Federal Judge Orders End To National Guard In DC

Authored by Stuart Liess via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

A federal Judge has ordered a halt to the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard in Washington, following months of keeping watch in the city.

U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled on Nov. 20 that the National Guard deployment, which had been there since August, was disrupting the capital’s ability to self-govern.

The lawsuit, filed by the District of Columbia, argues that the Trump administration has exceeded its authority in deploying military forces for civil matters without the city’s request and, secondly, questions their use of troops from other states.

District of Columbia Attorney General Brian Schwalb applauded the ruling as a “victory for DC, Home Rule, and American Democracy.”

“The U.S. military should not police American citizens on American soil,” he posted in a statement on X.

The court has given the Trump administration until Dec. 11 to end the deployment, allowing them time to appeal.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “President Trump is well within his lawful authority to deploy the National Guard in Washington, D.C., to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement with specific tasks.”

On Aug. 11, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum deploying over 2,000 National Guard troops to the nation’s Capitol, declaring a national emergency, following a series of attacks on government staffers.

In his memorandum, Trump described Washington as having “a violent crime rate that is higher than some of the most dangerous places in the world.”

The National Guard is a reserve army unit that operates in each state and is usually under the governor’s command, generally serving during natural disasters and in military service abroad.

They have been called upon in recent years to serve more domestic roles, like assisting border control forces at the U.S. southern border or during the Black Lives Matter Riots in 2020.

What makes Washington unique is that it lies directly under the president’s jurisdiction; therefore, he has direct control over the city’s use of the National Guard, but deployment from other states usually would require each governor’s approval, unless in a state of emergency.

Trump has been targeting various cities with high crime statistics over the year, looking to send the National Guard to clean them up.

On Sept. 15, Trump signed an order with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to set up a task force, combining the National Guard with FBI, drug enforcement, and immigration authorities, to send to Memphis to clean up its historic levels of violent crime.

On Nov. 17, a Tennessee judge ruled that the state’s deployment of the National Guard violates the state’s military code, after Democrat Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris filed a lawsuit. Lee is currently appealing.

Support for Trump’s use of the National Guard across various cities in the United States runs along party lines, with Republicans in support and Democrats strongly against.

The Department of Justice is currently appealing a Nov. 16 district ruling that blocked the deployment of the National Guard to protect a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) building in Portland, Oregon.

Illinois is also in strong opposition to National Guard deployment in Chicago, with an appeal over a judge’s block currently being weighed by the Supreme Court.

Matthew Vadumn and The Associated Press contributed to this report.