WASHINGTON/OSLO: – These are the actions of a dictator, not a president. California's governor reacts strongly to Donald Trump's deployment of the National Guard in Los Angeles. The state attorney general states that this is illegal.

In recent days, there have been demonstrations in Los Angeles after immigration officers arrested immigrants the authorities want to deport. There are rumors on social media that families are being split up and parents are being arrested in front of their children, writes LA Times.

A few thousand protesters is not many in a big city like LA. But because President Donald Trump has defined the demonstrations as a riot and deployed the National Guard, they still have major political consequences.

Not since 1965 has a president sent the National Guard to a state without the governor's request, The New York Times reports.

California Governor Gavin Newsom says local police have the situation under control. He says there is no need for troops and accuses Trump of provoking a crisis.

– These are the actions of a dictator, not a president, he writes on X:

On Monday afternoon, NTB, among others, reported that Newsom said he would sue President Donald Trump's order to take control of the National Guard in order to use it against protesters.

– No problem until Trump intervened

The governor believes the order to deploy National Guard forces in Los Angeles County is illegal and violates California's sovereignty.

On Sunday, he sent a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth asking the government to withdraw forces from Los Angeles. He himself published the letter on X.

“This is a serious violation of state sovereignty,” the governor wrote.

On Monday night, he received support from California's attorney general, who ruled that Trump's override of the National Guard was illegal. He has asked the court system to set aside the decision.

Newsom has also challenged Trump's immigration official Tom Homan, whom Trump has referred to as the border czar:

– Tom, arrest me. Come on, he said in an interview with NBC.

According to CNN, he has warned that the order could end up in court.

– It is a shameless lie when Newsom claims that there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved, the White House claims in a statement.

Donald Trump says on Truth Social that Gavin Newscum should apologize to Los Angeles for the poor job he's doing. Including the riots:

Later Sunday, Trump met with reporters outside the White House, where the Los Angeles protesters called him professional agitators and rioters.

– They are bad people. They should be in prison.

He also said that he thinks it's a good idea to arrest the governor of California.

"I would do it if I were Tom. I think it's a brilliant [idea]. Gavin likes the publicity," Trump said.

– Disturbing abuse of power

Now several Democratic governors have issued a statement, calling the deployment of the National Guard a disturbing abuse of power.

The political leaders believe that the use of state national guards is something that each individual state must have control over, and that it is important to respect.

The federal government is attempting to take over California's National Guard and deploy 2,000 troops. This move is deliberately provocative and will only escalate tensions, California Governor Gavin Newsom warns in a statement.

Already in 2020, Donald Trump was accused of turning the National Guard into his private army. He then deployed the National Guard in a number of states to suppress Black Lives Matter protests.

The last time it happened was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson deployed soldiers to protect black protesters during the civil rights movement in Alabama.

In LA, the National Guard was last deployed during riots in 1992. At that time, the response was coordinated with state authorities, CNN points out.

US expert: Could benefit Trump

Reuters writes that 300 members of the California National Guard have been deployed to three locations in LA to protect federal personnel and property.

This could escalate the situation further, points out US expert Eirik Løkke in Civita to TV2.

He calls what is happening in California dramatic and believes there is a danger that the riots will spread. At the same time, he believes that it could benefit Donald Trump.

– The Trump administration has a political interest in escalating this, Løkke tells the TV channel.

– The connection between violent protesters and criminal immigrants, with Trump cracking down on it, is a winning case for him.

Now, many fear that Defense Minister Pete Hegseth will deploy the Marine Corps and the military, which he has hinted at. Løkke believes that this is completely unnecessary for now.

- It will be a completely scandalous decision, he says to TV2.

Løkke points out that this could put the Democrats in a difficult situation.

If they are too critical of Trump's use of force, it may seem as if they are excusing violent demonstrations.