The state of Illinois and the city of Chicago sued the Trump administration on Monday over its decision to send hundreds of National Guardsmen into the streets of Chicago.
“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor. To guard against this, foundational principles of American law limit the president’s authority to involve the military in domestic affairs. Those bedrock principles are in peril,” the suit reads.
The lawsuit—filed against President Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Homeland Security Secretary Kritsi Noem—comes just two days after Trump announced he authorized 300 members of the Illinois National Guard to deploy to Chicago, a move Illinois Governor JB Pritzker likened to an “invasion.” An Oregon judge on Sunday blocked Trump’s National Guard deployment to Portland.
The Illinois lawsuit will be overseen by Judge April Perry, a Biden appointee.
“Trump and Noem have sent a surge of SWAT-tactic trained federal agents to Illinois to use unprecedented, brute force tactics for civil immigration enforcement; federal agents have repeatedly shot chemical munitions at groups that included media and legal observers outside the Broadview facility; and dozens of masked, armed federal agents have paraded through downtown Chicago in a show of force and control,” the suit reads. “There is no legal or factual justification for Defendants’ Federalization Order.”
Trump himself has promised to use American cities as “training grounds” for the military. These legal challenges from governors may be the strongest anti-authoritarian tactic Democrats have right now, as both California and Oregon have put forth similar lawsuits.
This story has been updated.
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