A federal judge has ruled that the Trump Administration’s deployment of California National Guard troops and Marines for law enforcement activities in Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act. The decision, issued by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in the Northern District of California, imposes a permanent injunction preventing similar use of military forces for civilian law enforcement within California.
The court found that Task Force 51, comprised of federalized National Guard troops and Marines, performed prohibited domestic law enforcement functions such as arrests, searches, and crowd control without proper coordination with state and local officials. Judge Breyer wrote: “The record is replete with evidence that Task Force 51 executed domestic law in these prohibited ways … Moreover, Defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act willfully … Defendants knowingly contradicted their own training materials, which listed twelve functions that the Posse Comitatus Act bars the military from performing … They did so while refusing to meaningfully coordinate with state and local officials … And they ‘coach[ed]’ federal law enforcement agencies as to what language to use when submitting requests for assistance in an attempt to circumvent the Act. These actions demonstrate that Defendants knew that they were ordering troops to execute domestic law beyond their usual authority. Whether they believed that some constitutional or other exception applied does not matter; ‘ignorance of the law is no excuse.'”
Judge Breyer also addressed concerns about broader efforts by former President Trump and Secretary Hegseth to expand federal use of National Guard troops across other cities nationwide: “President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have stated their intention to call National Guard troops into federal service in other cities across the country—including Oakland and San Francisco, here in the Northern District of California—thus creating a national police force with the President as its chief.”
He cited public statements by President Trump indicating his belief in broad presidential authority over such deployments:
‘I have the right to do anything I want to do.
I’m the President of the United States.
If I think our country is in danger, and it is in danger in these cities,
I can do it.’
President Donald J. Trump, August 26, 2025
The court determined that California had standing to challenge these actions because they intruded on areas traditionally managed by states: “Because Defendants’ alleged violations of the Posse Comitatus Act include allegations that Task Force 51 troops have engaged in law enforcement—a domain traditionally within the state’s control—California has suffered an injury that gives it standing to challenge those violations.”
Judge Breyer emphasized potential harm if no injunction was granted: “Without injunctive relief, California would lack any remedy against Defendants’ unlawful use of the U.S. military in a way that infringes on California’s police power and risks economic and other harms to California’s residents … It is ahistorical and illogical to think that Congress reacted to this by passing a statute that had as its sole enforcement mechanism federal prosecution of individual troops by the same federal government that would have ordered the troops to engage in domestic law enforcement.”
Despite arguments from defendants noting a reduced troop presence since June 2025, Judge Breyer maintained concern over ongoing deployments: “Defendants mention that only 300 National Guard troops remain stationed in Los Angeles, suggesting that injunctive relief is unwarranted because their footprint is smaller than it was in early June. Their point is not well taken. Those 300 National Guard troops are set to remain deployed through November, see Aug. 5 Activation Order, and they have already been improperly trained as to what activities they can and cannot engage in under the Posse Comitatus Act.”
Finally, Judge Breyer rejected claims by defendants seeking new exceptions under existing statutes: “The Court will not take Defendants’ invitation to create a brand-new exception to the Posse Comitatus Act that nullifies the Act itself … President Trump did not rely on the Insurrection Act when he federalized the California National Guard … This is, perhaps, a tacit admission that President Trump would be unable to make the showing, required under the Insurrection Act, to rebut the presumption that state and local officials in Los Angeles were unable or unwilling to act … The Court therefore concludes that § 12406(3) is not an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act. If the President wants to avoid the Act’s restrictions, he must invoke a valid exception—like the Insurrection Act, along with its requisite showing that state and local law enforcement are unable or unwilling to act.”
A copy of Judge Breyer’s order can be accessed online.
