Newsom Asks Trump to Rescind ‘Unlawful Deployment of Troops’ in Los Angeles

Updated 5:30 pm Sunday

Governor Gavin Newsom has sent a letter to the Trump administration, calling in a post on X for “their unlawful deployment of troops in Los Angeles [C]ounty be rescinded” and for the state National Guard to be returned to his command.

“We didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved,” Newsom wrote. “This is a serious breach of state sovereignty — inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed.”

In response, the White House called the governor’s leadership “feckless,” accusing him of refusing to stop violent attacks on law enforcement.

“It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved,” said White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson. “Everyone saw the chaos, violence, and lawlessness – unless, of course, Gavin Newsom doesn’t think any of that is a problem.”

In Los Angeles Sunday, tear gas was fired at protesters when some demonstrators moved close to National Guard troops and shouted insults at them, hours after President Donald Trump’s extraordinary decision to deploy them.

The confrontation broke out as hundreds of people protested in front of the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, where several of the newly-arrived National Guard troops stood shoulder to shoulder behind plastic riot shields.

Video showed uniformed officers shooting off the smoke-filled canisters as they advanced into the street, forcing protesters to retreat. It was not immediately clear what prompted the use of chemical irritants or which law enforcement agency fired them.

Minutes later, loud popping sounds erupted again, as some protesters chanted “go home” and “shame.” One person was taken to the ground by uniformed officers. Another appeared to be bleeding from their head.

The move came over the objections of Newsom, who accused Trump of a “complete overreaction.” It marked the first time in decades that a state’s national guard was activated without a request from its governor, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

In a directive Saturday, Trump invoked a legal provision allowing him to deploy federal service members when there is ”a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

Approximately 300 National Guard members were deployed Sunday to three separate locations in the greater Los Angeles area, according to military officials. Several protests and marches were scheduled to kick off Sunday.

Local Bay Area leaders condemned President Trump’s decision to deploy the troops.

“Trump’s unwarranted and unwise deployment of California’s National Guard over the objections of California officials is likely intended to inflame the situation,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren in a written statement. “Our citizen soldiers, members of California’s National Guard, should not be abused in this way.”

In an interview with KQED, Rep. Mike Thompson called Trump’s move “outrageous.”

“This is the president that wouldn’t call in the National Guard on January 6th when there was an insurrection at the Capitol, and then later pardoned everyone who was tried in court and found guilty,” he said.

Rep. Mark DeSaulnier blamed Trump for sabotaging the bipartisan efforts to deal with the border and immigration problems.

“[President Trump] created this crisis and now he’s trying to provoke a constitutional crisis,” said DeSaulnier.

Attorney General Rob Bonta said his team has been in touch with local law enforcement in Los Angeles and stands ready to assist if additional resources are needed. He called Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s decision “unnecessary and counterproductive.”

“To follow [the deployment] with a threat to order additional active duty Marines to the city is an inflammatory escalation,” said Bonta in a written statement.

Bay Area immigrant rights activists also spoke out against President Trump’s response to protests.

“The enforcement tactics being used by the Trump administration to attempt and terrorize our communities are morally unacceptable,” said Renee Saucedo, an organizer with the Northern California Coalition for Just Immigration Reform. “Immigrant communities have always held peaceful protests … law enforcement, including local police and ICE agents, have unfortunately been the ones to instigate violence.”

A solidarity protest in San Francisco is scheduled to take place outside an ICE facility Sunday evening.

Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor’s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday.

There was some confusion surrounding the exact timing of the guard’s arrival. Shortly before midnight local time, Trump congratulated the National Guard on a “job well done.” But less than an hour later, Bass said troops had yet to arrive in the city.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Sunday that the purpose of the deployment was to “provide security for operations and to make sure that there are peaceful protests.”

The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armored vehicle.

In a signal of the administration’s aggressive approach, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also threatened to deploy active-duty Marines “if violence continues” in the region.

Newsom, a Democrat, described Trump’s decision to call in the National Guard as a “provocative show of force” that would only escalate tensions, adding that Hegseth’s threat to deploy Marines on American soil was “deranged behavior.”

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said the order by Trump reflected “a president moving this country rapidly into authoritarianism” and “usurping the powers of the United States Congress.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, endorsed the president’s move, doubling down on Republicans’ criticisms of California Democrats.

“Gavin Newsom has shown an inability or an unwillingness to do what is necessary, so the president stepped in,” Johnson said.

The Associated Press’ Eric Thayer and Jake Offenhartz contributed reporting to this story. KQED’s Dana Cronin, Sara Hossaini, Saul Gonzalez, Lakshmi Sarah and Spencer Whitney also contributed reporting.