Dive Brief:
- A coalition of 36 cities and counties and the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Thursday filed an amicus brief in support of California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s lawsuit challenging the federal government’s deployment of the National Guard and the U.S. Marines in Los Angeles.
- The brief urges the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to reject the federal government’s request to stay a District Court ruling that the military operations violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
- Local officials argue in the brief that state and local law enforcement are best positioned to execute crowd control, security patrol and riot control. “Interference with these activities interferes with states and localities’ sovereign rights,” the brief states.
Dive Insight:
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer ruled on Sept. 2 that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s June deployment of federalized California National Guard troops and U.S. Marines in Los Angeles violated federal law.
On Sept. 11, Breyer said he did not believe he had the authority to consider the state of California’s request to halt the use of National Guard troops because the case is on appeal before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
In announcing the cities’ amicus brief on Friday, Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto stated, “Since June 6 when these activities began, my office has been committed to protecting our communities, and will continue using every tool to push back against the administration’s unlawful tactics.”
Coalitions of former governors, a veterans network, retired senior military officers and U.S. senators have also filed amicus briefs supporting California’s challenge to National Guard deployment.
Other elected officials have expressed support for Trump’s actions. In June, 19 states and the Territory of Guam filed an amicus brief to Newsom’s original lawsuit that supports Trump’s authority to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles.
In August, President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops to address crime in Washington, D.C., a move allowed under the Home Rule Act. Attorneys general from 22 states filed an amicus brief on Sept. 15 supporting Washington, D.C., Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s lawsuit challenging that deployment. The brief argues the deployment infringes on police powers reserved for states and localities and upsets the balance between civilian and military authority set forth in the Constitution.
Trump signed an order on Sept. 17 to deploy the National Guard to address crime in Memphis, Tennessee. The city’s mayor, Paul Young, said Friday he is choosing to view the deployment “as an opportunity to secure more resources for our community,” including law enforcement, community beautification and homelessness.
