A U.S. federal judge has ruled that former President Donald Trump unlawfully ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, marking a significant legal defeat for his administration’s controversial use of military forces in American cities.
In a 106-page decision issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut, a Trump appointee, found that the administration lacked any legal basis to claim that Portland was experiencing a “rebellion” or that federal authorities were unable to enforce immigration laws during the 2022 protests.
“The occasional interference with federal officers has been minimal, and there is no evidence that these small-scale protests significantly impeded the execution of any immigration laws,” Judge Immergut wrote.
Her ruling permanently blocks Trump’s order to send National Guard troops to Portland, replacing an interim injunction she issued on October 5.
The decision is the first to explicitly prohibit Trump’s use of military force to quell domestic protests and could have implications for similar deployments in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.
White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson defended the former president’s actions, insisting that Trump acted lawfully to protect federal officers.
“President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness plaguing American cities, and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court,” Jackson said in a statement Friday.
The Oregon Attorney General’s Office, which brought the lawsuit alongside the City of Portland, did not immediately comment.
The ruling follows a three-day bench trial featuring sharply contrasting portrayals of events in Portland. Justice Department lawyers depicted a violent siege overwhelming federal agents, echoing Trump’s past characterization of the city as “war-ravaged.”
Lawyers for Oregon and Portland, however, argued that the violence was rare, isolated, and largely contained by local police.
Judge Immergut sided with Oregon officials, concluding that unrest in the city had largely subsided by late September, when Trump ordered the National Guard deployment.
Legal experts say the decision underscores a major constitutional limitation on presidential power, reinforcing long-standing, though seldom tested, norms against using military forces to police domestic unrest.
Democrats have accused Trump of abusing emergency powers intended for extreme situations such as invasions or armed rebellions.
The Trump administration is expected to appeal the decision to the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and legal observers believe the case could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
Three federal judges, including Immergut, have already issued preliminary findings that Trump’s National Guard deployments exceeded the emergency authority cited by his administration.
Source: Reuters
Written By Rodney Mbua
