Oregon filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its deployment of the National Guard to Portland.
President Donald Trump directed DHS and the Defense Department to send in the troops to protect federal property “from attack[s] by Antifa and other domestic terrorists.”
Defendants’ deployment of troops to Oregon is patently unlawful. Because their stated basis for federalizing members of Oregon’s National Guard is patently pretextual and baseless, Defendants cannot satisfy any of the three perquisites for involuntarily federalizing a state’s National Guard under 10 U.S.C. § 12406. Defendants’ purpose in federalizing those troops—to integrate them into federal law enforcement activities in Portland—also violates the Posse Comitatus Act.Additionally, Defendants’ actions violate the Tenth Amendment’s guarantee that the police power—including the authority to promote safety at protests and deter violent crime—resides with the states, not the federal government. And by singling out a particular disfavored jurisdiction for political retribution, these actions also eviscerate the constitutional principle that the states’ sovereignty should be treated equally.
Yes, Oregon invoked the Posse Comitatus Act, which other states and D.C have used.
Congress passed the Posse Comitatus Act in 1878, preventing the government from using the military to enforce domestic law.
“Oregon communities are stable, and our local officials have been clear: we have the capacity to manage public safety without federal interference,” stated Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield. “Sending in 200 National Guard troops to guard a single building is not normal.”
Rayfield also claimed the deployment is “about the President flexing political muscle under the guise of law and order.”
The politicians filed the lawsuit after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told them that National Guard troops would protect federal property only “where protests are occurring or likely to occur.”
Trump announced on Saturday:
At the request of Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, I am directing Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, to provide all necessary Troops to protect War ravaged Portland, and any of our ICE Facilities under siege from attack by Antifa, and other domestic terrorists. I am also authorizing Full Force, if necessary. Thank you for your attention to this matter!
Portland has been a mess for years.
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