“We’re a nation of laws and accountability — not a nation that turns a blind eye to abuse of power,” Newsom said in a statement.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to file a lawsuit if the Trump administration deploys or attempts to deploy federalized National Guard troops in San Francisco.
In a Tuesday press release, Newsom’s office said the governor and state Attorney General Rob Bonta will take “immediate” action in the event of a National Guard deployment.
“We’re a nation of laws and accountability — not a nation that turns a blind eye to abuse of power,” Newsom said in a statement. “Donald Trump, himself a convicted felon who pardoned felons convicted of assaulting federal law enforcement officers, is misleading the public with his false narrative that America, and especially California, is some lawless wasteland.”
“But California,” Newsom said, “is proving him wrong—in the courts and on the facts.”
“We don’t bow to kings, and we’re standing up to this wannabe tyrant,” he said. “The notion that the federal government can deploy troops into our cities with no justification grounded in reality, no oversight, no accountability, no respect for state sovereignty—it’s a direct assault on the rule of law. We’re drawing a line: California will always defend the Constitution, our people, and our values from authoritarian overreach.”
In a jointly-published statement, Bonta’s office noted that there is no real or urgent basis for a National Guard activation. Despite San Francisco’s well-known problems with crime and homelessness, it is neither a warzone nor outside the control of the state.
“There is no basis to send National Guard troops to San Francisco. No emergency. No rebellion. No invasion. Not even unrest,” Bonta said. “President Trump has long abandoned any pretenses for the illegal federalization and deployment of California’s National Guard. He does not care about satisfying the conditions of the law; he cares about himself, and he cares about power. Trump has made no secret of his intentions: To use our National Guard as his own Royal Army and our cities as a training ground for the military. This is outrageous, indefensible—and most importantly illegal. San Francisco may be the President’s latest target, but California is no stranger to the President’s political games and unconstitutional tactics. We’re ready to go to court immediately if the President follows through on this latest illegal plan.”
The governor’s office, in a politically-charged statement, also noted that “crime is down in San Francisco,” with largest declines in violent crime reported in both Oakland and the City of San Francisco itself.
Sources
Governor Newsom to Trump: We’re suing immediately if you send troops into San Francisco
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