WASHINGTON, D.C. — Judges in Washington spent Wednesday morning testing how far a president may go in keeping National Guard troops on District streets.
A federal appeals bench in the District called the case after D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb sued to stop the deployment. In November, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb called the arrangement unlawful and issued a preliminary block, yet the appeals court froze that order while it reviews the fight.
Department of Justice lawyer Eric McArthur said the White House directed the defense secretary to activate the local Guard and work with governors on out-of-state units. He warned that a win for the District could complicate Guard help for inaugurations, big protests, and storm recovery that city leaders have used before.
Schwalb told reporters that for more than a year, large numbers of Guard members from elsewhere have been posted near schools, election drop boxes, and neighborhood routes. His lawsuit says federal law and the Home Rule Act bar that kind of local policing without District consent.
Election officials have asked Guard personnel to keep a 50-foot buffer from ballot boxes through Election Day. Councilmember Brooke Pinto joined neighbors Wednesday in a protest at Bard Elementary School in Southeast, with a community listening session planned the same evening.
The three-judge panel did not set a ruling date. Troop levels that once approached 5,000 earlier this year were recently described as about 2,900 still assigned to the District.
