President Donald Trump may deploy the Oregon National Guard into Portland, despite objections by local officials, a federal appeals court said Monday.
A divided three-judge panel on the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the administration, claiming Trump “lawfully exercised his statutory authority” when he attempted to deploy the Guard to the city amid anti-immigration raid protests.
On the panel, two Trump-appointed judges agreed the administration relied on evidence that fell “‘within a range of honest judgement’” to determine the National Guard was needed to execute the laws of the United States.
In September, Trump attempted to federalize 200 members of the Oregon National Guard to protect federal agents that he sent into the city, claiming Portland was “war ravaged” and “under seige from attack by Antifa.”
State and local officials have disputed Trump’s characterization of Portland. A district court judge sided with those officials earlier this month, when she temporarily halted the administration from deploying the National Guard.
The district court judge said the president did not have a legitimate argument to deploy the Oregon National Guard, saying protests were “generally peaceful” with the occasional confrontation between civilians and federal law enforcement. The judge said local law enforcement were equipped to handle those small incidents.
But lawyers for the government argued to the 9th Circuit judges that the guard was necessary because protest in Portland have gone on for months with occasional civil disobedience.
They cited several incidents throughout the summer including some where protesters “threw rocks and sticks” at an ICE facility guard shack, “attempted to set a U.S. flag on fire in the driveway of the ICE facility,” and one “shot officers with a paintball gun.”
Trump has continuously invoked a rarely-used presidential power which allows the president to take control of a state’s National Guard in the event of an invasion, a rebellion against the government or when the president cannot execute laws with regular force.
Over the summer, he sent the California National Guard to Los Angeles amid anti-immigration raid protests. However, a federal judge later determined the administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act which prevents the military from being used for domestic law enforcement.
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