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A judge ruled Saturday that National Guard troops sent by President Donald Trump to Illinois to fight crime can remain in the state but cannot patrol or deploy to protect federal property.
The Trump administration requested an emergency moratorium after US District Judge April Perry on Thursday blocked the deployment of National Guard troops in Chicago and across Illinois for at least two weeks.
Perry said there is no evidence of “risk of insurrection” in the state as Trump has indicated he might invoke the Insurrection Act, which means the federal government could send troops into states that defy federal laws or do not quell insurrection.
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Illinois State Police stand guard as people including members of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership (CSPL) gather outside a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
“I will do it if it’s necessary. So far it hasn’t been necessary. But we have the Insurrection Act for a reason,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday.
The Insurrection Act was last activated in 1992 during the Los Angeles riots.
“There has been no evidence of failure of civil authority,” Perry said. “Instigators who violated the law by attacking federal authorities have been arrested. The courts are open and the guards are ready to see that any prison sentences are carried out. Resorting to the army to enforce the laws is not required.”
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A protester wearing an American flag face covering stands opposite the Cook County Sheriff outside an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, on Saturday. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
She added: “Even Alexander Hamilton could not imagine using one state’s militia against the people of another state because the president wants to punish those who have opinions different from his own.”
On Saturday, a federal judge, in granting a temporary restraining order, blocking the deployment until further arguments could be heard, wrote, “Members of the National Guard need not return to their home states unless so ordered by the court,” according to the court order obtained by Fox News Digital.
A judge ruled Saturday that National Guard troops sent by President Donald Trump to Illinois can stay but cannot patrol or deploy to protect federal property. (Sean Theo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
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Besides Chicago, Trump also sent federal troops to Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., and Memphis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.