Trump Deploys CA National Guard To Portland, Newsom Vows Legal Battle

The president was deploying 300 California National Guard personnel to Portland after a judge blocked the mobilization of Oregon’s own guard troops, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Sunday.

However, a federal judge later Sunday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump's administration from deploying any National Guard units to Oregon, including the California National Guard. California and Oregon had sought the temporary restraining order.

The California guard members being sent to Oregon remained under federal control after they were federalized months earlier in response to unrest in Los Angeles, according to Newsom’s office.

“This is a breathtaking abuse of the law and power,” Newsom said Sunday in a prepared statement. “The Trump Administration is unapologetically attacking the rule of law itself and putting into action their dangerous words — ignoring court orders and treating judges, even those appointed by the President himself, as political opponents.

“This isn’t about public safety, it’s about power. The commander-in-chief is using the U.S. military as a political weapon against American citizens,” Newsom added. “We will take this fight to court, but the public cannot stay silent in the face of such reckless and authoritarian conduct by the president of the United States.”

The mayor of Portland, in a social media post Sunday, said his city’s legal team would “pursue all lawful steps to enforce the judge’s order.”

“Yesterday, a federal judge blocked the mobilization of Oregon National Guard troops, ruling the federal seizure unlawful and unjustified,” Mayor Keith Wilson said in the post. “Despite that ruling, the federal government has activated California National Guard personnel under Title 10 to operate in Portland.

“This action circumvents the court's decision and threatens to inflame a community that has remained peaceful.”

A Pentagon spokesperson said in a statement that about 200 federalized members of the California National Guard who had been on duty around Los Angeles were being reassigned to Portland. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said about 100 arrived Saturday and around 100 more were en route Sunday.

“There is no need for military intervention in Oregon," Kotek said Sunday. "There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security. Oregon is our home, not a military target.”

A federal judge in Oregon — appointed by Trump — on Saturday temporarily blocked the Trump administration’s plan to deploy the Oregon National Guard in Portland to protect federal property amid protests after Trump called the city “war-ravaged.” Oregon officials and Portland residents alike said that description was ludicrous.

U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, who was appointed by Trump during his first term, issued the order pending further arguments in the lawsuit. She said the relatively small protests the city has seen did not justify the use of federalized forces and allowing the deployment could harm Oregon’s state sovereignty.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.