US president Donald Trump unlawfully ordered National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, a federal judge ruled on Friday in a legal setback to the administration’s use of the military in American cities.
The ruling by US district judge Karin Immergut is the first to permanently block Mr Trump’s use of military force to quell protests against immigration authorities.
Mr Trump is also attempting to do that in Democratic-led Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, DC.
The ruling replaces her interim order that had prevented the Portland deployment.
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White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement on Friday that Mr Trump had exercised his lawful authority to protect federal officers.
“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court,” Ms Jackson said.
Judge Immergut, a Trump appointee, said the administration had no lawful basis to claim that there was a rebellion in Portland or that the government was unable to enforce federal law due to the protests.
“The occasional interference to federal officers has been minimal, and there is no evidence that these small-scale protests have significantly impeded the execution of any immigration laws,” she said in her 106-page opinion and order.
Mr Trump’s attempts to use military force to tamp down unrest are a sharp break with long-standing but rarely tested norms against deploying troops on US soil.
The Trump administration is likely to appeal Friday’s ruling, and the case could ultimately reach the supreme court.
The City of Portland and Oregon Attorney General’s Office sued in September, alleging the Trump administration was exaggerating occasional violence to justify sending in troops under a law permitting presidents to do so in cases of rebellion. – Reuters
