California governor says Trump is sending 300 California National Guard members to Oregon

"President Donald Trump is sending 300 California National Guard members to Oregon after a judge temporarily blocked his administration from deploying that state's guard to Portland, California's governor said Sunday. Gov. Gavin Newsom pledged Sunday to fight the move in court. There was no official announcement from Washington that the California National Guard was being called up and sent to Oregon, just as was the case when Illinois' governor made a similar announcement Saturday about troops in his state being activated."

"The California National Guard referred questions to the Defense Department. A department spokesperson declined to comment. There was no immediate comment from the White House. Newsom, a Democrat, said in a statement that California personnel were on their way Sunday and called the deployment a breathtaking abuse of the law and power. He said these troops were federalized and put under the president's control months ago over his objections, in response to unrest in Los Angeles."

"The commander-in-chief is using the U.S. military as a political weapon against American citizens, Newsom said in the statement. 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. A Trump-appointed federal judge in Oregon 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."

President Donald Trump directed 300 California National Guard members to Oregon after a federal judge temporarily blocked federal deployment of the Oregon National Guard to Portland. California Governor Gavin Newsom vowed legal opposition and called the move a breathtaking abuse of law and power, saying federalized California troops had been placed under presidential control months earlier despite his objections. The California National Guard deferred questions to the Defense Department, which declined comment, and the White House issued no immediate statement. Judge Karin Immergut said small protests did not justify federalized forces and that deployment could harm Oregon's state sovereignty.

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