AG Brown co-leads opposition to Trump’s unlawful deployment of National Guard to Chicago

The U.S. Supreme Court should deny the Trump administration’s request to stay a lower court order blocking an illegal National Guard deployment to Chicago, Attorney General Nick Brown says in an amicus brief he co-led with 24 attorneys general and governors in support of Illinois and the City of Chicago’s lawsuit.

Brown and the coalition argue the president’s actions break the law and threaten one of America’s most important principles – that the military must remain under civilian control – while also threatening state sovereignty and core constitutional principles of federalism. The brief is similar to those filed by Brown and other AGs in separate states where Trump has tried to deploy the Guard for dubious reasons against the wishes of local and state leaders.

“Trump has repeatedly made up excuses to use the military against Americans, in violation of our country’s founding principles and our constitutional rights,” Brown said. “The U.S. military exists to serve the people, not the president’s authoritarianism.”

Earlier this month, Brown joined a coalition of 24 attorneys general and governors in filing a similar amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in support of Illinois against President Trump’s unlawful deployment of the National Guard without approval from the state’s governor. The court allowed the president to proceed with placing National Guard troops under federal control but refused to let him proceed with deploying those troops.

The amicus brief is co-led by Brown and the attorney general of Maryland. Others joining include the attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawai‘i, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. The governors of Kansas, Kentucky and Pennsylvania also joined the filing. 

A copy of the brief can be found here.

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