US politics live: Judge rules Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles was ‘illegal’

Donald Trump has suffered a stinging blow, with a federal judge ruling he violated the law with his response to protests in Los Angeles.

Welcome to our live coverage wrap up of events in the United States for Friday, June 13.

A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles against the wishes of California Governor Gavin Newsom was illegal.

Judge Charles Breyer has issued a temporary restraining order which prevents the Trump administration from further deploying the National Guard in Los Angeles. The administration is further “directed to return control of the California National Guard” to Mr Newsom.

There will be further hearings on the matter tomorrow.

“At this early stage of the proceedings, the court must determine whether the President followed the congressionally mandated procedure for his actions. He did not,” said Judge Breyer in his ruling.

“His actions were illegal - both exceeding the scope of his statutory authority and violating the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution. He must therefore return control of the California National Guard to the Governor of the State of California forthwith.”

If you’re wondering, Judge Breyer was appointed to the court by Democratic president Bill Clinton in the 1990s. He is the brother of Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer.

Los Angeles remains the focal point of American domestic politics today. The Trump administration’s Homeland Security Secretary, Kristi Noem, visited the city and held a press conference to discuss the government’s deportation drive.

Ms Noem heads the department which is responsible for enforcing immigration laws. The deportations are what set off protests in the city, prompting President Donald Trump to call in the National Guard and US Marines against the wishes of local leaders.

At one point, as Ms Noem was laying into California Governor Gavin Newsom, one of the state’s US senators crashed the media conference and tried to ask her a question.

Senator Alex Padilla, who is of course a Democrat, was then shoved out of the room by federal agents as he protested, telling them: “I’m Senator Alex Padilla, I have questions for the Secretary.” He was forced to his knees, then onto his stomach on the ground, at which point the agents handcuffed him.

No further action has been taken against him, but the incident ignited outrage among his fellow Democrats, who have characterised it as an “assault on freedom of speech”.

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Originally published as US politics live: Judge rules Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Los Angeles was ‘illegal’