‘Trump’s invasion’: Illinois sues to halt National Guard troop deployment to Chicago
US president suggests invoking the Insurrection Act to sidestep any court restrictions to deploying troops to police US cities
The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued US President Donald Trump on Monday, seeking to block the deployment of federalised National Guard troops to Chicago, as hundreds of National Guard troops from Texas headed to the nation’s third-largest city.
Trump then escalated the widening clash with Democratic-led states and cities over the domestic use of military forces, threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act as a means to circumvent court restrictions on deploying troops where they are unwanted by local officials.
Illinois had sued in response to Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth’s orders over the weekend to bring 300 Illinois National Guard members under federal control and then to mobilise another 400 Texas National Guard members for deployment to Chicago.
While Illinois’ request for a temporary restraining order plays out, US lawyers told a court hearing on Monday that Texas National Guard troops were already in transit to Illinois. Trump then issued another memorandum calling up the Illinois National Guard, reinforcing Hegseth’s previous order.
US District Judge April Perry allowed the federal government to continue the deployment in Chicago while it responds to Illinois’ suit. She set a deadline of midnight Wednesday for the US to reply.