The deployment of National Guard soldiers on to the streets of LA by Donald Trump was always deeply controversial – and now it has been deemed illegal, too, by a federal judge.

In late spring in Los Angeles, I observed as peaceful protests against immigration raids turned confrontational.

I watched as Waymos – self-driving cars – were set alight and people waving flags shut down one of the city’s busiest freeways. I saw government buildings spray-painted with anti-government sentiment and expletives. Some people even threw bottles at police officers in riot gear.

In exchange, I saw law enforcement deploy “flash bang” crowd control devices and fire rubber bullets into crowds, indiscriminately, on occasion.

It was chaotic at times, violent, even, in a corner of the downtown area of the city. But I didn’t witness anything that suggested police were on the brink of being overcome by rioters. I didn’t see anything that I believe justified the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 marines to the heart of America’s second-biggest city.

But Trump sent them in anyway, against the wishes of the local government. LA mayor Karen Bass condemned the deployment as an act of political theatre and said it risked stoking tensions.

The language Trump used was, arguably, inflammatory, too. He described LA as an “invaded” and “occupied city”. He spoke of “a full-blown assault on peace”, carried out by “rioters bearing foreign flags with the aim of continuing a foreign invasion of our country”.

It didn’t reflect reality. The size of the protests were modest, several thousand people marching through a handful of streets in downtown LA, a city which spans 500 square miles and has a population of almost four million.

The majority of the soldiers simply stood guard outside government buildings, often looking bored. Some of them are still here, with nothing to do. Now a judge has ruled that the operation was illegal.

US District Judge Charles Breyer said the Trump administration “used armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armour) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles”.

Read more from Sky News:
French government on brink of collapse
Xi hails ‘great regeneration of China’ at parade

In a scathing judgement, he effectively accused the White House of turning National Guard soldiers and marines into a “national police force.”

That breaches a law from 1878, barring the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement activities.

It is a blow to what some view as the president’s ambition to federalise Democrat-run cities and deploy the National Guard in other states around the country. He had threatened to send troops to Chicago as part of an initiative he says is cracking down on crime, widening the use of National Guard troops, as seen on the streets of Washington DC.

But since this judge ruled that the deployment of National Guard and marines to LA in June was unlawful in the way it unfolded, Trump may have to be inventive with his rationale for sending soldiers into other US cities in the future.

This legal judgement, though, is being appealed and may well be overturned. Either way, it is unlikely to stem the president’s ambition to act as national police chief.

A strike on what the US called a Venezuelan gang’s drug-carrying vessel killed 11 people, Donald Trump has said.

Speaking at a news conference at the White House, the US president told reporters: “We just, over the last few minutes, literally shot out a boat, a drug-carrying boat, a lot of drugs in that boat.

“And there’s more where that came from. We have a lot of drugs pouring into our country, coming in for a long time.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio then added: “These particular drugs were probably headed to Trinidad or some other country in the Caribbean.

“Suffice to say the president is going to be on offence against drug cartels and drug trafficking in the United States.”

Mr Trump later posted a video on Truth Social of a vessel exploding, in what appeared to mark the first US military operation in the southern Caribbean to crack down on drug cartels.

The president said on social media that the US military had identified the crew as members of Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, which was designated a terrorist group in February.

He then alleged that Tren de Aragua is being controlled by Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro, which the country denies.

Venezuelan officials have repeatedly said that Tren de Aragua is no longer active in their country after they dismantled it during a prison raid in 2023.

The US last month doubled its reward for information leading to the arrest of Mr Maduro to $50m, accusing him of links to drug trafficking and criminal groups.

The US has deployed warships in the southern Caribbean in recent weeks.

Seven warships, along with one nuclear-powered fast-attack submarine, are either in the region or expected to arrive soon, carrying more than 4,500 sailors and Marines.

Read more from Sky News:
Graham Linehan ‘arrested at Heathrow over posts on X’
New Green leader doesn’t rule out pact with Jeremy Corbyn
The staggering numbers behind France’s brewing debt crisis

Follow The World

Listen to The World with Richard Engel and Yalda Hakim every Wednesday

Tap to follow

Officials have said that the US military has also been flying P-8 spy planes over international waters in the region to gather intelligence.

Mr Maduro said on Monday that he “would constitutionally declare a republic in arms” if Venezuela were attacked by US forces deployed in the Caribbean.