Legal setback for Trump sending troops into US cities
President Donald Trump ordered the illegal deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon; A federal judge has ruled that the administration is legally barred from using the military in American cities.
U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut’s ruling was the first to permanently block Trump from using military force to quell protests against immigration officials. Trump is also trying to do so in Democratic-led Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington DC. It replaces Portland’s temporary order that prevented the deployment.
Immergut, a Trump appointee, rejected the administration’s claim that protesters at the immigration detention center had started a riot that legally justified sending in troops.
Trump’s attempts to use military force to quell unrest represent a sharp break from longstanding but rarely tested norms against deploying troops on U.S. soil.
The Trump administration is likely to appeal Friday’s ruling, and the case could ultimately go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The City of Portland and the Oregon Attorney General’s Office filed a lawsuit in September alleging the Trump administration occasionally exaggerated violence to justify sending in troops under a law that allows presidents to send in troops in cases of riots.
Accounts of dueling emerged during the three-day trial. Justice Department lawyers echoed Trump’s description of the city as “war-torn” and said a violent siege overwhelmed federal agents.
“For months, agitators have used violence and threatened violence against the men and women who serve our country,” attorney Eric Hamilton said at the hearing. he said.
Lawyers for Oregon and Portland said the violence was rare, isolated and contained by local police.
“This case is about whether we have constitutional law or martial law,” said Portland attorney Caroline Turco.
A Reuters review of court records found that at least 32 people have been charged with federal crimes since the Portland protests began in June.
Of the 32 people charged, 11 pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and those convicted were given probation. A protester who threw a knife at a police officer and missed has pleaded guilty to intimidation and could face up to 20 years in prison.
Nearly half of the defendants were charged with assaulting federal officers, 14 of which were felonies and 7 were misdemeanors. Prosecutors dismissed two cases without explanation.
Charging documents describe protesters kicking and pushing officers, often resisting arrest. Prosecutors say they also spat at police officers and threw rocks, water bottles and kitchen knives. Photos show the officers’ scrapes, cuts and other minor injuries.
Democrats said Trump was abusing military powers for real emergencies such as invasion or armed rebellion.
Immergut had blocked Trump from sending troops to Portland with a temporary order on October 5.
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is considering the Trump administration’s appeal of that decision.
Three judges, including Immergut, issued preliminary rulings that Trump’s National Guard deployment was not authorized under his administration’s stated emergency legal authority.
