After weeks of escalating leftist violence against federal immigration agents that culminated in over 1,000 rioters laying siege to federal buildings and assaulting ICE officers, President Trump took the extraordinary step of federalizing 2,000 California National Guard troops, marking the first time since 1965 that a president has activated a state’s National Guard without the governor’s consent.
Using rarely invoked federal powers under 10 U.S.C. 12406, Trump bypassed the authority of California’s Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom after violent mobs launched coordinated attacks on ICE agents and laid siege to federal buildings across the state.
The president’s directive cites a specific provision within Title 10 of the U.S. Code that allows federal deployment of National Guard forces when “there is a rebellion or danger of a rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
Trump’s order states that “to the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that the Pentagon was “mobilizing the National Guard IMMEDIATELY” and revealed that active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton, about 100 miles south of Los Angeles, were “on high alert” and could also be mobilized.
Trump’s directive specifically authorized Hegseth to “employ any other members of the regular Armed Forces as necessary to augment and support the protection of Federal functions and property,” indicating the administration is prepared to use whatever force necessary to restore federal authority.
The violent confrontations have spread beyond Los Angeles, with Minneapolis seeing protesters throw traffic cones and trash cans at federal law enforcement vehicles during an ICE operation at Las Cuatro Milpas restaurant.
The area, which was previously the site of violent riots following George Floyd’s death of a fentanyl overdose, again became a flashpoint as demonstrators physically obstructed federal vehicles and shouted at officers to “go home” and “quit their jobs.”
Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez joined the violent protesters, declaring the federal operation “completely wrong” and criticizing local police for assisting ICE agents in their lawful duties.
Hellbound and Down 