A federal judge has declared the deployment of the National Guard in the US capital Washington to be unlawful. The authorities exceeded the limits of their legal authority, wrote Judge Jia Cobb.
The government of US President Donald Trump was not allowed to activate the capital’s unity without the express request of the local authorities. In addition, she should not have ordered National Guardsmen from other states to Washington for police purposes, the order continued.
Cobb ordered the National Guard deployment to end, but suspended her decision for three weeks to allow the Trump administration to appeal. The order will therefore remain in force until December 11th.
The National Guard is actually only used in exceptional cases
The National Guards are military reserve units and part of the US armed forces. They are normally under the control of the federal states and are used in natural disasters, riots or other emergencies. In certain situations, however, the US President can also take command. There are special rules for Washington.
Trump summoned them to Washington in August and justified their mobilization with alleged rampant crime. Crime statistics do not support this narrative. The city took legal action against the operation. In her order, Cobb described how National Guardsmen were present at monuments, in subway stations and in residential areas of the capital.
Warning about Trump’s authoritarian style of government
According to media reports, around 2,300 National Guard troops are currently deployed in Washington. According to Cobb, they are expected to remain in the city until the end of February 2026. According to CNN, the costs for this are estimated at around one million dollars (867,100 euros) per day.
Trump also had National Guardsmen patrolling other cities. Critics warn that he is using the troops as a testing ground for an increasingly authoritarian style of government. Several legal proceedings are ongoing because of the operations.
