California's Chief Executive Gavin Newsom Launches Court Challenge Against Donald Trump Over State Guard Deployment to Portland
California Governor Gavin Newsom declared this past Sunday that he is filing a lawsuit against Donald Trump concerning the claimed deployment of three hundred California national guard members to Oregon.
“They are on their way there now,” the governor stated in a press statement. “This administration is blatantly attacking the judicial framework itself and implementing their harmful statements – defying court orders and treating the judiciary, including those named by the President, as adversaries.”
Legal Background and Federal Decision
The governor's legal action is in response to a judicial order that halted the Trump administration from sending the Oregon national guard to the city of Portland. Judge Karin Immergut supported assertions that it would inflame rather than reduce conflict in the urban area.
The judge ruled in her order, which delays dispatching the forces until at least October 18, that there was a lack of evidence that the current demonstrations in the city merited the move.
City Authorities React
The senior deputy attorney, the deputy attorney, commented that there had been peaceful conditions against immigration officials for months and that recent Ice protests were “sedate” in the week before the president described the city to be a war zone, at times featuring fewer than a dozen participants.
“This issue goes beyond safety, it’s about power,” Governor Newsom declared. “This battle will be fought in the courts, but the citizens should speak out in the wake of such reckless and dictatorial conduct by the nation's leader.”
State Legal Chief Weighs In
Through an announcement on X, the state's attorney general expressed that the government is “quickly assessing our options and getting ready to file suit.
“Donald Trump is obviously hellbent on sending the military in American cities, lacking facts or legal basis to do so,” his statement said. “The duty falls on us and the courts to demand answers. We are committed to this course.”
National and Local Reaction
State guard officials passed on queries to the Department of Defense. A department spokesperson refused to provide a statement. There was silence from the executive branch.
Broader Context
This development from the state came just a short time after Trump approved the sending of national guard troops to the city of Chicago, the most recent in a string of parallel actions across numerous American states.
Trump had originally declared the initiative on 27 September, stating he was “authorizing full force, as needed” in spite of pleas from local leaders and the elected officials, who said there had been a solitary, calm rally outside one federal immigration enforcement office.
Past Background
Over a long period, the President has emphasized the narrative that Portland is a conflict-torn city with anarchists engaging in disorder and unlawful behavior.
Earlier in his administration in 2020, he deployed national troops to the city during the protests over the murder by police of a citizen in another city. The demonstrations spread across the nation but were notably severe in Portland. Regardless of rallies against federal authorities being modest in size in the state currently, Trump has cited them as a reason to send troops.
Commenting online about the recent action from Trump, the governor stated: “It’s appalling. It is contrary to our principles, and we must prevent it.”