DC sues Trump administration to halt National Guard deployment
WASHINGTON – The city government in the nation’s capital sued the Trump administration over the deployment of National Guard troops , with Washington, DC officials alleging the president has "run roughshod" over the principle that the military shouldn't be involved in law enforcement.
DC asked a federal judge to block President Donald Trump 's deployment of 2,200 troops by arguing it is unconstitutional and violates federal law.
“The forced military occupation of the District of Columbia violates our local autonomy and basic freedoms,” DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb said on social media . “It must end.”
The case could help redefine how National Guard troops can be deployed to help fight crime and quell disturbances. Trump has also threatened to send troops to Chicago and New Orleans.
But a federal judge in California ruled that Trump's use of National Guard troops and Marines in Los Angeles was unlawful. Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called the threatened move in his city "tyranny."
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on social media Sept. 4 the deployment that began in June and continues with 300 troops has cost more than $100 million “going down the drain.”
The dispute deals with the 1878 Posse Comitatus Act – and its prohibition against the military serving in domestic law enforcement. But DC is unique as the seat of federal government , where Trump controls the National Guard and has ordered the deployment. Trump has also taken over direction of the DC Metropolitan Police Department .
The president contends the deployment is helping make DC, which he called a “filthy and crimeridden embarrassment," more safe. The White House has promoted a reduction in crime since the Aug. 11 deployment.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said on social media that 1,841 people had been arrested and 188 guns seized since the federal takeover began.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said the president was within his lawful authority to deploy troops to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement.
“This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt - at the detriment of D.C. residents and visitors - to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in D.C.,” Jackson said in a statement.
DC Mayor Muriel Bowser referred questions about the lawsuit to the attorney general and said she is focused on ending the 30-day emergency order that Trump signed Aug. 11 to deploy the National Guard and take greater oversight of the police.
With the expiration looming, Bowser signed an order Sept. 2 requiring local coordination with federal law enforcement “to the maximum extent allowable by law within the District.”
“What's fair to say is my 100% focus is on exiting the emergency, and that's where all of our energies are,” Bowser told reporters Sept. 4.
The lawsuit said Trump's wielding the military for law enforcement infringes on the city’s ability to govern itself under the 1973 Home Rule Act.
"In so doing, he has run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy − that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement," the lawsuit said. “The danger that such an operation poses to individual liberty and democratic rule is self-evident."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DC sues to halt Trump's National Guard deployment in capital
