California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom today filed an amicus brief in support of Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul’s request for emergency relief to block President Trump’s illegal federalization of the Illinois National Guard and the deployment of federalized National Guard troops from other states. The Trump Administration’s campaign to militarize America’s cities began in California, where in early June, President Trump seized control of California National Guard troops and deployed them to conduct civilian law enforcement activities throughout Southern California. In today’s brief, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom argue that immediate court intervention is necessary to prevent Illinois from experiencing the same irreparable harms that the Trump Administration has inflicted on California and to protect other states across the nation from becoming the military’s next “training ground.”  

“The Trump Administration continues to far exceed the outer bounds of presidential power, blasting through legal guardrails and shattering democratic norms,” said Attorney General Rob Bonta. “California communities have no desire to see their streets turned into a training ground for the military. Neither do our friends in D.C., Illinois, and Oregon. I urge the court to see this political gamesmanship for what it is — and put an immediate stop to it before it goes any further.”