Connecticut leadership pledged to support California regarding what they call “an inflammatory and unlawful commandeering of the California National Guard by the Trump Administration.”
Gov. Ned Lamont, Attorney General William Tong and Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz spoke at the Office of the Attorney General on Tuesday regarding the lawsuit filed by California against President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
“We are here to make it clear that the state of Connecticut objects to the use of American soldiers against American citizens, on American soil,” Tong said. “As an American I’m deeply concerned and troubled by the President’s deployment of National Guard people, the U.S. active-duty Marines in Los Angeles.
“I realize you don’t yet know the scope of the orders and the mission for active duty Marines, but I think it is safe to say that the president has packed the powder keg in Los Angeles, and there’s an extreme risk of the broader explosion of violence and harming the people of Los Angeles and California, and he has created an unreasonable risk in public safety,” Tong added. “I said in the first week of this administration, the president has declared war on the American people. I meant it figuratively. I pray to God that this literally does not become true.”
Tong said he has been in communication with California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Tong said he told Bonta that Connecticut supports California and wants to be a resource for them. Tong said he’s been in touch with other governors, and they have the same message for President Trump.
“Please pull back before this escalates any further and something extraordinary, some permanent damage is done to people in California and to our country. Let LAPD and state police do their jobs. They did not ask you to come in and help, they don’t need to come. And if they do need to come, they will ask,” Tong said.
Lamont asked for protestors to remain peaceful because any violence will take away from their message. Lamont added that Connecticut has had recent protests after the death of George Floyd and protested peacefully without the National Guard.
“We didn’t need federal government. We know how to handle this ourselves. We handle it with respect. We look out for the protesters, make sure they think people respectfully as well,” Lamont said. “I think sometimes the President seems eager to send federal troops and militarize in Los Angeles. Just like to say, our state of police, our municipal police, they know how to work together with the citizens, you know how to keep us safe. We don’t need that outside interference,” Lamont said.
Tong was asked how the state would respond if Trump activated the military in Connecticut.
“We’re not going to get to that point because the Governor and Ronnell Higgins, the CT Commissioner of Emergency Services and Public Protection, are focused as we were during George Floyd to maintain order,” Tong said. “Make no mistake if you violate the law, you will be held accountable.”
“Look, all I can do as a governor is to make sure we do our job of keeping the peace and not giving them any pretext to do it,” Lamont said. “Then you say, ‘He doesn’t care, he’s coming anyway.’ Then you are going to have to force the legal system to stand up. But I’m going to make sure we keep the peace in Connecticut.”
Tong said the state will not tolerate lawlessness. “The states are sovereign, and the states joined together in our consent, by our consent, in a federation known as the United States of America. We’ve delegated limited powers. Those limited powers do not include the deployment of American soldiers against American citizens on American soil. We never agreed to that, but we never will,” said Tong, adding that Lamont is committed to making sure there is no cause for the Trump to even think about deploying troops in Connecticut.
“I don’t want to give the president any pretense that they need to come into Connecticut and militarize the situation. That just makes the situation worse,” Lamont said.
Bysiewicz said her office was contacted by multiple protest leaders to see if the National Guard was going to be deployed for Saturday’s for No Kings Day protests.
“The governor and I talked about it and we said, “Why would we do that? We had had such peaceful protest on April 5 and since then,” Bysiewicz said.
Regarding the recent reported actions of ICE in detaining a Meriden high school senior, Tong reminded people they could speak out but “do it peacefully and lawfully but be passionate and loud. On the principal, advocate for your neighbors in your community against law enforcement activity that you think is no productive and helpful to your community, but do so peacefully and lawfully. Don’t interfere and follow the law.”
Lamont said he has received more information about the detention of the Maloney High School student but said on Tuesday he was keeping it confidential. Lamont noted that Meriden Public Schools Superintendent Mark Benigni has been in touch with the family of the student.
“So far in Connecticut, we haven’t seen more than a few isolated incidents. … Don’t let them fool you and say that they are just going after criminals and those who are in danger,” Lamont said.
“I worry about (ICE) picking up people at the courthouse and now getting closer and closer to the schoolhouse and to work and all that means is less likely those people go to the courthouse when they should. Their kids are less likely to go to school. It’s a shortsighted and damaging way to go ahead.”
Tong noted that the federal government has broad authority over immigration and customs enforcement but added “a lot of what they are doing is unreasonable and excessive and, in some cases, unlawful.”
“We’ve been successful in stopping a lot of these actions, but he has hurt and will hurt a lot of people in the process,” Tong said.
Connecticut House Republican leader Vincent Candelora issued a statement Tuesday decrying Tong, Lamont and Bysiewicz.
“At this point, the lobby of the Attorney General’s office might as well be a theater stage. And today, it was a familiar script — Connecticut Democrats, led by General Tong, spent their time attacking the President for protecting Americans in an out-of-control situation in California, instead of condemning violent assaults on law enforcement or the illegal highway takeovers disrupting everyday life for law-abiding citizens,” the statement read. “These are the same politicians who have been willing collaborators in the erosion of our criminal justice system nationwide, consistently putting the rights of criminals ahead of the safety of the officers who risk their lives to protect us.
“The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and Attorney General should spend less time playing to their political base and more time addressing the issues that actually affect Connecticut residents — like a state budget that relies on the hospital provider tax, Medicaid reimbursement rates, and crushing property taxes — instead of grandstanding about what they won’t do with the National Guard.”
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro said in a statement that all protests must be peaceful and denounced any harm done to community members, law enforcement or property.
“The Trump administration’s authoritarian crackdown is nothing more than political theater — an attempt to sow chaos and create false justifications for deploying armed troops into American neighborhoods. They want to destabilize communities and tear families apart,” DeLauro said. “President Trump’s takeover of the California National Guard and deployment of 2,000 soldiers into Los Angeles was a deliberate move to escalate tensions when local law enforcement had stated they did not require assistance.
“Our immigration system is in crisis. The border is out of control, but that does not mean we abandon the rule of law,” DeLauro added. “The Trump administration continues to deny due process rights and ignore the Constitution. They are expending resources targeting people who are working in our communities, preparing for high school graduations, and responsibly attending immigration court proceedings instead of focusing on the true problem – getting the border under control. We must have a secure, orderly border, but that mission must never come at the expense of the legal principles that made this country great. We can strengthen border security and manage immigration effectively without sacrificing the rule of law.”
