BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — Members of our own local National Guard were gearing up to head on down to Los Angeles Wednesday as some of them have been deployed to help assist with the protests.
- California Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta are suing the Trump administration over National Guard deployments.
- The lawsuit claims federalizing National Guard troops undermines state authority and violates the Posse Comitatus Act.
- Local National Guard members have been deployed to Los Angeles to assist with protests, not to aid ICE operations.
Members of our own local National Guard were gearing up to head on down to Los Angeles Wednesday as some of them have been deployed to help assist with the protests. All of this amid a lawsuit filed on behalf of Governor Gavin Newsom and Attorney General Rob Bonta against the Trump administration for these deployments.
While protests continue across the nations, members of the National Guard in Bakersfield stopped by a gas station off Comanche and the 58. I spoke with some of them who said they were on standby, while others told me this was a short pit stop before heading south.
These deployments now called into question by the Governor and Attorney General, claiming the President's move to federalize 4,000 members of the California National Guard is illegal.
Newsom says local law enforcement had the situation under control—and accuses the President and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth of overriding state authority without consultation.
“There are no longer any checks and balances. Congress is nowhere to be found. Speaker Johnson has completely abdicated that responsibility. The rule of law has increasingly been given way to the rule of Don,” Newsom stated.
Amid hearings with the Department of Justice, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth responded, “Part of it is getting ahead of a problem so that if in other places, if there are other riots in places where law enforcement officers are threatened, we would have the capability to surge National Guard there if necessary.” \\
The suit argues that under federal law, Guard deployment orders must be issued through state governors—not around them. It also claims the move violates the Posse Comitatus Act—which bars military forces from performing domestic law enforcement unless specifically authorized.
Amid the protests across the country, local law enforcement say they’re ready to show up in the event any local gathering warrants it.
“We have specialized teams of officers who have full-time jobs, but crowd control, special response to protest is a collateral duty. They train every single month,” said Chief of Bakersfield Police Greg Terry.
In speaking with local National Guard members, they told me their deployment doesn't involve assisting ICE in any operations. Now, while I was out here speaking with some of the National Guard members, they told me that, though they don't know exactly where they’ll be posted in L.A., they know that their focus is going to be on federal buildings.
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