Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed an amicus brief in support of D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful deployment of National Guard troops to the District of Columbia.
Nessel joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in asserting that the deployment of National Guard troops without the consent of D.C. is unlawful, unconstitutional, and undemocratic.
In the brief, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition urge the District Court for the District of Columbia to grant a preliminary injunction and make clear that the Constitution prohibits the use of soldiers as local law enforcement.
“President Trump has made it clear that he plans to illegally deploy the National Guard to states across the country,” Nessel said. “Such actions blatantly violate the Constitution. The National Guard is not a police force and should not be used as a political tool against the American people. I stand with the District of Columbia in defending the rule of law that protects all of our communities.”
For more than three months, federalized California National Guard troops have been deployed in California’s communities.
Nessel and the coalition argue that:
• Using the military for local law enforcement, as the President has done in the District, upsets the careful balance between civilian and military authority set forth in the Constitution.
• The deployment of National Guard troops infringes on the police powers reserved to States and localities. The Constitution establishes a federal government of limited, enumerated powers — general police power is not among them.
• National Guard troops are not prepared to engage in civilian law enforcement, lacking training in criminal procedure, civil rights, criminal investigation, and de-escalation. This introduces complications
and dangers to both the public and the troops engaging with them.
• States need the National Guard to be available for vital natural disaster and security functions.
Nessel joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai?i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in filing the brief.
Nessel joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in asserting that the deployment of National Guard troops without the consent of D.C. is unlawful, unconstitutional, and undemocratic.
In the brief, Attorney General Nessel and the coalition urge the District Court for the District of Columbia to grant a preliminary injunction and make clear that the Constitution prohibits the use of soldiers as local law enforcement.
“President Trump has made it clear that he plans to illegally deploy the National Guard to states across the country,” Nessel said. “Such actions blatantly violate the Constitution. The National Guard is not a police force and should not be used as a political tool against the American people. I stand with the District of Columbia in defending the rule of law that protects all of our communities.”
For more than three months, federalized California National Guard troops have been deployed in California’s communities.
Nessel and the coalition argue that:
• Using the military for local law enforcement, as the President has done in the District, upsets the careful balance between civilian and military authority set forth in the Constitution.
• The deployment of National Guard troops infringes on the police powers reserved to States and localities. The Constitution establishes a federal government of limited, enumerated powers — general police power is not among them.
• National Guard troops are not prepared to engage in civilian law enforcement, lacking training in criminal procedure, civil rights, criminal investigation, and de-escalation. This introduces complications
and dangers to both the public and the troops engaging with them.
• States need the National Guard to be available for vital natural disaster and security functions.
Nessel joins the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawai?i, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in filing the brief.
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