LOS ANGELES, CA — A coalition of over a dozen local governments that have been directly targeted by the Trump administration, including Los Angeles, Baltimore, Chicago, New York, and Boston, have filed a new amicus brief in the case Newsom v. Trump, urging the court to prevent the Trump administration from interfering with city operations and with the Governor’s management of the state’s National Guard. Filed in the 9th Circuit, the brief argues the court should affirm the temporary restraining order granted by the lower court.

The amici argue the Trump Administration blatantly overstepped its powers in response to First Amendment demonstrations and protests that local governments are more than equipped to handle and that the ongoing federalization of the National Guard is illegal and causing devastating damage. They write, “every day that military troops in combat gear, carrying assault rifles, and trained to kill in war rather than apprehending criminals, is a day that sows fear and mistrust in the population.”

Backed by Democracy Defenders Fund as co-counsel, the city argues the Administration’s use of the National Guard in Los Angeles is both illegal and brazenly political. The same flimsy rhetoric the president has attempted to use as justification for his actions in Los Angeles is now being tested as a pretextual justification for future deployments in the other joining cities. The brief urges the Court not to ignore the broader context in which the Los Angeles deployment is presented and warns that if allowed to go unchecked, there will be no limit on the President’s misuse of the National Guard.

The brief is available HERE.

The amici include:

City of Los Angeles

County of Los Angeles

City of Baltimore

City of Bell Gardens

City of Boston

City of Chicago

City of Long Beach

City of Monterey Park

City of New York

City of Santa Ana

City of Santa Monica

City of Santa Paula

City of West Hollywood

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Democracy Defenders Fund brings together a nonpartisan team to work with national, state, and local allies across the country to defend in real-time the foundations of our democracy.