by Donald Eng CTNewsJunkie
HARTFORD, CT – Connecticut stands with California officials against the deployment of troops in response to protests against the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions in that state, according to a joint media briefing Tuesday afternoon from Attorney General William Tong, Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz.
“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 in California and Los Angeles under these circumstances,” Tong said. “And let me just say that as an American, I am deeply concerned and troubled by the president’s deployment of National Guardspeople and US active duty Marines in Los Angeles.”
Attorney General William Tong speaks about the deployment of National Guard troops and US Marines in California during a press briefing on June 10, 2025. Credit: Donald Eng / CTNewsJunkie
Tong said President Donald Trump had “packed a powder keg in Los Angeles, and there is an extreme risk of broader explosion and violence and harm to the people,” and that Trump had created “an unreasonable risk to public safety.”
In response, Tong and Lamont said they would do everything in their power to prevent such a situation from occurring in this state, particularly with a series of “No Kings” protests planned across the state for Saturday.
Bysiewicz in particular said she had been in contact with protest organizers, who are concerned that the National Guard could be deployed in response to the events.
In response, Bysiewicz said Connecticut has seen hundreds of protests since Trump’s term began, including an April 5 event at the Capitol with thousands of people marching.
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz speaks about the deployment of National Guard troops and US Marines in California during a press briefing on June 10, 2025. Credit: Donald Eng
“The National Guard was not needed because all of the protests were peaceful,” she said. She said Trump’s campaign against immigrants has been marked by an extreme callousness and cruelty “and our residents have the right to speak out against that.”
Connecticut deploys the National Guard in extreme circumstances like Hurricane Sandy, the Hawthorne fire or the COVID-19 pandemic, she said. In this case, she said, Trump’s use of the military was intended to frighten and stifle protesters, she said.
“This is a hallmark of a dictator and a hallmark of an authoritarian regime,” she said.
Lamont, in his comments, called for peaceful protest.
“When you protest peacefully, you enhance the cause, and people listen to your message,” he said. “If the protest turns violent, sometimes that distracts from your message.”
Trump, Lamont said, is eager to militarize the situation, but he said state and local law enforcement were up to the task of maintaining order.
“We don’t need that outside interference,” he said.
But the California situation has made it clear that even if state officials have the situation in hand – which Tong said the California governor and attorney general had told him was the case – Trump could still take action. Lamont said all state officials could do is keep the peace in the state.
“Look, all I can do as the governor is to make sure we do our job … don’t give him any pretense,” Lamont said.
Tong agreed, saying Connecticut’s track record is that people “sometimes forcefully and aggressively” but lawfully exercising their First Amendment right to protest. “The fact that we’re passionate about it, that we’re loud about it, is not illegal.”
Tong declined to entertain a “what-if” scenario on the president ordering National Guard or active military troops into the state, except to say if something unwarranted were to occur, “we will act immediately.”
“Make no mistake about that. We’re ready. We’ve been ready,” he said. “We talk about it, and we plan for it. But we’re not even close to there because Connecticut is safe, peaceful … and all of what we do as a general matter is lawful.”
State Rep. Vincent Candelora, R-North Branford, in a statement after the briefing, said the state leaders should “spend less time playing to their political base and more time addressing the issues that actually affect Connecticut residents … instead of grandstanding about what they won’t do with the National Guard.”