Washington DC on Thursday sued to stop Donald Trump’s deployment of national guard troops during the administration’s law enforcement intervention there.
The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, said the hundreds of troops were essentially an “involuntary military occupation”. He argued in the federal lawsuit that the deployment was an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement.
A federal judge in California recently ruled that Trump’s deployment of national guard troops to Los Angeles after days of protests over immigration raids in June had been illegal. The Republican administration is appealing that decision and Trump has said he is ready to order federal intervention in Chicago and Baltimore, despite staunch opposition in those Democratic-led cities.
That ruling, however, does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the guard than in states.
About 2,300 troops from seven states have been deployed in the streets of the US capital since 11 August in a move that Schwalb says exceeds the president’s powers and violates the city’s autonomy, as enshrined in the Home Rule Act.
Schwalb’s suit argues that the forces were placed under Pentagon command and then deputized by the US Marshals Service to perform enforcement roles “in violation of the foundational prohibition on military involvement in local law”.
It also alleges that the government is unlawfully asserting control over state militias, without formally bringing them into federal service, arguing that this amounts to a breach of the constitution and federal law.
Schwalb’s filing further charges that the deployment threatens to erode trust between residents and police, stoke tensions and damage the city’s economy, namely in the restaurant and hospitality sector.
In his 52-page filing, Schwalb said the Washington deployment “run[s] roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy – that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement”.
“Over 2,200 national guard troops from seven states and the District of Columbia are currently patrolling the streets of the District dressed in military fatigues, carrying rifles, and driving armored vehicles,” the complaint states. “The US Department of Defense has directed these troops to conduct core law enforcement activities, including ‘presence patrols’ and ‘community patrols’. The US Department of Justice has also deputized these troops to engage in additional law enforcement activities, including searches, seizures and arrests.
“The residents and leaders of the District of Columbia have not requested any of this.”
By law, Trump’s federal deployment can only last 30 days, meaning it is due to expire on 10 September unless extended by Congress.
It is the second lawsuit Schwalb has filed against the administration since Trump’s declaration of a “crime emergency” in Washington.
The deployment has led to a surge of arrests in the capital and the pressing of serious federal charges for minor offenses that experts say would normally be treated as misdemeanors. In one instance, a grand jury rebuffed the administration by declining to approve a criminal indictment against a man who allegedly threw a sandwich at a law enforcement agent, apparently in protest of the deployment.
Amid vocal doubts that the deployment is really aimed at cracking down on crime, troops have been witnessed raking leaves, picking up litter and clearing homeless camps.
Despite the criticism, Trump has said he plans similar deployments in Chicago and Baltimore, using the DC operation as a template.
