By Hannah Saunders

Trump is using protests against ICE and DHS as an excuse to deploy National Guard members to wreak havoc on civilians, with Los Angeles taking the brunt of the violence in June, followed by thousands of troops from eight states making their presence known on the streets of Washington D.C. With recent National Guard placements in Portland and Chicago, a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors filed a brief in the US Court of Appeals for Seventh Circuit to cease these military missions without permission from state governors.

“Every state, red and blue, should be pushing back against the president’s illegal use of the military to intimidate Americans,” Washington’s Attorney General Nick Brown said. “It’s terrible that we have to spend this much time protecting Americans from their own president, but there is no other option with so much at stake for our future.”

On September 30, Trump expressed his desire to “use some of these dangerous cities,” primarily “the ones that are run by the radical left Democrats,”as “training grounds for our military National Guard,” and said “we’re going to straighten them out one by one.” The following week, Trump federalized and deployed about 500 National Guard members from Texas and Illinois into Chicago.

“President Trump’s invocation of 10 U.S.C. § 12406 to deploy armed National Guard soldiers and entangle them in protests- over the objection of Illinois’s Governor- is a stunning break from law and tradition,” according to the brief.

The brief noted how Congress formed the National Guard in the early 1900’s as the successor of the state militia, and outlined situations when it could be federalized and deployed. The National Guard has been activated to respond to armed uprisings, like the 1974 Whiskey Rebellion and the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

But when these National Guard members were deployed, they supported local resources as sought out by governors and mayors, rather than disrupting peace in communities, in part, by taking over duties of state and local law enforcement officials. But the brief highlighted how Trump’s growing mishandling of the National Guard creates a concentration of power that the country’s founding fathers feared.

“The Administration initially purported to justify its federalization of California National Guard elements as a response to protests in Los Angeles in June. But federalized California National Guard members were soon deployed to assist drug enforcement raids more than 140 miles away,” according to the brief. “Now, months after the Los Angeles protests, hundreds of California National Guard members remain in federalized status, and the Administration has sent many of these members to support broad operations in Oregon, with some sent to conduct training in Illinois.”

Not only does the deployment of military troops in US cities shatter public safety and trust, but it also harms state economies, and heightens conflict within communities since National Guard members are trained in physical fighting. Concerns of state sovereignty and authority come into play, and stripping these troops from their basic duties creates gaps in emergency responses where their skills are required.

“The Constitution and governing law protect Illinois, and indeed all States, from these injuries that result when “lethal” soldiers are sent into American communities,” according to the brief. “Unless Defendants are checked by the rule of law, the President will, in his own words, send the military to yet more cities in Amici States “one by one” to “straighten them out.”

While National Guard troops are in Portland and Chicago, they are allegedly not conducting operational activities, although service members in Chicago have been activated for 60 days. The coalition that drafted this brief is asking the court to deny Trump’s request for a broad stay pending appeal and to uphold the Constitution.