California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed an emergency motion in federal court to block National Guard members and Marines from assisting with immigration raids in Los Angeles. “Trump is turning the U.S. military against American citizens,” Newsom wrote on X.
President Donald Trump originally deployed the Guard to protect federal buildings and personnel. But the governor’s request says the state’s military department was told the Pentagon plans to direct the California National Guard to start providing support for immigration operations.
Newsom filed the emergency request Tuesday seeking to immediately block the administration from sending troops to help support immigration raids. The governor argued it would only escalate tensions and promote civil unrest.
Administration lawyers say Newsom is seeking an unprecedented and dangerous court order that would interfere with the federal government’s ability to carry out operations.
Susan Jekarl, a graphic designer from Glendale, was marching against Trump’s immigration crackdown on Sunday when she saw some of her fellow protesters spray-painting storefronts in Little Tokyo.
So she contacted a few organizers, who reached out to business owners, along with the Japanese American Museum, to offer volunteer clean-up services. Many accepted, she said.
While scrubbing nail polish remover pads against the window of a sushi restaurant on Tuesday, Jekarl said the majority of protesters were focused on stopping deportations in their community, not sowing chaos.
“People are singing, people are dancing, people are helping each other clean their eyes out from pepper spray,” she said. “The idea that we’re all rioting violently is just BS.”
