California National Guard personnel stand outside the Edward R. Roybal federal building after their deployment by U.S. President Donald Trump, in response to protests against immigration sweeps, in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025.

David Ryder | Reuters

California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked a federal judge Tuesday to quickly block President Donald Trump's deployment of National Guard members and Marines to Los Angeles to quell protests against immigration raids there.

State Attorney General Rob Bonta told U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer that a temporary restraining order against the deployments should be issued by 1 p.m. PT to "prevent immediate and irreparable harm to Plaintiffs."

Breyer did not grant that request, but instead ordered Trump and his co-defendants to respond by Wednesday morning at 11 a.m. PT.

Bonta had argued that without prompt relief, Trump's action poses "imminent harm to State Sovereignty, deprives the State of vital resources, escalates tensions and promotes (rather than quells) civil unrest."

Trump's lawyers in a subsequent filing slammed the request as "legally meritless." They accused the plaintiffs of seeking a "dangerous" court order that would jeopardize the safety of Homeland Security personnel and "interfere with the Federal Government's ability to carry out operations."

Trump in recent days has authorized the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops to LA, with about 700 Marines sent to LA to support those troops.

Newsom, in a statement Tuesday on the filing, said, "Sending trained warfighters onto the streets is unprecedented and threatens the very core of our democracy."

"Donald Trump is behaving like a tyrant, not a President," Newsom said. "We ask the court to immediately block these unlawful actions."

The Democratic governor's request came a day after he sued the Republican president, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and the Pentagon in San Francisco federal court.

The lawsuit says Trump broke the law when he federalized the California National Guard over the weekend without Newsom's consent or input. The complaint also says Trump's actions are unwarranted and are stoking more fear and civil unrest in LA.

Trump and administration officials insist that the scale of the protests against U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the city justifies the deployments.

But Newsom's lawsuit says that the recent unrest pales in comparison to past examples in Los Angeles, including the 1992 riots after the acquittal of police officers charged in the beating of motorist Rodney King.

Most of the protesters against the ICE raids have been engaged in nonviolent activity protected by the First Amendment, the suit said.

But "there have no doubt been exceptions," including some who have thrown things at law enforcement officers or set fires to property, the suit notes.

However, the suit says that "at no point in the past three days has there been a rebellion or an insurrection," despite Trump's repeated claims to the contrary.

Trump on Tuesday defended his decision to federalize the California Guard and send in the Marines.

"Look, if we didn't get involved right now, Los Angeles would be burning just like it was burning a number of months ago," Trump said, referring to devastating wildfires that tore through swaths of the city.

"Los Angeles right now would be on fire, and we have it in great shape," he said.