Trump federalizing the California National Guard to put down protests
Trump is calling out the California National Guard in Los Angeles and environs to deal with protests of the immigration raids of workplaces Friday and Saturday. Usually it's the governor who calls out the guard as it's a state institution, but under Title 10 of the US Code the president can call out the guard without the governor's consent.
This isn't unprecedented, but in the current circumstances it's incendiary. The last time the National Guard was called out to deal with protestors was in Los Angeles in 1992, for the Rodney King uprising and riots; this was at the request of the state and came after there was widespread unrest, rioting, and looting for several days, and after a number of people had died. The last time a president federalized a state national guard was 60 years ago, when Johnson activated troops to protect civil rights protestors in Alabama.
Frankly, I think Trump is doing this because people talked him out of calling out the military during the George Floyd protests in 2020 and he wants a do-over, and because of California's image as a liberal state. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is talking about calling up the Marines from Camp Pendleton, a base in northern San Diego County 80-some miles south of LA.
Calling out the military to quell the protests of citizens -- protest leaders advise non-citizens to stay home and not risk arrest -- is fascist. I'm not surprised, to be honest. I just wanted to mark this step in the destruction of American democracy.
The Guardian has good coverage. It talks about Paramount, which won't be familiar to people here; it's a small city in LA County about 9 miles from me that is predominantly Latino and very working class.
This isn't unprecedented, but in the current circumstances it's incendiary. The last time the National Guard was called out to deal with protestors was in Los Angeles in 1992, for the Rodney King uprising and riots; this was at the request of the state and came after there was widespread unrest, rioting, and looting for several days, and after a number of people had died. The last time a president federalized a state national guard was 60 years ago, when Johnson activated troops to protect civil rights protestors in Alabama.
Frankly, I think Trump is doing this because people talked him out of calling out the military during the George Floyd protests in 2020 and he wants a do-over, and because of California's image as a liberal state. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth is talking about calling up the Marines from Camp Pendleton, a base in northern San Diego County 80-some miles south of LA.
Calling out the military to quell the protests of citizens -- protest leaders advise non-citizens to stay home and not risk arrest -- is fascist. I'm not surprised, to be honest. I just wanted to mark this step in the destruction of American democracy.
The Guardian has good coverage. It talks about Paramount, which won't be familiar to people here; it's a small city in LA County about 9 miles from me that is predominantly Latino and very working class.
Comments
Thanks for the Guardian link @Ruth - I keep an eye on that particular news outlet, and will look out for further coverage.
I didn't say this in the OP, but overnight someone said what I'm afraid of. In an article titled "For Trump, This Is a Dress Rehearsal" in The Atlantic (free link) David Frum writes,
I hope this is needless worry, but this is what I'm worried about.
Thanks @Ruth - worrying, indeed.
I think he's definitely trying to pick fights with blue states. Whether it is, as Frum suggests, a long-game strategy to take control of elections in those states, OR just to win the midterms more-or-less legitimately by making himself look like the champion of law-and-order, I couldn't say.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/jun/09/trump-police-state-robert-reich
I don't know much about Mr Reich, but he often contributes to the Guardian, and I take it that he knows whereof he speaks.