WASHINGTON — The city of Washington has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the military over the deployment of the National Guard in the nation’s capital.
Trump, the suit says, “has run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy — that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement.”
The suit follows a ruling from a federal judge in California this week who found that the Trump administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement activities.
The suit was filed by Washington’s elected attorney general, Brian Schwalb, a Democrat, whose office represents the city of Washington in court and prosecutes some minor crimes as well as crimes committed by juveniles. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, headed by Jeanine Pirro, prosecutes most crimes in the district.
In a statement, Schwalb said that deploying the National Guard for law enforcement purposes was “unnecessary and unwanted” and “dangerous and harmful” to the city’s 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,” Schwalb said. “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 says that the government’s “unprecedented, unlawful actions” have caused “irreparable harm” by infringing on the city’s right to self-governance, fueling distrust toward local law enforcement, and depressing business and tourism.
Trump has talked about sending troops to cities such as Chicago, New Orleans and Baltimore.
The military presence in Washington has been accompanied by a massive presence of federal law enforcement officers, who are often playing an assistance role and trailing behind other law enforcement agencies with jurisdiction in the city.
Mayor Muriel Bowser, who has treaded carefully with the Trump administration and pointed out the vulnerability of the city to acts by the federal government, has said the presence of National Guard troops is “not working” but credited the Trump administration’s surge with bringing down crime.
In response to a question about the lawsuit, Bowser said that her focus was on "planning for the exit out of the emergency next week," referring to the 30-day period under the Home Rule Act. Trump would be required to get congressional approval to extend the emergency beyond that.
The case has been assigned to Judge Jia M. Cobb.
