Former national security leaders filed an amicus brief in Newsom v. Trump, warning against the potential harms of the federalization of the California National Guard and the deployment of Marines in LA.
San Francisco, CA — Eight former service secretaries and general and flag officers—including members of Count Every Hero—filed an amicus brief in Newsom v. Trump in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. The brief was not filed in support of either party in the case. The brief highlights the risks posed by the deployment of federal military personnel in California to the apolitical nature of the military, U.S. servicemembers, civilians, and democratic norms.
In the brief, former U.S. Army and Navy secretaries and retired four-star admirals and generals underscored that domestic military deployments should be rare and strictly regulated. These deployments, when not adhering to established legal frameworks like the Posse Comitatus Act, can divert military resources, expose personnel to missions for which they are not adequately trained, and politicize the military.
The leaders argued that engaging military personnel in domestic law enforcement contexts diverts them from their primary missions of national security and disaster relief, potentially compromising public safety and the safety of service members and potentially “degrading the state’s emergency preparedness.” The U.S. Marine Corps is the nation’s “expeditionary force in readiness,” prepared to respond rapidly to threats against the nation but has only deployed domestically in rare and extreme circumstances. The National Guard provides domestic civil support, natural disaster relief, border security, election support, and other support as requested by civilian leaders.
While the service members deployed in Los Angeles are not authorized to perform law enforcement themselves and are intended to protect federal personnel and property, placing them in law enforcement contexts is dangerous for both the service members and the public. The military does not receive extensive training in how to legally and safely operate in domestic law enforcement contexts to aid their decisionmaking, particularly in legally complex situations involving the civil right to engage in Constitutionally-protected activities like protests. For these reasons, the leaders stated that deployment of federal military personnel to respond to civil unrest should be a last resort.
