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It was a big court ruling that has resulted in some confusion, as a federal district judge did not rule that Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to California was illegal, but ruled that it was illegal for Donald Trump and Pete Hegseth to turn the US military into a civilian police force.
US District Judge Charles Breyer ruled:
Defendants’ lack of cooperation with their state and local counterparts raises red flags. It also highlights the lack of any showing by Defendants that state and local officials were unable or unwilling to execute the laws before Defendants deployed troops to engage in typical law enforcement functions.
Moreover, Defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act willfully. See 10 U.S.C. § 1385 (imposing a willfulness requirement); Aaron v. SEC, 446 U.S. 680, 701 (1980) (“[W]hen scienter is an element of the substantive violation sought to be enjoined, it must be proved before an injunction may issue.”). Defendants knowingly contradicted their own training materials, which listed twelve functions that the Posse Comitatus Act bars the military from performing. Task Force 51 Training Slides at 6; Trial Tr. Vol. II at 236:25–238:11; Trial Tr. Vol. I at 60:12–63:12, 63:17–25. They did so while refusing to meaningfully coordinate with state and local officials. Operation Excalibur Slides at 4; Carpinteria Slides at 3. And they “coach[ed]” federal law enforcement agencies as to what language to use when submitting requests for assistance in an attempt to circumvent the Act. RFA Email Thread.
These actions demonstrate that Defendants knew that they were ordering troops to execute domestic law beyond their usual authority. Whether they believed that some constitutional or other exception applied does not matter; “ignorance of the law is no excuse.” Bryan v. United States, 524 U.S. 184, 195 (1998).25 Defendants’ systemic use of Task Force 51 troops to execute domestic law in and around Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act.
The troops can not be used to conduct civil law enforcement. This ruling only applies to California, but it will certainly be used as precedent in the other states like Illinois that Trump is planning to invade.
The courts aren’t equipped to stop an authoritian wannabe like Donald Trump, but they can put up roadblocks and put democratic guardrails on his actions. The people will have to save democracy by voting Republicans out of power, but the courts can buy the country some time.
What do you think about the California decision? Let’s discuss it in the comments below.
