The Insurrection Act is a federal law that allows the president to deploy the military and National Guard troops to suppress civil disorder, insurrection or rebellion. It was last used by President George H. W. Bush during the Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King verdict in April 1992.

Gov. Gavin Newsom and other leading California Democrats criticized President Trump’s deployment of National Guard soldiers in Los Angeles, calling it an unnecessary provocation.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom has formally requested that the Trump administration remove the National Guard from L.A.. The soldiers’ insertion into the city was a retaliatory measure made by the President late Saturday night in response to ongoing protests against city-wide raids by U.