Attorney General Bonta Stands with Oregon: We Will Not Let Our Cities Become Training Grounds for the Military

OAKLAND - California Attorney General Rob Bonta and Governor Gavin Newsom today filed an amicus brief in support of Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield's request for emergency relief to block President Trump's illegal federalization of the Oregon National Guard. In federalizing the Oregon National Guard, President Trump relies on the same illegal memorandum he used as the basis to federalize California's National Guard in early June. Yet, the President does not even attempt to establish that the situation on the ground in Portland meets the requirements of 10 U.S.C. section 12406. Instead, the President and his Administration assert carte blanche to deploy National Guard troops anywhere in the country, for virtually any reason. In the brief, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom argue that immediate court intervention is necessary to prevent the same irreparable harms that have befallen California and to protect other states across the nation from becoming the military's next "training ground."

"California continues to stand up and stand against the politicization of our military and their illegal deployment to American streets," said Attorney General Bonta. "The President himself has said that he wants our military to use cities like Los Angeles and Portland as a 'training ground.' Absolutely not. This un-American attempt to leverage the military to intimidate and create fear in our communities must end. I urge the court to put a stop to this dangerous maneuver."

"California knows all too well that these deployments are little more than a sad farce meant to stoke fear, but will not ultimately solve a single problem," said Governor Newsom. "The President is deploying the military to Oregon to create conflict - not resolve conflict. We stand firmly behind a state's right to protect its own communities, and we don't need the President to continue his war games in our backyards."

In federalizing Oregon's National Guard, the Trump Administration claims its June 7, 2025 Presidential Memorandum, which was first used to seize control of California's Guard, provides the federal government with unchecked power to commandeer any state's National Guard and deploy troops anywhere in the country at virtually any time. As California has experienced since the National Guard was federalized without Governor Newsom's consent four months ago, a continuous military presence in American communities violates state sovereignty and the police powers reserved to the states under the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution; harms local economies; undermines public safety; and damages troop morale.

As California showed during a three-day trial in August, the unwanted presence of military troops heightens tensions in communities, undermining trust between local law enforcement and the communities they serve and requiring local law enforcement to deploy additional resources to maintain public safety. Moreover, while local police have training, experience, and systems to handle crowd control, protests, and other civil duties, National Guard troops are trained for combat and are not trained in criminal procedure, civil rights, and de-escalation techniques. This introduces complications and dangers to both the public and the troops engaging with them.

While the Trump Administration may argue that the relatively small number of troops deployed in Oregon lessens any harm to the community those troops may cause, even a small number of troops is enough to violate the Posse Comitatus Act, which prohibits the use of the military for civilian law enforcement purposes. For example, just 80 soldiers participated in the widely publicized Department of Homeland Security Operation Excalibur in Los Angeles' MacArthur Park that was used "to demonstrate, through a show of presence, the capacity and freedom of maneuver of federal law enforcement within the Los Angeles Joint Operations Area."

Finally, the militarization of communities creates an atmosphere of fear that can inflict lasting damage to states' economies, with residents afraid to report to work and avoiding areas where the military is deployed. The ongoing military presence in downtown Los Angeles, for example, has sharply decreased consumer activity and harmed businesses so severely that some may never recover. Portland can expect to face similar economic devastation if the court does not intervene.

BACKGROUND

Attorney General Bonta is committed to holding President Trump and his administration accountable for overreaching their authority under the law and infringing on Californians' constitutional rights. In June, Attorney General Bonta and Governor Newsom filed a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's unlawful orders to federalize the California National Guard and utilize National Guard troops and the Marines for civilian law enforcement in Los Angeles in violation of the Posse Comitatus Act. That same week, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California granted California emergency relief, blocking the federalization order and returning command of the California National Guard to Governor Newsom; that order is currently stayed by the Ninth Circuit pending appeal.

In August, the Attorney General's Office presented evidence of Posse Comitatus Act violations during a three-day trial before the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Court subsequently granted a permanent injunction enjoining the Trump Administration from engaging in the same or similar activity in the future. The Court's order is temporarily paused while the Ninth Circuit considers the federal government's motion for a stay.

Attorney General Bonta has also supported D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb's lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration's unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the District of Columbia, leading a multistate coalition in filing an amicus brief last month.

A copy of today's amicus brief in support of Oregon is available here.