We need to talk about Paramount
LA is on a knife-edge and California could well be teetering on the edge of secession. A President’s power grab has pushed America’s largest, most diverse, and most economically powerful state to the brink. By deploying the National Guard into Los Angeles without state consent, and now threatening to escalate further by bringing in US Marines, Donald Trump is not just exceeding his authority, he’s playing with the fuse of civil war. If California defies an unlawful military occupation and the federal government answers with heavier force, we may witness the collapse of the Union, not from the outside, but from the Oval Office.
Donald Trump has crossed a line that no president should dare approach: he has deployed the National Guard into Los Angeles, not at the request of California’s governor, not in response to an insurrection, but in a naked, authoritarian grab for control. This isn’t just dangerous, it’s unconstitutional. It’s a direct assault on federalism, civil liberties, and the core principles of US democracy.
This cannot be normalised. It must be called what it is: an illegal occupation of an American city by a president who treats political dissent as treason and military force as a campaign strategy. Today everyone who opposes tyranny must stand with Paramount.
The spark for this federal overreach was a series of aggressive, extrajudicial actions by ICE agents in Paramount, a mainly Hispanic suburb of Los Angeles. Without warrants, without coordination with local law enforcement, and often without identifying themselves, ICE operatives began seizing individuals off the street: immigrants, activists, and even US citizens in some cases, sparking outrage across the state. These covert ‘kidnappings’, let’s call them what they are, triggered mass protests and direct action by civil rights groups. Governor Gavin Newsom publicly condemned the operations, accusing Trump of turning ICE into a secret police force and pledging that California would not be complicit. His defiance enraged Trump, who in turn retaliated by ordering the National Guard into Los Angeles under the pretext of restoring ‘order’. What followed wasn’t law enforcement, it was occupation.
Governor Newsom blasted the announcement, labeling it 'purposefully inflammatory' and warned it would “only escalate tensions” after ICE-led immigration raids sparked protests and confrontations statesmanpost.com+15politico.com+15apnews.com+15.
He emphasised that local law enforcement had the situation under control and that federal intervention was unnecessary and corrosive to public trust politico.com.
Newsom argued that threatening to deploy active-duty Marines as part of an occupation force was not only excessive, it was 'deranged' theguardian.com+1apnews.com+1.
He warned that the federal government's decision to invoke Title 10 and seize command of California’s National Guard amounted to Washington 'moving to take over' the state’s military forces
A protestor waved a Mexican flag in front of a burning ICE truck in Paramount
The Constitution and legislation is very clear. Powers not delegated to the federal government are reserved to the states or the people. That includes the fundamental right of a state to manage its own public safety. By deploying troops into California without Governor Gavin Newsom’s request or consent, Trump has violated the spirit, and likely the letter, of this foundational principle. The 10th Amendment is clear on this and Trump is in clear violation of it.
This isn’t speculative. The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized the importance of maintaining boundaries between federal and state power. In Sterling v. Constantin (1932), the Court declared: ‘Emergency does not create power. Emergency does not increase granted power or remove or diminish the restrictions imposed upon power granted or reserved’ Trump is not an emperor. He cannot suspend the Constitution with a press conference. Trump may try to cloak this action under the Insurrection Act (10 U.S.C. §§ 251–255), but that law is narrow and specific. It only allows federal troops to be used domestically under extreme circumstances:
- When a state explicitly requests help to suppress an insurrection.
- When it becomes impossible to enforce federal law through civilian means.
- When there is a rebellion against the authority of the United States.
California has done none of these things. Los Angeles is not in open rebellion. This is not 1861. Deploying troops under these conditions is an outright abuse of the law. It’s a smoke screen to militarise opposition, not maintain order. The Posse Comitatus Act (18 U.S.C. § 1385) was enacted to prevent the federal military from becoming a domestic police force. It prohibits federal troops from engaging in law enforcement activities unless explicitly authorized by Congress or the Constitution. If Trump has federalised the National Guard and is using them to patrol, arrest, or suppress protest in LA, he is violating this law. It doesn't matter if he slaps the words ‘law and order’ on it, tyranny dressed up in legalese is still tyranny. Let’s be blunt. Troops on city streets don't deescalate, they intimidate. Their presence doesn't protect democracy, it silences dissent.
- It chills free speech and protest, violating the 1st Amendment.
- It permits warrantless searches and seizures, undercutting the 4th Amendment.
- It treats public space not as a place for civic engagement, but as a battleground.
This isn’t security, it’s suppression. And it's no accident that the targets are often liberal, diverse, protest-prone cities that challenge Trump’s authority and politics. This is not a neutral action; it's a deeply partisan one. The Founding Fathers feared the rise of a monarch in military garb. That’s why they gave Congress the power to raise armies (Article I, Section 8) and reserved military command to the president (Article II, Section 2) only within constitutional limits. In Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952), the Supreme Court rebuked President Truman for trying to seize control of the steel industry during wartime without Congressional approval. Justice Jackson’s opinion is as relevant now as ever: presidential power is at its ‘lowest ebb’ when it ‘takes measures incompatible with the expressed or implied will of Congress’. Trump isn’t saving the nation. He’s staging a performance of domination for his political base.
This is not about law and order. It’s about power. It’s about fear. It’s about using troops like pawns to terrorise political enemies and pacify protest. If left unchallenged, this becomes precedent. If normalised, it becomes policy.
If Trump can seize control of Los Angeles by force, what’s to stop him from deploying troops in Chicago, Atlanta, or New York? What happens when dissent itself is labelled as insurrection? What happens when elections are contested and troops are used to ‘restore calm’? This is how authoritarianism begins, not with a coup, but with a quiet slide into militarised rule.
California doesn’t have to accept this. They can and must resist. Peacefully. Boldly. Legally. Mass protest, court challenges, public pressure, and civil disobedience are not just justified, they are essential. Trump has crossed the Rubicon.
“I, [name], do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of [State Name] against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the Governor of [State Name] and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to law and regulations. So help me God.”
And for members of the National Guard, remember your oath: you swore to defend the Constitution and your State under the authority of your Governor, not Trump. If the National Guard is ordered to suppress lawful protest or act against its fellow citizens, you face a choice: follow illegal orders or uphold the Republic. Trump has declared a war on constitutional order. The only question now is whether the US will meet this moment, or surrender to the soft march of tyranny in real time.
Today anyone who believes in democracy needs to make a stand. Today we are all Paramount. Today we are all California.
The world has gone mad. If you enjoyed reading this, please feel free to look at the rest of the blogs on www.TetleysTLDR.com. They're free to view, there's no paywall, they aren't monetised and I won't ask you to buy me a coffee. Also please free to share anything you find of interest, we only get the message out if people are aware of it. If you're in LA, please stay safe. All the best, Tetley
