Applaud Judge for Blocking Trump’s National Guard Deployment

In a major victory for civil liberties and democratic self-governance, a federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump and the Defense Department illegally deployed the National Guard in Washington, DC — exceeding their authority and violating the rights of DC residents.

Judge Jia Cobb found that the Trump administration “acted contrary to law” when it sent the DC National Guard into the city for non-military, crime-deterrence missions without any request or consent from local authorities. She also ruled that Trump had no statutory authority to deploy out-of-state Guard units, calling the move an unprecedented federal overreach that irreparably harmed the District’s sovereign powers.

At its core, the ruling affirms a fundamental principle: the U.S. military cannot be used to police civilians on American soil at the whim of a president. Judge Cobb’s decision protects the rights of DC residents, limits executive overreach, and warns against the dangerous normalization of military presence in civilian communities.

DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb praised the ruling, saying what the Trump administration did was “not normal, or legal,” and that the Guard members — more than 2,000 of them — must no longer be used as a substitute police force in the nation’s capital.

Add your name to applaud Judge Cobb for defending the rule of law, rejecting Trump’s unlawful use of the military, and standing up for the rights, safety, and self-governance of DC residents.