A federal judge in Oregon on Sunday blocked a move by President Donald Trump to deploy members of the California National Guard or any other state’s National Guard to Oregon after a judge temporarily blocked him from deploying the Beaver State’s own guardsmen to Portland in an earlier ruling.
In a temporary decision in response to a lawsuit from Oregon and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, federal Judge Karin J. Immergut blocked the administration from deploying National Guard to the city.
“What was unlawful with the Oregon National Guard is unlawful with the California National Guard,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a news conference about the emergency petition earlier Sunday. “The judge’s order was not some minor procedural point for the president to work around like my 14-year-old does when he doesn’t like my answers.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson confirmed before the ruling on Sunday that the California National Guard had been deployed to Oregon, saying, “President Trump exercised his lawful authority to protect federal assets and personnel in Portland following violent riots and attacks on law enforcement.”
A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement that about 200 members of the California National Guard from Los Angeles were being reassigned to Portland.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said about 100 arrived Saturday and around 100 more were en route Sunday.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed the move and didn’t agree to the deployment of his state’s troops to Oregon.
In a statement posted to his website, Newsom called Trump’s mobilization of hundreds of California National Guardsmen to Oregon a “breathtaking abuse of the law and power.”
The 300 members of California’s National Guard had already been federalized in response to protests in Los Angeles against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Newsom challenged the move but San Francisco-based District Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California stayed an earlier court injunction on Sept. 9, allowing the Trump administration to proceed.
The litigation is ongoing as the case proceeds through the court system.
“The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words—ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the President himself, as political opponents,” Newsom said in his statement.
“The commander-in-chief is using the U.S. military as a political weapon against American citizens. We will take this fight to court, but the public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the President of the United States.”
A federal judge on Oct. 4 temporarily blocked Trump from deploying the Oregon National Guard to Portland in response to violent protests targeting immigration officers.
“This country has a longstanding and foundational tradition of resistance to government overreach, especially in the form of military intrusion into civil affairs,” Judge Karin J. Immergut, of the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon, wrote in her order.
“This historical tradition boils down to a simple proposition: this is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law. Defendants have made a range of arguments that, if accepted, risk blurring the line between civil and military federal power—to the detriment of this nation.”
U.S. District Judge Michael Simon recused himself from the case when the Department of Justice filed papers with the court accusing Simon’s wife, Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.), of publicly criticizing Trump’s plan.
Immergut was randomly assigned to the case after the recusal, a court clerk told Simon.
National Guard in Portland, Chicago
Portland’s ICE building has been the scene of nightly protests, and Trump described Portland as a “war zone” rife with crime and unrest. Trump also called Chicago a “war zone.”
Trump ultimately authorized the deployment of 300 Illinois National Guard troops on Oct. 4 to protect federal agents and assets in Chicago.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson confirmed the deployment in a statement to The Epoch Times.
“Amidst ongoing violent riots and lawlessness, that local leaders like Pritzker have refused to step in to quell, President Trump has authorized 300 national guardsmen to protect federal officers and assets,” she said. “President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities.”
Pritzker accused the Trump administration of attempting to escalate tensions amid ongoing clashes between protesters and federal officers in the Chicago area.
“It is absolutely outrageous and un-American to demand a Governor send military troops within our own borders and against our will,” Pritzker wrote in an Oct. 4 statement. “They will pull hardworking Americans out of their regular jobs and away from their families all to participate in a manufactured performance—not a serious effort to protect public safety.”
TJ Muscaro, Matthew Vadum, Tom Ozimek, and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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