On June 6: ICE began to conduct large-scale immigration raids across Los Angeles. Public protests began and spread on June 7.

On June 7: protests turned violent against property, with cars being burnt, and on June 8 highways were blocked before being cleared. Several dozen stores were looted.

On June 7:  Trump issued a memorandum in the evening to federalize the National Guard. The memo did not name specific cities but states that protests “constitute a form of rebellion.” He claimed that violent protests responding to a wave of ICE raids in Los Angeles represented a rebellion against federal authority and posed an ongoing threat to law enforcement officers executing federal immigration laws. He further stated that National Guard deployment was needed to protect both federal agents and federal property from hostile crowds.

He invoked 10 U.S.C. § 12406, ordering at least 2,000 National Guard troops into federal service for 60 days. The order was issued without prior notification to Governor Newsom.  On the night of June 7, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth signed the formal Department of Defense order that same night. The order was addressed to the Adjutant General of the California National Guard “through the Governor,” but Newsom is not informed in advance.

On June 8: 2,000 federally controlled National Guard troops arrive in Los Angeles. The main deployment area was near the Metropolitan Detention Center, the epicenter of ongoing protests. Protests grew to 3,500 people. On June 9, Secretary Hegseth federalized an additional 2,000 National Guard troops, again without consulting the Governor. He also announced the deployment of 700 active-duty U.S. Marines from Camp Pendleton to Los Angeles.

On June 10: LA Mayor Bass imposed an evening and night curfew over a section of the city. The affected area was a one mile square area, including neighborhoods like Chinatown, Little Tokyo, the Fashion District, the Arts District, Skid Row, and the Financial District. As of the night of June 12, about 300 persons were arrested.

On June 12: Judge Charles R. Breyer of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in Newsom v Trump, ruled that President Trump’s decision to federalize the California National Guard was unlawful. The decision in Newsom v. Trump not only halts the deployment of 2,000 Guard members but also challenges the legal foundation of the administration’s crackdown on immigrant communities and protestors in the city.

Judge Charles R. Breyer found justifications for the use of 10 U.S.C. § 12406 legally insufficient. Breyer found that the protests did not constitute an “organized, violent, armed uprising” that could be defined as a rebellion. The judge noted that most protestors were peaceful and that law enforcement, including LAPD and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, consistently reported they had adequate resources and did not request military reinforcement.

As for the administration’s claim that the protests could be construed as rebellion, Breyer warned, “The idea that protesters can so quickly cross the line between protected conduct and ‘rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States’ is untenable and dangerous.”

Breyer also ruled that the administration violated statutory procedure by failing to coordinate with Governor Gavin Newsom before issuing the order to federalize the Guard, as explicitly required under § 12406.  In addition to finding the federalization unlawful, Breyer noted that the deployment appeared to inflame tensions rather than calm them. Evidence presented showed that the Guard’s presence in Los Angeles had aggravated the protestors and triggered larger and more volatile demonstrations.

In granting the restraining order, the court concluded that Governor Newsom and the state of California were likely to prevail on the merits of their claims, which include violations of both statutory authority and the Tenth Amendment. The court ordered that control of the California National Guard be returned immediately to the state.

Later on June 12, a federal appeals court temporarily stayed Judge Breyer’s order.