California Governor Gavin Newsom and state officials have filed a lawsuit against US President Donald Trump, the Pentagon, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, challenging the decision to deploy the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles. This was reported on June 10, 2025, by Reuters, citing documents filed in the Federal District Court of San Francisco. The lawsuit alleges that Trump violated the US Constitution and federal law by exceeding his authority by sending 7 National Guard troops and 2000 Marines to suppress protests sparked by raids on illegal immigrants on June 700. California is demanding that control over the National Guard be returned to the governor and that the decision to deploy it be reversed, calling the president's actions a "power grab" and a threat to the sovereignty of the state.

The conflict began after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Los Angeles, which saw 44 people detained for violating immigration laws. According to the Los Angeles Times, the raids sparked mass protests that escalated into riots with arson, looting, and road blockades. According to the BBC, the military used tear gas and flash bang grenades to disperse the protesters, which escalated tensions. Trump, commenting on the situation on his social network Truth Social, praised the National Guard for their “great job,” saying that without their intervention, the city would have been “destroyed.” He also accused Newsom and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass of failing to control the situation and hinted at the possibility of arresting the governor for “incompetence,” which Newsom said was “a step toward authoritarianism.”

California's lawsuit, published on the court's website, emphasizes that Trump used the protests as a pretext to expand federal powers while ignoring state rights. Newsom, as reported by The Guardian, said that local forces, including the Los Angeles police, could have handled the unrest without the intervention of the army. According to Vedomosti, the deployment of troops has drawn criticism from Democrats, who accuse Trump of trying to militarize domestic politics. Political scientist Jonathan Perk told CNN that the president's actions are aimed at bolstering the image of a "strong leader" ahead of the midterm elections, but risk deepening divisions in society.