UPDATED: Judge Rules Trump Can't Dispatch Guard to Illinois, Feds Already Have Appeal Rejected
Attorney General Kwame Raoul speaks to reporters Thursday after a federal judge ruled the Trump administration’s troop deployment to Chicago was unlawful. (Photo: Chicago Tribune)
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A U.S. District Court Judge in Chicago Thursday afternoon granted a request from state of Illinois and Chicago city officials to block the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to Illinois.
As of late Thursday night, the Trump administration had already appealed the issue to the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals.
U.S. District Judge April Perry ruled from the bench Thursday that she was granting a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) alleging the Trump administration’s “perception of events” around Chicago “are simply unreliable.”
The TRO bans the Trump administration from deploying federalized National Guard troops in Illinois. It is good for two weeks.
Governor JB Pritzker, in a tweet after the ruling, said the ruling showed the Trump administration is not above the law.
“Today, the court confirmed what we all know: there is no credible evidence of a rebellion in the state of Illinois,” he wrote. “And no place for the National Guard in the streets of American cities like Chicago.”
In a statement, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, who represented the state in the case, called the ruling a “victory for the rule of law.
“The administration has provided no lawful explanation for its deployment of federal troops, and none exists. It’s clear that this attempted occupation within the state of Illinois is driven by political animus and not because federal officials are unable to protect federal property or enforce federal law.
“The president does not have the unfettered discretion to turn America’s military against its own citizens when they exercise their constitutional rights. I am absolutely committed to upholding the Constitution and defending the rule of law, and I will continue to fight back against this unlawful attack on our state’s sovereignty.”
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, one of the architects, criticized Judge Perry on Twitter late Thursday for her ruling.
“A federal judge seems not to know that federal troops come from many different states,” he wrote. “They are, again, federal troops on a federal protective mission.”
The question that few Illinois elected officials have the answer to is “what happens next?” Many media sources have speculated the court ruling could spur President Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act, which would give him broader authority to send active duty troops into American cities, but it isn’t clear yet if or when he may.
UPDATE: The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals based in Chicago denied the Trump administration’s motion to stay Judge Perry’s order. The court says troops may not be deployed, can still be federalized and present in Illinois. They just can’t do anything while the courts sort it out.
