June 12 (UPI) — A federal judge on Thursday might rule on whether or not the Trump administration lawfully deployed National Guard and Marine Corps troops to Los Angeles.
U.S. District Court for Northern California Judge Charles Breyer is hearing arguments for and against the federal government deploying troops to quell violence amid Immigration and Customs Enforcement activities in Los Angeles.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday sought the federal court’s intervention to stop the deployments and remove the troops from Los Angeles.
Breyer denied Newsom’s motion for a temporary restraining order and scheduled Thursday’s hearing regarding the governor’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the troop deployments.
More than 4,000 National Guardsmen and about 700 Marines have been deployed to Los Angeles to prevent violence while protecting federal buildings and ICE agents as they enforce unpopular and controversial federal immigration laws.
Newsom did not call up the National Guard and said the Trump administration did not ask him to do so.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass on Tuesday announced an ongoing curfew from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. PDT in a downtown area that is bordered by interstates 5, 10 and 110.
The Los Angeles Police Department on Wednesday arrested 71 people for failure to disperse, seven for violating the curfew, two for assaulting a police officer with a deadly weapon and one for resisting arrest.
Also on Thursday, Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., was removed from a late-morning news conference by Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Padilla interrupted the news conference and demanded that Noem answer questions, but event security removed him.
Noem said Padilla’s interruption was “inappropriate” and said she would speak with him after concluding the news conference.
Meanwhile, protests continue with several scheduled in California and 28 in total in locales across the nation, NBC News reported.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday announced he called up 5,000 National Guardsmen and deployed 2,000 Texas Public Safety troopers to maintain peace and arrest those engaged in criminal acts as anti-ICE protests are expected to continue at least through the weekend.
“Anyone engaging in acts of violence or damaging property will be arrested and held accountable to the full extent of the law,” Abbott said in a news release.
“Don’t mess with Texas — and don’t mess with Texas law enforcement,” he added.
