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.

Gavin Newsom asked the Trump administration on Sunday to rescind its move to deploy 2,000 California National Guardsmen to Los Angeles to subdue immigration protests, accusing the White House of illegally overriding his authority and intentionally inflaming tensions with protesters.

Legal experts questioned Trump’s response to unrest in L.A., saying he appears to be laying groundwork for more expansive use of the military to suppress dissent.