‘A military occupation’: District of Columbia sues over Trump’s National Guard deployment

National Guard troops patrol the grounds of the Washington Monument with the Capitol seen in the distance as part of President Donald Trump's order to impose federal law enforcement in the nation's capital, in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
National Guard troops patrol the grounds of the Washington Monument with the Capitol seen in the distance as part of President Donald Trump's order to impose federal law enforcement in the nation's capital, in Washington, Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The District of Columbia sues to stop US President Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard during his law enforcement intervention in Washington.

The city’s attorney general, Brian Schwalb, says the surge of troops essentially amounts to an “involuntary military occupation.” He argues in the federal lawsuit that the deployment coinciding with an executive order Aug. 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. That court ruling, however, does not directly apply to Washington, where the president has more control over the Guard than in states.

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