcement, with potential implications for future deployments—but is likely to be appealed. Notably, a previous ruling by Breyer against President Trump deploying the National Guard in L.A. was overturned unanimously.
A federal judge appointed by Bill Clinton has ruled that President Donald J. Trump’s deployment of military troops in Los Angeles, California, is largely unlawful. The ruling prohibits the Pentagon from using the National Guard and U.S. Marines for police duties, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer complaining about President Trump potentially “creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”
In June, Trump sent troops to Los Angeles to protect U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel and federal buildings, arguing that state and local law enforcement were not sufficiently defending them against pro-illegal immigrant rioters due to “sanctuary” laws. Although most troops have now been withdrawn, approximately 300 remain, with plans under consideration to deploy federal law enforcement and troops to restore order in other cities in Washington, D.C.-style crime crackdowns.
San Francisco-based Judge Breyer ruled that the deployment violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits the military’s role in domestic law enforcement. His ruling bans the Pentagon from “ordering, instructing, training, or using the National Guard currently deployed in California, and any military troops heretofore deployed in California, [to engage] in arrests, apprehensions, searches, seizures, security patrols, traffic control, crowd control, riot control, evidence collection, interrogation, or acting as informants.”
Technically, the ruling does not mandate the removal of the remaining 300 troops, only that they be used only for what Breyer deems lawful purposes. Notably, although the decision is a victory for Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom, who brought the case, its longevity is uncertain. Breyer previously ruled that President Trump could not deploy the National Guard in L.A. at all, only to be overturned swiftly and unanimously on appeal.
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