SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — President Donald Trump has dispatched 300 members of the California National Guard to Oregon after a federal judge blocked the deployment of the state's own guard to Portland. California Governor Gavin Newsom made the announcement and vowed to challenge the decision in court.
Newsom slammed the deployment as a breathtaking abuse of the law and power, accusing the president of using the military as a political weapon against Americans. 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, he stated.
The deployment, which Newsom indicated occurred on Sunday, has sparked tensions as it came without any official announcement from the federal government. This event parallels a similar activation of National Guard troops in Illinois announced by its governor the previous day.
A recent ruling from a Trump-appointed federal judge in Oregon temporarily blocked the planned deployment of that state’s National Guard to manage protests in Portland, which the Trump administration has characterized as chaotic. The judge argued that existing unrest did not justify federal involvement and emphasized the importance of state sovereignty.
Oregon officials and local residents have refuted the president's characterization of Portland as war-ravaged, considering it an exaggerated portrayal of the current situation.
In a broader context, Trump has labeled both Portland and Chicago as cities struggling with crime, suggesting that a strong military presence could help restore order. As of now, he has initiated or proposed troop deployments to ten cities since the beginning of his second term. This includes the recent authorization of 300 Illinois National Guard troops to protect federal interests in Chicago.
