A federal judge has slammed the brakes on Donald Trump’s effort to turn U.S. troops into street-level enforcers, ruling that his administration broke the law by deploying soldiers to police California cities.
U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer said the June decision to send 4,000 National Guard members and 700 active-duty Marines into Los Angeles crossed a legal red line—the Posse Comitatus Act, which has long drawn a sharp boundary between the military and civilian law enforcement.
The ruling, though limited to California, directly undercuts Trump’s threats to unleash troops in Chicago, Baltimore, and other cities. Breyer put his decision on hold until September 12, giving the administration time to appeal.
Trump, unfazed, doubled down at a news conference. “Chicago is a hellhole right now. Baltimore is a hellhole right now,” he declared, insisting that he had the right—and duty—to send in troops.
California leaders, led by Governor Gavin Newsom, hailed the decision as a victory against what they described as the “illegal militarization of an American city.” Newsom accused Trump of holding troops in Los Angeles through Election Day to intimidate voters, calling it part of a broader strategy of fear.
The state warned that the continued presence of some 300 National Guard members could disrupt November’s elections by chilling participation.
Breyer, in his ruling, acknowledged the government’s interest in protecting federal agents but drew a hard line at pairing them with military forces. Allowing troops to follow federal agents into every raid or protest, he wrote, would “frustrate the very purpose” of the law separating soldiers from civilian policing.
Legal scholars say the decision, though not binding nationwide, will carry heavy weight in any future court battles over Trump’s domestic use of military power.
For now, California has secured a pause. But the larger fight over how far a president can go in using troops inside U.S. borders is only heating up.
