California has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth after Trump federalized the National Guard on Sunday, June 8, in response to protests that ultimately turned violent in major California cities. Trump backed “border czar” Tom Homan’s idea to arrest California Gov. Gavin Newsom, after Newsom dared him to “get it over with.”
California files lawsuit over federal deployment
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and the state of California have filed a lawsuit against Trump and Hegseth for deploying National Guard troops from San Diego to Los Angeles.
“Let me be clear: There is no invasion. There is no rebellion. The president is trying to manufacture chaos and crisis on the ground for his own political ends,” Bonta said in a statement. “Federalizing the California National Guard is an abuse of the president’s authority under the law — and not one we take lightly. We’re asking a court to put a stop to the unlawful, unprecedented order.”
Protests also turned violent in San Francisco and escalated Sunday evening. Two police officers were injured and approximately 150 people were arrested, ABC 7 reported.
Federal forces deployed without state coordination
On Sunday, Trump federalized the National Guard and deployed 2,000 troops to California. He placed an additional 500 Marines on standby. Newsom had not requested federal assistance and said the federal government never coordinated with him or his administration.
The governor echoed Bonta’s statement and said Trump deployed the troops “to manufacture chaos and violence.” By Sunday evening, Newsom was asking Homan to follow through on an alleged threat of arresting him.
Homan weighs legal actions against state officials
NBC reporter Jacob Soboroff had asked Homan if Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass were at risk of being arrested.
“I’ll say it about anybody, if you cross that line,” Homan said. “It’s a felony to knowingly harbor and conceal an illegal alien. It’s a felony to impede law enforcement from doing their job.”
Soboroff followed up and asked Homan if he thought the Los Angeles mayor was committing a felony.
“If she crosses that line, we’ll ask the DOJ to prosecute,” Homan responded. “Do I think she’s crossed the line? I don’t think she’s crossed the line yet.”
Then the NBC reporter asked Newsom about Homan not ruling out the possibility of arresting an elected official if they break the law and commit a felony.
“Come after me, arrest me,” Newsom said. “Let’s just get it over with, tough guy. You know? I don’t give a damn.”
Homan responded to Newsom Monday morning, June 9, during an appearance on “Fox & Friends,” claiming the reporter had been dishonest.
“Then the reporter asked me ‘Well could Governor Newsom or Mayor Bass be arrested?’ I said ‘Well, no one is above the law. If they cross that line and commit a crime, absolutely they can.’ So there was no discussion about arresting Newsom.”
Trump weighs in: ‘I would do it’
Meanwhile, a different reporter told Trump that Newsom was daring Homan to arrest him.
“I would do it if I were Tom,” Trump said. “I think it’s great.”
Newsom addressed the president’s comments in a post on X and said, “The President of the United States just called for the arrest of a sitting Governor. This is a day I hoped I would never see in America. I don’t care if you’re a Democrat or a Republican — this is a line we cannot cross as a nation. This is an unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”
Protests spark violence after ICE detentions
Protests turned violent in Los Angeles over the weekend after ICE agents detained dozens of immigrants who were in the country without proper documentation on Friday, June 6. People gathered at a federal detention center in downtown Los Angeles to show support for the individuals being detained, demanding their release.
City officials originally characterized the protests as peaceful, but they ultimately turned violent.
In response, the police declared the gathering an “unlawful assembly” and warned the protesters that if they did not leave, they could be arrested. Police used forceful crowd-control methods, including tear gas, rubber bullets and flash-bang grenades to help break up the civil unrest.
According to the Los Angeles Police Department, a small number of people became violent and threw large pieces of concrete at officers. The violence continued into Saturday at multiple protests in which demonstrators lit cars on fire, vandalized property and blocked highways over the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
contributed to this report.