National Guard troops sent by President Donald Trump to Los Angeles acted illegally by taking part in law enforcement actions rather than only protecting federal officers and property, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled Monday.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled that the president’s decision to send troops to L.A. — some of which are still there — violated the Posse Comitatus Act, an 1878 federal law that prohibits use of the armed forces to enforce criminal laws in most circumstances.
“The evidence at trial established that (Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth) systematically used armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles,” Breyer wrote in his order.
