A federal judge ruled Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated the Posse Comitatus Act by deploying Marines and National Guard for domestic law enforcement in California.
A federal judge has delivered a direct legal strike against Donald Trump’s use of military force inside the United States. Judge Charles Breyer ruled Tuesday that Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth violated the Posse Comitatus Act, the 19th-century law meant to prevent presidents from using the armed forces as a domestic police force.
At issue: the deployment of Marines and federalized California National Guard units—known as Task Force 51—into Los Angeles last summer. Troops in body armor and military vehicles weren’t just standing by. According to evidence presented at trial, they set up blockades, ran perimeters, controlled crowds, and even assisted in raids and detentions during immigration crackdowns.
In his 52-page opinion, Breyer wrote that the administration had “instigated a months-long deployment… for the purpose of establishing a military presence and enforcing federal law.” He called the actions a systemic, top-down violation of the law.
The ruling blocks Trump and Hegseth from using troops in California for arrests, searches, seizures, riot control, evidence collection, or surveillance. That part of the decision is paused until next Friday to allow for an appeal, but for now it’s a rare judicial check on Trump’s expanding use of military force at home.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sued Trump after losing control of his state militia to federal orders, hailed the decision as “much needed accountability against Trump’s ILLEGAL militarization of an American city.”
But the order applies only to California, even as Trump has signaled plans to send troops to other cities. Breyer’s warning was clear: Los Angeles may have been the first target, but it won’t be the last. If Trump continues, the U.S. risks sliding into the very scenario the Posse Comitatus Act was written to prevent—a president using the military as his personal police force.
