Utah Gov. Spencer Cox told reporters on Tuesday he’s “grateful” President Donald Trump has activated the California National Guard and sent Marines to Los Angeles to tamp down on protests — a move Trump made without California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s consent.

“I’m sympathetic to a president who wants to make sure that we’re protecting lives and property and doing everything possible to make that happen,” Cox said during his monthly PBS Utah news conference.

Newsom and other Democrats have called the deployment of National Guard troops a violation of state sovereignty — with Newsom and California Attorney General Rob Bonta filing a lawsuit Monday challenging it as a violation of states’ rights for not first conferring with the state before mobilizing the National Guard.

Acknowledging that lawsuit, Cox — who leads a Republican-controlled state where leaders often decry federal overreach — said the U.S. Constitution and federal law “clearly states that the federal government does have the ability” to deploy National Guard troops on states.

“I do think it is legal for the president to do that — whether it’s wise or not,” Cox said. “When things get out of control, somebody has to stop it. And so I’m grateful that we have a president who is willing to act to help stop that.”

However, Cox also added that “as a states’ rights person” he doesn’t “love that.”

“I wish the Constitution didn’t say that, and I wish that federal law doesn’t say that, but it does say that,” he said. “And so that always is an option.”

The real debate, Cox said, is over whether California needed the president to call the troops in. Cox said his take is “they probably do need it.”

“Again, I’ve seen the videos. The damage that’s being done is unconscionable,” Cox said. “We just can’t have that in a civil society.”

The protests of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents’ activity in Los Angeles sparked a weekend of conflict between protesters and federal agents downtown and in nearby Paramount, California. It also ratcheted up fighting between Trump and Newsom, with Trump calling Newsom “grossly incompetent” and saying White House border czar Tom Homan should arrest him.

Tensions in Los Angeles rose over the weekend as ICE protesters faced off with police officers, who fired dozens of rubber bullet rounds attempting to disperse people in the streets surrounding the 300 North Los Angeles Federal Building. Some clashes turned violent. At least two self-driving vehicles were set on fire near the protest. Videos of protesters throwing rocks at police vehicles quickly spread online.

On Tuesday, Cox told reporters he has “lots of concerns” about what’s happening in California.

“You’ve seen the videos. You’ve seen what’s happening out there, the riots, the chaos that is ensuing,” Cox said, comparing it to protests that occurred in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis sparked widespread protests, including in Salt Lake City.

Cox said people should be free to protest, but violent acts “should not be happening.”

The governor also gave a preemptive warning to anyone protesting in Utah.

“We will not allow that type of rioting to happen here in Utah, here in our capital city or anywhere else, and we’ll be prepared to make sure that doesn’t happen,” he said.

Cox added that he wants Utah to “be the best place in the United States to protest.”

“I want to do everything possible to protect the rights of those who want to protest,” he said, noting that Utah has had some recent protests and expects to see more this weekend. “I think that’s wonderful. That’s also part of the Constitution — the ability for people to show up and express their views and do so publicly, the right to assemble.”

However, the governor said he also wants Utah to be the “worst possible place to riot.”

“The minute you start to spray paint the Capitol, the second you … implement violence or property destruction, we will arrest you and we will hold you accountable, and we will break up the disturbance that’s happening,” he said.

Among the protests planned in Utah is a “No Kings” rally as part of a national movement to demonstrate against Trump’s multimillion-dollar military parade planned in Washington, D.C. this Saturday, meant to honor the 250th birthday of the Army and Trump’s 79th birthday.

Cox said Utah leaders will be “over prepared” to quickly quell any protests that turn violent or destructive.

“Just a word of warning to anybody who is thinking about any type of violence or chaos or property damage or vandalism, it will not happen here and you will be held accountable,” Cox said. “If you want to protest, this is a great place to protest. If you want to (be violent or destructive), go to California.”

Earlier in the day Tuesday, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall also urged for peaceful protest during a Juneteenth flag-raising ceremony at City Hall. She said exercise of free speech is welcome, but “violence and destruction will not be tolerated to any extent in Salt Lake City,” The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Mendenhall also echoed comments from Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, the outlet reported: “Don’t take the bait of the Trump administration. Protest peacefully.”

Asked whether he has been contacted by the Trump administration about sending Utah National Guard troops to California or any other state, Cox said, “We haven’t heard from the administration about sending Guard troops anywhere.”

However, Cox said “we have had conversations” about providing troops for “logistics help” for processing and transporting undocumented immigrants to a holding facility in Nevada, which is the closest one to Utah.

Cox said Utah troops are not “going hands on, not being a part of anything that ICE is doing,” but “there has been a request for help” from states and their national guards to help process and transport undocumented immigrants. “They can use training hours for some of those types of things as well,” Cox said. “So those are the conversations that are ongoing, but we don’t have any requests for anything else.”

Pressed on whether Cox would send troops if the Trump administration did ask for the Utah National Guard to be deployed for immigration enforcement in other states, the governor gave a noncommittal answer.

“We would have to look at the situation and consider what’s happening in other states and if that’s a good use of our resources,” he said.

Utah News Dispatch is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.