A federal judge who previously found that the Trump administration acted unlawfully in deploying National Guard troops to Los Angeles said on Tuesday he will not immediately weigh California’s request to block the continued use of 300 troops in the state.
Senior District Judge Charles Breyer of San Francisco explained in a court order that he was uncertain whether he had the authority to hear the matter, since the case is already before the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
As a result, Breyer indefinitely paused proceedings on the motion but suggested California could submit the request directly to the appellate court.
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The dispute follows Breyer’s Sept. 2 ruling, which concluded the administration “willfully” violated federal law when it sent troops to the Los Angeles area in June following protests over immigration raids. Breyer said the government knew “they were ordering troops to execute domestic law beyond their usual authority” and described the use of “armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles.”
Although he did not order the 300 troops to leave immediately, Breyer prohibited the administration from continuing to use them “to execute the laws,” noting they lacked the proper training. That order, which applied only to California and was set to take effect on Sept. 12, has been put on hold by the 9th Circuit.
The Trump administration extended the deployment of the 300 soldiers by another 90 days on Aug. 5. California officials responded with a request for a preliminary injunction, warning that the move “would ensure that California’s residents will remain under a form of military occupation until early November,” which coincides with the Nov. 4 vote on new congressional maps described as “an election with national attention and significance.”
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Breyer’s ruling has drawn wider scrutiny because President Donald Trump has also floated the idea of sending National Guard forces into other Democratic-led cities, including Chicago, Baltimore and New York. He has already deployed troops in Washington, where he has direct authority over the District of Columbia National Guard, as part of a broader campaign focused on crime, immigration enforcement and homelessness.
