A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration’s use of federal troops for law enforcement in Los Angeles is unlawful.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer barred troops from conducting patrols, arrests, searches, riot control, or crowd management, but delayed the order until Sept. 12 to give the administration time to appeal. Breyer said the use of federal troops effectively created a “national police force with the president as its chief” and violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
“The evidence at trial established that Defendants systematically used armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles. In short, Defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act,” Breyer wrote.
The 1878 Posse Comitatus Act bars the military from civilian law enforcement unless authorized by Congress or the Constitution. One exception is the Insurrection Act, signed into law 218 years ago by President Thomas Jefferson.
The Insurrection Act states, in part: “Whenever there is an insurrection in any State against its government, the President may, upon the request of its legislature or of its governor if the legislature cannot be convened, call into Federal service such of the militia of the other States, in the number requested by that State, and use such of the armed forces, as he considers necessary to suppress the insurrection.”
Another provision says the act can be used “whenever the President considers that unlawful obstructions, combinations, or assemblages, or rebellion against the authority of the United States, make it impracticable to enforce the laws of the United States in any State by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings.”
Tuesday’s ruling sets up a high-profile appeal as the Trump administration expands its use of federal troops to other cities, including threats to deploy them in Chicago.
Judge Charles Breyer issued the decision after a three-day trial that featured testimony from military leaders on operations in Los Angeles. He said the record showed “replete evidence” of troops carrying out domestic law enforcement, citing a cannabis farm raid, traffic stops in Long Beach, and an immigration sweep in a public park.
