New Orleans       A federal judge in California has finally issued a ruling on the unprecedented deployment of National Guard troops in Los Angeles.  Trump claimed this deployment was necessary because there was an “immigrant invasion.”  The judge found no evidence of insurrection.  He addressed 1878 Posse Comitatus Act as well and its clarity in “prohibiting the use of US military to execute domestic law.”  The judge allowed a smaller number to guard federal facilities, but was clear that using the military to aid immigration checkpoints, do general traffic stops or engaging in such operations as providing traffic control for a ICE raid on a cannabis farm 80 miles from downtown Los Angeles was way, way out of bounds and totally illegal.

The judge gave the government time to appeal and his decision was restricted to California, but the impact was clear.  Despite Trump’s huffing and puffing, he simply cannot continue to deploy US military assets against blue state cities and their mayors who he opposes.

Washington, DC is a unicorn, as a federal city with limits on its home rule.  There a fib and fiction can buy some time.  All of the reports indicate that there has been at best a modest increase in arrests.  In DC as well, much of this so-called policing also seems to be a supplement to immigration enforcement action.  Of the 1000 arrests, interestingly, almost half are firearm violations, upsetting some of his pistol-packing base.  Trump seems to see DC as Gaza-lite.  He asked Congress for a couple of billions for a beautification-style campaign to his tastes.

Serving his addiction to headlines and head turning distractions to all of the current real issues the country is facing, Trump and his people are also threatening to deploy troops and activate the National Guard in Chicago and Baltimore.  Mayors and governors in both states have adamantly denied the need for such assistance.  Like DC, they have also cited declining crime rates, contrary to Trump’s claims.  Military planners are already trying to secure access to a naval facility to muster up their forces.

The only invasion in the US now seems to be the one being ordered and directed by Trump.  Even in a tongue twisting piece of mental gymnastics, the Wall Street Journal far-right editorial writers even had to admit that any such action in these cities was illegal on its face.  Afraid to slap the bear, they say “For Mr. Trump to declare an insurrection to send in federal troops over the objections of an elected Governor would be a risky escalation.  Mr. Trump can’t duplicate there or elsewhere what he’s doing in DC, because there’s no place in America that is like the nation’s federal capital.”

I know it hurt them to write that, even as it was as plain as the noses on their face, but even school children in any civics class could see this is illegal.  Worse, how can this be the American we thought it was, if troops and tanks are allowed to roll into US cities on wish and whim of some joker in the White House or anywhere else?