California officials take on Trump over National Guard deployment
California officials have accused President Donald Trump of burning protests by increasing federal response.
The protests continued for three consecutive days over the weekend to Royle Los Angeles, California.
The protest began on Friday, June 6th, after Homeland Security authorities detained dozens of people in multiple locations around the city. By that night, more than 100 people had gathered in downtown Los Angeles Federal Detention Center, where several immigrants were in custody.
The demonstrations captured steam throughout the weekend as National Guard troops deployed in downtown Los Angeles by President Donald Trump on Sunday, June 8, in response to a gathering of Border Patrol agents outside Paramount’s Paramount suburbs of Border Patrol agents.
The National Guard deployment, along with statements from Trump and other officials, raises the illusion of further enforcement action, with the administration taking heavy hands in responding to demonstrations and tensions.
Trump was asked about the possibility of calling the rebellion law, an unprecedented move in recent memory. Here’s what you need to know.
What is the Rebellion Act?
The Rebellion Act is a law of 1807 that allows the president to deploy US troops to curb events such as civil disability.
“The Rebellion Act allows the president to deploy his troops within the United States and use them against Americans, making it one of the most powerful emergency forces of administrative agencies,” according to a 2022 report from the Brennan Center for Justice.
It was also one of the oldest emergency available to the president, and the Centre said it returned to the 1792 Convocation Act. “It is the power of Parliament under the Constitution to provide for calls to militias to restrain union laws and to curb the rebellion.”
What did Trump say about calling the Rebellion Act?
In a social media post on Sunday, Trump called the protesters “a violent and rebel mob,” and said he was directing Cabinet officers to “take all the necessary actions to stop what is called a riot.”
When asked by a reporter on Sunday, he said whether he was considering calling the Rebellion Act, “it depends on whether there is a rebellion or not.” I was urged about whether he thinks he is currently in rebellion, he said, “No, no, you have violent people and we’re not going to let them get away with it.”
President Trump’s memorandum deployed “at least” National Guard troops of 2,000, and he said the protests intervened with federal law enforcement and called the demonstrations a “form of rebellion” against the authority of the US government.
According to Reuters, it was the first time in decades that the president has deployed the military in that way without the governor’s consent or explicit invitation, and the move prompted California Gov. Gavin Newsom to sue the deployment and plan to sue the administration.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegses said on Friday, X, that active-duty Marines at West Coast bases are “high warnings” and that if violence “continues” they will be mobilized if they argue that demonstrations are a national security risk. In his statement regarding X, Hegseth reiterated the unfounded claims of immigrant aggression promoted by criminal organizations.
Saturday Senior White House aide Stephen Miller denounced the protest and posted to X: “This is a violent rebellion.”
Has Rebellion Act been used before?
The Brennan Centre for Justice Report states that for 230 years, the law has been called in response to 30 crises, but it has not always led to the actual deployment of the military.
The Rebellion Act has been used by past presidents to deploy troops within the United States in response to the rise of Ku Klux Klan shortly after the 1794 whiskey rebellion and the American civil war, the Brennan Center said in a report listing the history of the use of the act.
This law was last called in 1992 by President George H.W. Bush. Unlike current immigration attack protests, the California governor demanded military assistance to curb Los Angeles’ anxiety after the Rodney King Trial after four white Los Angeles police officers were acquitted at trial for beating a black driver. The unrest had already been quelled by state-controlled National Guard forces before the federal forces arrived, according to the Brennan Center.
Contribution: Reuters.
Kathryn Palmer is a national trending news reporter for USA Today. You can contact her kapalmer@usatoday.com And with x @Kathrynplmr.
