By Holmes Lybrand, CNN
US President Donald Trump and the Department of Defense illegally deployed the National Guard to Washington, a federal judge ruled Thursday.
The Washington attorney general’s office had sued the Trump administration in early September over the deployment of the National Guard to the city, which came as Trump increased the presence of federal forces in the capital.
The administration “exceeded the limits of its authority” in the way it deployed National Guard troops to the city and “acted contrary to the law” by deploying the Washington National Guard “for non-military crime deterrence missions without a request from the city’s civil authorities,” U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb wrote.
However, Cobb delayed his order that would require the National Guard to leave the district, allowing the Trump administration 21 days to file an appeal.
Additionally, Cobb determined that the Trump administration also “lacks legal authority” to bring in National Guard members from other states.
“The court finds that the District’s exercise of sovereign powers within its jurisdiction is irreparably harmed by defendants’ actions in deploying the Guard,” Cobb wrote in his ruling.
Trump and other members of his administration have long touted deploying the National Guard and increasing federal agents in Washington, something they would later do in several cities across the country, many of which have also faced lawsuits. The Government has said that the presence of the National Guard added a significant preventive measure that helped reduce crime in the district.
“President Trump is completely within his legal authority to deploy the National Guard to Washington to protect federal assets and assist law enforcement with specific tasks,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in response to the ruling. “This lawsuit is nothing more than another attempt – to the detriment of Washington residents – to undermine the president’s highly successful operations to stop violent crime in Washington.”
In her ruling, Cobb, an appointee of former President Joe Biden, acknowledged the complexities of the case given “the unique constitutional position of the District of Columbia.”
However, Cobb said that “in essence, Congress has granted the District rights to govern itself. These rights are violated when the defendants approve, exceeding their legal authority, the deployment of National Guard soldiers to the District.”
“From the beginning, we made clear that the US military should not patrol US citizens on US soil,” Washington Attorney General Brian Schwalb said in a statement following the decision.
“This unprecedented federal overreach is neither normal nor legal,” he added. “It is time for the National Guard to return home, to their daily lives, their regular jobs, their families and their children.”
Cobb determined that “the deployments in question involve the daily presence of more than 2,000 National Guard troops,” which the judge noted is equivalent to approximately two-thirds the size of the local police force.
“The court finds no authority in Title 49 of the Washington Code that supports the president’s ability to deploy the Washington National Guard to patrol the District under these circumstances,” Cobb wrote.
“There is also the risk that this incursion becomes permanent, or at least long-lasting, given that a Washington National Guard unit has been created specifically established to perform police tasks in the District,” which, according to the judge, goes against the statutes that govern its deployment.
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This story has been updated with more information.
