US judge orders end to Trump’s deployment of troops in Washington, DC

A federal judge in the United States has ordered the Trump administration to halt its National Guard troop deployment to Washington, DC, a turning-back in the president’s efforts to expand military presence in major cities.

In response to a lawsuit brought by city officials alleging that Trump had used the military for domestic law enforcement, US District Judge Jia Cobb on Thursday temporarily suspended the deployment.

Recommended Stories

list of 3 itemsend of list

In Washington, DC, the federal government has special authority. Despite frequent protests from state and local officials and a lack of any emergency circumstances, the Trump administration has chosen to deploy soldiers in a growing list of Democrat-led cities.

Cobb gave the Trump administration 21 days to appeal the order before it goes into effect, saying in her decision that the president was unable to deploy soldiers for “whatever reason” he wanted.

The lawsuit that criticized the military deployment as a “frivolous stunt” was criticized by the government’s lawyers.

According to Department of Justice attorneys, “There is no reasonable reason for an injunction unwinding this arrangement now, especially given that the District’s claims have no merit.”

In an effort to combat crime and detain undocumented immigrants, Trump has also deployed troops to cities like Los Angeles, California, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago, Illinois.

Residents and civil liberties organizations have documented racial profiling and widespread rights violations by federal agents during those crackdowns, which some US citizens have been swept up in.

Trump has threatened to detain local and state officials who object to his military deployment.

According to Washington, DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb, US democracy would “never be the same if these occupations are allowed to continue.”