SEATTLE, WA – Washington State Attorney General Nick Brown announced on Thursday morning that his office has filed an amicus brief with leaders from 21 states supporting California’s request for a court order blocking President Donald Trump’s federalization and deployment of that state’s National Guard in response to riots in the Los Angeles area.
“The president is escalating events in Los Angeles not to prevent violence, but to stoke fear and division,” Brown said. “It’s a deliberate enticement to chaos. It’s unlawful, it’s undemocratic, and Washington state would act swiftly to protect our residents if the president did the same here.”
“The amicus brief outlines how Trump’s action is wholly inconsistent with our nation’s founding principle that freedom depends on the subordination of the military to civilian authority,” says a release from Brown’s office.
“By calling forth troops when there is no invasion to repel, no rebellion to suppress, and when state and local law enforcement is fully able to execute the laws, the President flouts the vision of our Founders, undermines the rule of law, and sets a chilling precedent that puts the constitutional rights of Americans in every state at risk,” the brief reads.
Brown’s office says the president’s memo federalizing the Guard does not restrict these actions to just Los Angeles, California, or any specific U.S. region. Instead, it is an unlimited claim of presidential authority to deploy the National Guards of any state for the next 60 days. The states have an interest in standing up against this unnecessary and legally unjustified military call-up.
“The president’s unlawful and unconstitutional use of the military has exacerbated safety issues and threatened constitutionally protected activity under the First Amendment. Every state has an interest in protecting their residents from these threats,” says the release.
The brief is led by Washington Attorney General Nick Brown and Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings. Others joining are the state attorneys general of Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly also joined the brief.
