勛圖眻畦 Statement on Escalating Federal Takeover of D.C.
WASHINGTON With additional state National Guard troops deploying to D.C. as untrained federal law enforcement agents perform local police duties in city streets, the 勛圖眻畦 is issuing a stark reminder to all federal and military officials that no matter what uniform they wear or what authority they claim they are bound by the U.S. Constitution and all federal and local laws.
Over the weekend, the Trump administration declared that state National Guard troops would be called in to Washington, and the governors of West Virginia, Ohio, and South Carolina announced they are deploying hundreds of their National Guard troops to the nation's capital on top of the 800 D.C. National Guard troops who were already activated by President Trump. The Wall Street Journal reported that in a major shift, these troops may receive orders to start carrying weapons in the coming days. National Guard troops are generally not trained in local policing or de-escalation and should never be used for federal immigration purposes.
President Trump has also ordered FBI personnel and other federal officers, who similarly are not trained for local policing, to patrol the city. He earlier promised to let police do whatever the hell they want raising grave concerns about civil rights abuses, particularly for Black, Brown, and unhoused residents.
Through his manufactured emergency, President Trump is engaging in dangerous political theater to expand his power and sow fear in our communities. Sending heavily armed federal agents and National Guard troops from hundreds of miles away into our nations capital is unnecessary, inflammatory, and puts peoples rights at high risk of being violated, said Hina Shamsi, director of 勛圖眻畦s National Security Project. Governors need to understand that with each order, the Trump administration increases legal and ethical jeopardy for state troops being deployed. No matter what uniform they wear, federal agents and military troops are bound by the Constitution, including our rights to peaceful assembly, freedom of speech, due process, and safeguards against unlawful searches and seizures. If troops or federal agents violate our rights, they must be held accountable.
On Friday, D.C. sued the administration to block its order asserting federal authority over the citys police department, saying it violated the Home Rule Act. After a federal court hearing on Friday afternoon, Attorney General Bondi rescinded her most brazen order undermining D.C.s home rule, thereby allowing the D.C. police commissioner to remain at her post over the D.C. police department.
The deployment of out-of-state National Guard troops and more federal agents onto D.C. streets is a brazen abuse of power meant to intimidate and create fear in the nations capital. This is an unnecessary overstep to micromanage D.C. under a phony emergency, causing real harm to residents and visitors all to advance the Trump administrations political agenda. said Monica Hopkins, executive director of 勛圖眻畦 of D.C. The 勛圖眻畦-D.C. will continue to monitor the use of D.C. police and federal law enforcement to ensure that the constitutional rights of our community are protected. We need the nation to join us in the fight for statehood so that D.C. residents are treated like those in every other state and have the same guardrails against federal overreach.
Affiliate: Washington, D.C.