Chief Jim McDonnell pushed back on President Trump’s characterization of his past statements about National Guard deployment, saying he would not have

Los Angeles Police Chief Jim McDonnell sharply countered President Donald Trump’s claims that the city needed National Guard support, emphasizing Wednesday that protests were “nowhere near” that level.

The disagreement between President Donald Trump and California Gov. Gavin Newsom over Trump deploying state National Guard troops to Los Angeles is now being debated in court. We’ll explain how the situation developed and answer some common questions.

The Trump administration has tried to portray the demonstrations in California against its anti-immigrant raids as chaos at a scale worthy of sending in the national guard. The Los Angeles Police chief is pushing back.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom asked the Trump administration to rescind the deployment, saying the federal government was moving to "take over the California National Guard," calling the move "purposefully inflammatory" and saying it will "only escalate tensions."

Anna Commander is a Newsweek Editor and writer based in Florida. Her focus is reporting on crime, weather and breaking news. She has covered weather, and major breaking news events in South Florida.

Gavin Newsom ’s renewed control of the California National Guard didn’t last more than a few hours thanks to a federal appeals court. “The request for an administrative stay is GRANTED,” the court wrote in a short order tonight after the White House and DOJ came up short this afternoon in their bid to maintain a hold on the unrequested and widely seen as unnecessary troop deployment.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom plans to file a lawsuit against the Trump administration early Monday morning over the president’s deployment of 300 National Guard troops to Los Angeles, even as the LAPD chief admitted Sunday his cops “are overwhelmed” by the violent anti-ICE riots taking over the city.

Los Angeles prepares for more ICE raids and protests as the legal dispute intensifies over control of the California National Guard. See live updates below.