To suppress protests against his deportation agenda, President Donald Trump took an extraordinary action on Saturday by calling up 2,000 National Guard troops to tamp down demonstrations in California. In doing so, he exercised rarely used federal powers, bypassed the authority of the state’s governor, Gavin Newsom, and set the stage for violent confrontation.

Newsom, a Democrat, said the soldiers were unneeded and would only “escalate tensions.”

Trump’s order came after protests broke out on Friday and continued through Saturday as federal agents searched Los Angeles’ garment district and other neighborhoods for undocumented immigrant workers. More protests are planned for Sunday afternoon.

Any demonstration impeding immigration law enforcement would be considered a “form of rebelli

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