Court rules National Guard may remain in D.C. for now

Dec. 5 (UPI) -- National Guard troops stationed in Washington, D.C., as part of President Donald Trump's crime crackdown may remain for now, a federal appeals court ruled, blocking a lower court ruling that said their deployment was a federal overreach.

The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued its brief ruling Thursday.

"The purpose of this administrative stay is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the motion for stay pending appeal and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that motion," the three-judge panel, including two appointed by Trump, said in the ruling.

Following months of threats to crack down on crime in the nation's capital and despite pushback from local leaders, Trump deployed some 2,200 National Guard troops from seven states and the District of Columbia to Washington, D.C., that have been patrolling its streets since Aug. 11.

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In early September, Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit accusing the Trump administration of illegally deploying the troops to the city, arguing it exceeded federal authority, circumvented local leadership and violated rules on the use of the military.

On Nov. 20, the court agreed with the city, saying the Department of Defense was exceeding the bounds of its authority to deploy the National Guard for non-military, crime deterrence missions and to request assistance from out-of-state National Guards.

"The court finds that the district's exercise of sovereign powers within its jurisdiction is irreparably harmed by defendants' actions in deploying the guard, and that the balance of equities and public interest weigh in the district's favor," Judge Jia Cobb, a President Joe Biden appointee, said in her ruling.

Since June, Trump has been deploying the National Guard to mostly Democrat-led cities, including Los Angeles, Calif. and Memphis, Tenn., while efforts to do so in Chicago, Ill., and Portland, Ore., have been blocked by the courts.

The administration argues that deployments further a public safety and security campaign aimed at curbing crime and protecting federal agents who are assisting local law enforcement during protests against Trump's immigration policies.

Critics and Democrats have rebutted that the move is an unconstitutional militarization of U.S. cities that instills fear in residents, undermines public safety and chills speech.

Last month, after two National Guard members were shot in D.C., Trump ordered 500 more troops to be deployed to the nation's capital.