“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.” – Governor Gavin Newsom
SAN FRANCISCO – As President Donald Trump threatens to deploy the National Guard to San Francisco, state and local leaders are vowing to fight back, calling the move illegal, dangerous, and a direct assault on constitutional governance.
Governor Gavin Newsom said California will sue the Trump administration immediately if federalized troops are sent into San Francisco, describing the act as an abuse of presidential power.
“We’re a nation of laws and accountability — not a nation that turns a blind eye to abuse of power,” Newsom said. “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 is proving him wrong — in the courts and on the facts.”
He continued, “We don’t bow to kings, and we’re standing up to this wannabe tyrant. 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.”
Attorney General Rob Bonta echoed the governor’s stance, saying 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,” he said.
“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,” Bonta added.
San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu also condemned the proposal.
“Needlessly and haphazardly deploying the military to American cities makes us all less safe,” he said. “These deployments inflame tensions, undermine local law enforcement, and harm local economies. San Francisco has seen historic drops in crime, and our local law enforcement are more than capable of keeping our city safe while upholding First Amendment rights.”
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins joined local officials in rejecting the idea of federal troops patrolling the city.
“Let me be clear – no local or elected San Francisco leaders want the National Guard deployed to San Francisco at the direction of the Trump Administration,” Jenkins said. “The Mayor and I are aligned and have public safety as our top priority in San Francisco.”
Jenkins said the city has reduced crime “for nearly three years now” through collaboration with local, state, and federal law enforcement. “We work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office, DEA and FBI on drug trafficking enforcement and want that to continue. However, the deployment of National Guard would be counterproductive to the success that we have been seeing in crime reduction.”
She added, “First, the National Guard would have no authority to make arrests or investigate crime. Second, given as we know, prior to any such deployment, we have seen inhumane ICE raids precede deployment — spreading fear, terror and chaos, which is exactly what we do not want or need here.”
In her statement, Jenkins also defended her record on public safety.
“After working to recall a radically progressive district attorney, I was elected with a mandate to close open-air drug markets, address retail theft and lower violent crime across the city,” she said. “I have been working tirelessly along with other law enforcement agencies for the past three years to hold anyone committing crime in San Francisco accountable. During my tenure, arrest and prosecution rates have more than doubled and our felony conviction rates are higher than in more than a decade.”
She emphasized that “while we still have more work to do to reduce crime in San Francisco, we are confident that we have the necessary partnerships and resources to achieve this goal. We cannot allow the current political climate to derail our progress nor antagonize our diverse residents and communities.”
Mayor Daniel Lurie expressed similar opposition to Trump’s proposed deployment, saying his office is closely monitoring the situation and coordinating with city departments to safeguard civil liberties. He reaffirmed his support for city policies that prohibit San Francisco police from cooperating with federal immigration enforcement.
District 9 Supervisor Jackie Fielder also addressed the issue during a Board of Supervisors meeting, warning that militarization would endanger immigrant communities.
“In the Mission, we’ve been bracing for this moment,” Fielder said, describing fears of ICE raids and racial profiling if the National Guard arrives. “What we’ve been preparing for in the Mission is essentially a shutdown the likes of which we haven’t seen since COVID.”
Fielder called on the mayor to ensure that departments communicate Know-Your-Rights information and protect access to schooling, healthcare, groceries, and transportation.
Governor Newsom’s office noted that California has already won several legal victories over Trump’s federalization of the National Guard. Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that Trump’s deployment of troops to Los Angeles violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which limits military involvement in domestic law enforcement. Similar lawsuits are ongoing in Oregon and Illinois.
State leaders said California will not hesitate to return to court if Trump follows through on his latest threat.
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Categories: Breaking News Civil Rights San Francisco Tags: Attorney General Rob Bonta Brooke Jenkins District Attorney Brooke Jenkins Donald Trump Gavin Newsom Governor Gavin Newsom Jackie Fielder Mayor Daniel Lurie National Guard President Donald Trump Rob Bonta San Francisco