Gavin Newsom is engaged in a tense struggle for authority in Los Angeles as the Democrat California governor insists that Donald Trump withdraw the National Guard amidst issues with disruptive protesters. 

On Sunday, Trump made an unprecedented order after the National Guard was deployed in response to escalating civil disturbance and pro-migrant demonstrations throughout California.

The president has said he is going to ‘liberate Los Angeles’ from illegal aliens which have ‘invaded and occupied a once great American city.’

Over the weekend, Newsom has been at odds with Trump and Pete Hegseth and is trying to regain command through a formal request sent to the Defense Secretary on Sunday. 

‘This is a serious breach of state sovereignty – inflaming tensions while pulling resources from where they’re actually needed,’ Newsom said in a statement to X, calling the deployment ‘unlawful.’ 

‘Rescind the order. Return control to California.’

He also claimed that the state ‘didn’t have a problem until Trump got involved.’ 

In the letter to Hegseth, Newsom claims ‘there is no need for the National Guard to be deployed in Los Angeles, and to do so in this unlawful manner and for such a lengthy period is a serious breach of state sovereignty that seems intentionally designed to inflame the situation.’ 

Newsom called Trump on Friday night and they spoke for about 40 minutes, according to the governor’s office. It was not clear if they spoke Saturday or Sunday. 

The liberal governor described Trump’s decision to call in the National Guard as a ‘provocative show of force’ that would only escalate tensions. 

He added that Hegseth’s threat to deploy Marines on American soil was ‘deranged behavior.’ 

In a statement to DailyMail.com, the White House teed off on Newsom for lying about the situation on the ground.

‘President Trump rightfully stepped in to restore law and order because of Gavin Newsom’s feckless leadership and his refusal to stop the violent attacks on American law enforcement,’ White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. 

‘It’s a bald-faced lie for Newsom to claim there was no problem in Los Angeles before President Trump got involved. Everyone saw the chaos, violence, and lawlessness – unless of course, Gavin Newsom doesn’t think any of that is a problem.’

Newsom made no effort to tone down the rhetoric as the evening went on, responding to an interview where Trump said lawmakers could ‘face charges’ for ‘standing in the way of law and order’ by calling the president ‘a dictator.’

Newsom charged Trump with ‘Inciting and provoking violence, creating mass chaos, militarizing cities and arresting opponents.’

Rioters have been engaged in violent clashes with immigration officials, the National Guard and LAPD following the detainment of dozens of immigrants on Friday as part of Trump’s ambitious plan to embark on the largest mass deportation scheme in US history.

A combined effort led by Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Secretary of Defense Hegseth, and Attorney General Pam Bondi will restore order, Trump said. 

He has directed his key personnel to ‘to take all such action necessary to liberate Los Angeles from the Migrant Invasion, and put an end to these Migrant riots.

‘Order will be restored, the Illegals will be expelled, and Los Angeles will be set free,’ Trump wrote on Truth Social on Sunday afternoon.

The Los Angeles Police Department began issuing rolling dispersal orders and declaring some of the protests acts of ‘unlawful assembly’ as violence ramped up on Sunday afternoon.

The LAPD issued a separate warning that the city has been placed on ‘tactical alert’, meaning all of the department’s officers are now on notice that they could be called up for service at any given moment.

Officers who are already on duty are not allowed to end their shift until they have been relieved by their commanders, and residents of Los Angeles are warned that low priority calls may go unanswered while the alert is ongoing. 

These officers will now join the 2,000 California National Guard troops Trump earlier deployed to Los Angeles to quell the protests, which he called ‘a form of rebellion.’

Trump lamented the current state of the city, expressing concern that ‘a once great American City, Los Angeles, has been invaded and occupied by Illegal Aliens and Criminals. 

‘Now violent, insurrectionist mobs are swarming and attacking our Federal Agents to try and stop our deportation operations.’

But he vowed ‘these lawless riots only strengthen our resolve’ as images emerge of troops on the ground in the downtown area of the city ready to defend the city from more violent demonstrations.

The president congratulated the National Guard on doing a ‘great job’ in the city in the early hours of Sunday morning, although they hadn’t arrived yet. 

Protesters gathered outside the Metropolitan Detention Center were warned that the LAPD incident commander had approved the use of ‘less lethal munitions’ to break up the crowd.

This came as authorities declared the area an ‘unlawful assembly’ and warned any protester who chose to stay would be subject to arrest.

And in Alameda and Temple, arrests are now underway as officers report ‘people in the crowd are throwing concrete, bottles and other objects.’

The LAPD issued an urgent dispersal order for the regions, warning ‘those at Alameda and Temple must leave the area.’ 

Southbound and northbound traffic was driven to a standstill on the 101 Freeway after protesters commandeered both sides of the road.

Early Sunday, the violence was limited to a small area in downtown Los Angeles, with the rest of the city of 4 million people largely unaffected. Since then, pockets of protests have began popping up in broader parts of the community.

The arrival of the National Guard and federal reinforcements follows days of protests that began Friday in downtown Los Angeles before spreading on Saturday to Paramount and neighboring Compton.

Hegseth had warned on Saturday that ‘active duty Marines’ were on ‘high alert’ as the riots created havoc on the streets. 

On Sunday, Noem said the National Guard would ‘keep peace and allow people to be able to protest but also to keep law and order.’

The troops included members of the 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, according to a social media post from the Department of Defense that showed dozens of National Guard members with long guns and an armored vehicle.

Rioters have also been warned that the use of non-lethal munitions has been authorized to maintain order, prompting a warning from the LAPD urging people to ‘leave the area’ to avoid the ‘pain and discomfort’ such weapons can bring.

But the escalation comes in response to rioters using flaming projectiles and throwing rocks at authorities, as they set fire to cars in their path of destruction. 

They were met by federal agents in riot gear and gas masks. The mob was warned to leave in both Spanish and English.

Tear gas and smoke filled the air as confrontations between immigration authorities and demonstrators extended into a third day.

These riots were set against the backdrop of Trump’s latest immigration raid, targeting the safe haven of Los Angeles on Friday.

DHS said in a statement that the recent ICE operations resulted in the arrest of 118 immigrants.

Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said those arrested included child sex offenders, gang members and national security threats.

‘They arrested a lot of bad people yesterday and today,’ Homan asserted. ‘We’re making Los Angeles safer.’

Homan also remarked that ICE agents were often wearing masks as they conducted raids because they were worried about their families being doxxed.

By Saturday night federal agents reported having arrested more than a dozen ‘agitators who impeded agents in their ability to conduct law enforcement operations.