LA City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto has stepped into the legal fray over the military’s role in Los Angeles. Feldstein Soto submitted an amicus brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, per a statement from the City Attorney's office, asserting the primacy of local governance in matters of public safety and civil protest management, and requested that the court deny the federal government’s appeal to pause a temporary restraining order (TRO) against the deployment of troops within the city.
With co-counsel from the Democracy Defenders Fund, Feldstein Soto argued that the presence of federal troops, announced over the weekend, undermines local law enforcement capabilities and oversteps constitutional bounds. "My Office will continue to defend the rights of Angelenos to gather and protest peacefully and we will fight to free our City from the illegal deployment of federal troops," Feldstein Soto stated, underscoring the City Attorney's commitment to allow the LAPD, they who possess the requisite expertise, to manage public demonstrations and safeguard the right to assemble.
Amid the "No Kings" protests, which drew tens of thousands but remained largely peaceful, the localized disturbances in downtown LA sparked a stringent response, including a curfew instituted from 8:00 pm to 6:00 am. Despite this, the City insists that the LAPD is fully equipped to address these incidents without military intervention, emphasizing that the strife was limited to a small area around City Hall.
With an eye on the broader implications of such federal actions, Feldstein Soto’s office is sending a clear message to the Ninth Circuit Court: federal troops should remain a last resort, reserved only for the most extreme and uncontrollable situations. The City Attorney also petitioned the Court, allowing the TRO to take immediate effect in order that the City might preserve its autonomy and continue protecting its residents’ freedoms.
