Weeks after the National Guard’s Deployment in the city, Washington, D.C., on Thursday, filed a federal lawsuit against President Trump’s administration, accusing the deployment of violating both the Constitution and federal law.
The lawsuit marks a direct challenge to President Donald Trump’s recent decision to send armed military personnel into DC streets, an action his administration claims is necessary to “restore law, order, and public safety.” He called it a “crime emergency.”
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The city argues that the deployment is no short of an illegal military occupation that undermines local authority and democratic rights.
Filed in federal court, the suit seeks an immediate injunction to block further deployment of troops. This comes after Trump warned that he’s considering deployments to other US cities, including Chicago, prompting fierce push-back from Democratic state and local leaders.
“The deployment of National Guard troops to police District streets without the District’s consent infringes on its sovereignty and right to self-governance,” the city’s lawyers wrote in the complaint.
“The deployment also risks inflaming tensions and fueling distrust toward local law enforcement,” he added.
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The White House and Justice Department didn’t immediately respond to requests to comment.
It’s the second lawsuit DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb has filed challenging Trump’s push to federalise policing in the city.
The litigation could also lead to another judicial rebuke of Trump’s attempt to broaden the role of the military on US soil, following a ruling this week that his use of troops to fight crime in California was unlawful.
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Trump announced last month that he would deploy National Guard troops to Washington and invoked the city’s home rule charter to temporarily take over the Metropolitan Police Department.
He declared a “crime emergency,” even though statistics maintained by the Justice Department, as well as the city, show that crime rates have dramatically fallen in the past year.
