The state of California has filed a lawsuit against the administration of US President Donald Trump over his decision to send National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests against the White House’s immigration policy, The New York Times reported.
The 22-page complaint, filed in federal district court in San Francisco, says Trump violated federal law and the US Constitution. “President Trump has repeatedly invoked emergency powers to exceed the bounds of lawful executive authority,” the complaint said. “On Saturday, June 7, he used a protest that local authorities had under control to make another unprecedented power grab, this time at the cost of the sovereignty of the state of California and in disregard of the authority and role of the Governor as commander-in-chief of the state’s National Guard.”
In turn, Trump said in a conversation with reporters on 9 June that he would support the arrest of California Governor Gavin Newsom in connection with mass protests in the state. Newsom called such a statement by Trump a step towards authoritarianism.
Mass protests against the Trump administration’s immigration policies have been ongoing in California since 6 June. They began after raids, during which immigration officers (ICE) detained dozens of people. Protesters threw stones at the cars of law enforcement officers, the latter used flash-bang grenades and rubber bullets against the demonstrators. On 7 June, Trump ordered the involvement of the National Guard in suppressing the riots, but did so without a request from the state authorities. Newsom formally demanded that the decision be reversed, noting that it was a ‘violation of state sovereignty’ that could ‘seriously exacerbate the situation.’
