DC Sues Trump Admin Seeking to Stop National Guard Deployment

WASHINGTON—The District of Columbia sued the Trump administration on Sept. 4 over its deployment of the National Guard to the nation’s capital.

The lawsuit alleges that the deployment violates the district’s semi-sovereign status known as Home Rule, whereby the city has jurisdiction over its own affairs but Congress can override its decisions.

“In so doing, [President Donald Trump] has run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy—that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement,” the lawsuit states.

The lawsuit also claims that using the National Guard from other states in the nation’s capital is a violation of the Constitution and federal law.

“That is because the Constitution and federal law reserve to the states the authority to command National Guard forces unless and until they have been placed into active federal service,” it states. “The president has not federalized any of the out-of-state forces he has foisted on the District. The federal government therefore may not lawfully command them or control their day-to-day operations, as it is doing here.”

Additionally, the lawsuit states that the deployment goes against the Posse Comitatus Act, which restricts the use of the military for law enforcement purposes.

In a statement to The Epoch Times, the White House criticized the lawsuit and defended the deployment of the National Guard.

“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,” White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson said. “This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt—at the detriment of DC residents and visitors—to undermine the President’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in DC.”

National Guard troops have been assisting law enforcement in the District of Columbia since Trump mobilized them on Aug. 11. National Guard personnel do not have the authority to arrest people but can detain them until law enforcement arrives.

Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to the nation’s capital coincided with his declaration of a crime emergency in the city, as he ordered federal control over the Metropolitan Police Department.

“These unprecedented, unlawful actions have subjected the District to serious and irreparable harm,” the lawsuit states.

Despite the lawsuit against the administration, District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser signed an executive order on Sept. 2 approving the Metropolitan Police Department’s continued work with federal law enforcement.

The lawsuit comes as a federal judge ruled this week that the Trump administration violated the law by sending the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles in response to riots in June.