Trump's Clash with Californians
Alarming Flash Point in Trump’s Authoritarian Rule
In an alarming escalation of federal authority, President Donald Trump ordered the deployment of 2,000 National Guard troops to Los Angeles on June 7, 2025, claiming the move was necessary to “address the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester” amid protests over federal immigration raids. This decision came just one week before “No Kings Day” on June 14, a nationwide day of defiance against authoritarianism, and coincides with Trump’s lavish military birthday parade scheduled for the same day in Washington, D.C.
Los Angeles officials and civil liberties advocates immediately sounded the alarm. Governor Gavin Newsom denounced the deployment as “purposefully inflammatory,” arguing there was no shortage of local law enforcement and warning that federal troops on American streets could provoke violence rather than quell it. Mayor Karen Bass likewise condemned the move, accusing the administration of sowing “terror in our communities” under the guise of restoring order.
Over the weekend, law enforcement cracked down on demonstrations in both Los Angeles and San Francisco. In Los Angeles, authorities arrested at least 44 migrants on federal immigration charges and apprehended approximately 39 protesters, 10 on Sunday and 29 on Saturday, after declaring multiple rallies unlawful and deploying tear gas and rubber bullets to clear highway blockades and confrontations near the ICE detention center. Across the bay in San Francisco, the SFPD detained some 60 demonstrators Sunday night outside ICE headquarters, where clashes broke out, resulting in injuries to two officers and reports of property damage, including shattered storefront windows and debris hurled at police lines.
Amid the growing unrest, peaceful bystanders and members of the press have also suffered under the heavily militarized response. Tear-gas canisters and flash-bang grenades fired into crowds on June 7 left at least two civilians with concussive injuries and broken eardrums, while pepper balls burned the eyes and skin of others simply trying to observe from the sidewalks. Rubber bullets meant for “less-lethal” crowd control have struck uninvolved passersby; one elderly resident sustained a fractured wrist while scrambling to escape a sudden gas cloud, and reporters have not been spared. In a stark example, Australian television correspondent Lauren Tomasi was struck in the leg by a rubber bullet during a live broadcast. This incident drew international condemnation, underscoring the perils faced by journalists covering these protests.
The unexpected deployment has only fanned the flames, spurring widespread anger and fear across Los Angeles, as residents found heavily armed National Guard units patrolling familiar streets, many describe feeling more threatened than protected in their neighborhood. Adding to the public alarm, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that active-duty Marines at Camp Pendleton were on high alert and ready to be mobilized should unrest continue, an unmistakable signal that peaceful protest may now be met with even fiercer, military-style force.
Legal experts have questioned the administration’s justification under Title 10 of the U.S. Code, which permits federalizing National Guard units only in cases of “rebellion or danger of rebellion” or when regular forces are insufficient to execute U.S. law. The Posse Comitatus Act generally bars military participation in civilian law enforcement, and four legal scholars from across the political spectrum have labeled Trump’s unilateral order “reckless” and “inflammatory,” noting that the California protests did not meet the constitutional threshold of a rebellion. Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of UC Berkeley Law, warned that such an “early response” using troops against peaceful assembly risks setting a dangerous precedent of federal intimidation.
Meanwhile, grassroots organizers have rallied millions for No Kings Day protests against Trump’s spectacle of power. On June 14, over 1,500 events are planned in 1,400 cities, deliberately held outside Washington, D.C., to focus on “contrast, not conflict” with the president’s pageant. “Donald Trump wants tanks in the street and a made-for-TV display of dominance for his birthday,” the No Kings coalition declares, framing their actions as a defense of democracy rather than mere dissent.
That very same day, the nation’s capital will host a grand military parade celebrating both the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary and President Trump’s 79th birthday. The spectacle will feature 150 vehicles, 50 aircraft flyovers, and 6,600 soldiers marching along Constitution Avenue—a display rivaling the $45 million parades historically associated with authoritarian regimes. While official statements downplay any personal celebration of Trump’s birthday, the timing and scale of the event leave little doubt that martial pageantry has become a centerpiece of his second term.
Critics argue this twin strategy of quashing domestic protest with troops while staging mass military pageantry echoes some of history’s darkest authoritarian playbooks. As historian Joshua Zeitz and NPR commentators point out, American tradition has long shunned overt displays of martial strength; parades were reserved for war’s end, not political theater. The last major D.C. military parade was in 1991, at the close of the Gulf War. By abandoning those guardrails, the administration risks normalizing the use of force as a response to dissent.
The dangers ahead are profound. When a president views peaceful assembly as rebellion and responds with federal troops, he erodes the constitutional protections of free speech and assembly that safeguard American democracy. As No Kings Day draws near, citizens must recognize that defending the right to protest is not merely symbolic, it is the frontline in the fight against an authoritarian drift that threatens to turn America’s streets into stages for martial dominance rather than marketplaces of ideas.
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