In a dramatic reversal, Court of Appeals allows Trump to keep National Guard in LA, for now

The U.S. military troops activated in Los Angeles will continue to stay in Los Angeles, a federal appeals court ruled late Thursday, pausing a previous order that came out a couple of hours prior to side with the state of California.

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals Thursday night halted the lower court's decision, which had temporarily blocked Trump administration's activation of the U.S. National Guard while ordering President Trump to return the control over the National Guard to Governor Gavin Newsom.

"The request for an administrative stay is GRANTED. The district court’s June 12, 2025 temporary restraining order is temporarily stayed pending further order," the Court of Appeals said.

The pending order by 9th Circuit also means the Trump administration can keep some 4,000 California National Guard troops and 700 Marines in LA under its control until further notice.

The Court of Appeals will hold a hearing over the matter on Tuesday, June 17.

Earlier Thursday, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer had ruled President Trump exceeded the scope of his authority in a 36-page ruling, after hearing arguments over California's request to limit the scope of the National Guard and Marines' mission in Los Angeles as demonstrations continue over immigration enforcement operations.

Judge Breyer’s order was set to go into effect at 12 p.m. Friday California time until the intervention by the court of appeals.

In response, the California Attorney General's office opposed the Court of Appeals in a filing that was submitted minutes later.

“An administrative stay is unnecessary and unwarranted in light of the district court’s extensive reasoning— in particular, its findings of irreparable harm to the State in the absence of injunctive relief,” the state DOJ wrote. “There are also serious questions regarding the appellate jurisdiction of this Court over Defendants’ appeal from a temporary restraining order."

The Court of Appeals will hold a remote hearing by Zoom on June 17, 2025 at 12:00 PM PDT.

When California filed the suit this week, the Trump administration called California's legal move a “crass political stunt endangering American lives." ICE said in a statement that the troops were providing security at federal facilities and protecting federal officers.

The federalization of the Guard and activation of the Marines moves troops closer to engaging in law enforcement actions like deportations as Trump has promised as part of his mass deportations crackdown. The Guard can temporarily detain people who attack officers, but any arrests would be made by law enforcement.

Trump has activated more than 4,000 National Guard members and 700 Marines over the objections of city and state leaders. Usually, the governor activates the California National Guard at the request of local authorities. Marines were going through two days of training at a base in Southern California and could be on the streets of Los Angeles within day, according to authorities.

As of Thursday morning, Marines had not yet been spotted in Los Angeles and National Guard troops have had limited engagement with protesters. Guard members have primarily been stationed outside federal properties like the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown LA.

"It's not normal for the military to be deployed on the streets in United States cities," Mayor Bass said Thursday.

!function(){"use strict";window.addEventListener("message",(function(e){if(void 0!==e.data["datawrapper-height"]){var t=document.querySelectorAll("iframe");for(var a in e.data["datawrapper-height"])for(var r=0;r<t.length;r++){if(t[r].contentWindow===e.source)t[r].style.height=e.data["datawrapper-height"][a]+"px"}}}))}();

The protests, concentrated in part of downtown Los Angeles, have been largely peaceful, but local law enforcement agencies have made arrests for vandalism, looting, assault and other crimes. Nearly a dozen police officers have been hurt, mostly with minor injures. Some were transported to a hospital and released. Police have reported rocks, bottles and commercial-grade fireworks thrown at officers.

On Wednesday, federal authorities announced charges against two men for throwing Molotov cocktails at law enforcement officers during demonstrations.

Los Angeles police reported nearly 400 arrests and detentions since Saturday, most of which were for unlawful assembly and violations of a curfew in downtown Los Angeles that was first ordered Tuesday night.

The curfew area is a 1-square-mile section of downtown in a city of nearly 4 million people encompassing 500 square miles.

Bass said the curfew will likely be extended "for a few days."

"If there are raids that continue, if there are soldiers marching up and down our streets, I would imagine that the curfew will continue," said Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said.

Newsom and Bass have called Trump's use of the military unnecessary and provocative. Bass said Los Angeles appeared to be the subject of a test case to determine how far the administration can go with its use of the military in a civilian population.

Demonstrations have picked up across the U.S., with protests popping up in more than a dozen major cities. On Wednesday, police in Seattle used pepper spray to clear out protesters, and officers in Denver used smoke and pepper balls to control a crowd.

The Trump administration has said it is willing to send troops to other cities to assist with immigration enforcement and controlling disturbances — in line with what Trump promised during last year’s campaign.

The administration has highlighted arrests involving undocumented individuals with violent crime convictions. Those who have been caught up in the nationwide raids include asylum seekers, people who overstayed their visas and migrants awaiting their day in immigration court.