BREAKING: DC AG sues Trump admin over deployment of National Guard to city

Attorney General for the District of Columbia Brian Schwalb has filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over the deployment of National Guard troops into DC to assist in cracking down on crime. Schwalb said the deployments "amount to an involuntary military occupation."

Schwalb said in a statement, "Deploying the National Guard to engage in law enforcement is not only unnecessary and unwanted, but it is also dangerous and harmful to the District and its residents. No American city should have the US military – particularly out-of-state military who are not accountable to the residents and untrained in local law enforcement – policing its streets. It’s DC today but could be any other city tomorrow. We’ve filed this action to put an end to this illegal federal overreach."

The suit alleges that the trump administration is violating the Constitution and federal law by "illegally using the military for law enforcement purposes," "authorizing the National Guard to police the District without the District’s consent," and "illegally asserting federal command and control over National Guard troops that are in state militia status." This comes as over 2,200 National Guard troops have been sent to the nation’s capital to assist in cracking down on crime. 

The suit noted that of those states that sent National Guard troops to DC, such as South Dakota, Mississippi, and Louisiana, "most of the states that sent their troops into the District are home to cities presently reporting comparable or higher rates of violent crime than the District, including: Cleveland, Dayton, and Toledo, Ohio; Memphis and Nashville, Tennessee; Shreveport, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; North Charleston, South Carolina; and Sioux Falls, South Dakota."

"The District has suffered a severe and irreparable sovereign injury from the deployment of National Guard units to perform law enforcement activities throughout the District. In particular, the deployments have infringed on the District’s sovereign authority, granted by the Home Rule Act, to determine how best to police the District and protect public safety. The deployment has also impaired the District’s sovereign right to determine when to permit out-of-state National Guard troops to enter the District and furnish assistance to local law enforcement."

The suit later added, "Defendants’ order that the National Guard troops patrolling District communities carry service weapons only exacerbates the harm to residents. History carries somber reminders of the risks involved when armed National Guardsmen are deployed among civilians. In 1970, for instance, Ohio National Guard troops opened fire on students protesting at Kent State University, killing four and wounding nine."