California Attorney General Rob Bonta presented new evidence to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that seriously undermines the Trump Administration’s arguments for the federalization of the California National Guard. Since President Trump first unlawfully federalized California National Guard troops in early June, the Trump Administration has dramatically broadened its efforts to use these troops beyond the Los Angeles area, and for activities unrelated to protecting federal personnel and buildings. In new filings, Attorney General Bonta highlights that the instances of civil unrest in Los Angeles that purportedly gave rise to the deployment have subsided; that the Trump Administration has deployed members of the National Guard for routine law enforcement operations far from Los Angeles in ways that have nothing to do with the original basis for their deployment; and that the Administration planned to send all of the remaining Guard members to Portland, Oregon, and just yesterday, sent members to Chicago, Illinois — moves that cannot be reconciled with the Administration’s assertions about the harm it would suffer without California National Guard boots on the ground in the Los Angeles area. In light of these major changes, the Ninth Circuit should lift its stay of the district court’s injunction.

“President Trump is seeking to deploy the California National Guard as his own personal, traveling police force —  indefinitely, anywhere in the country. This is a far cry from what the Ninth Circuit considered back in June when the Administration claimed it would suffer serious harm if the National Guard were not available in Los Angeles. The Administration’s recent actions in Portland and Chicago entirely undermine any basis for a continued stay of the order blocking federalization,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I urge the Ninth Circuit to vacate its earlier stay order in light of the dramatically different landscape today — and the President’s clear intent to use and abuse the military domestically. The escalating use of American communities as a training ground for the military must stop now.”