Published: 11:52pm, 4 Sep 2025Updated: 12:36am, 5 Sep 2025
The District of Columbia on Thursday sued to stop President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard during his law enforcement intervention in Washington.
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The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, said the surge of troops essentially amounts to an “involuntary military occupation”.
He argued in the federal lawsuit that the deployment, coinciding with an executive order on August 11, that now involves more than 1,000 troops, is 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 was 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 Democrat-led cities.
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That court ruling, however, does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the Guard than in states.
The White House did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on the new lawsuit.