View this email in your browser ([link removed])
[link removed]



** For Immediate Release: December 29, 2025
------------------------------------------------------------


** Supreme Court Temporarily Blocks President Trump’s Attempt to Deploy the National Guard Against Civilians in Chicago
------------------------------------------------------------

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Pushing back on President Trump’s claim that “I have the right to do anything I want to do,” the U.S. Supreme Court has declined to lift a lower court order ([link removed]) preventing the President from deploying National Guard troops against civilians in Chicago, allowing the block on the deployment to remain in place ([link removed]) .

In urging the Supreme Court to rein in the President’s attempts to establish a de facto standing army, a coalition of civil liberties organizations—including The Rutherford Institute, the ACLU, ACLU of Illinois, the Knight First Amendment Institute, and FIRE—argued ([link removed]) in Trump v. Illinois that American law and tradition strictly limit the use of the military in domestic affairs. The coalition emphasized that the Posse Comitatus Act forbids federal troops from engaging in civilian law enforcement except in the most extraordinary circumstances.

The Rutherford Institute, together with Demand Progress, R Street Institute, the Society for the Rule of Law Institute, and the Mormon Women for Ethical Government, has also called on Congress to reassert its Article I authority ([link removed]) by enacting legislation to curb presidential abuses of National Guard deployment powers.

“The President’s attempt to turn the National Guard into a standing army on American soil—deploying troops against the American people—is the very abuse of power the Constitution was written to restrain,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People ([link removed]) . “Each time the President treats ordinary protest as rebellion and sends soldiers to enforce so-called ‘order’ in our cities, he’s not defending the nation—he’s dismantling the very freedoms that define it, while betraying the Constitution in the process.”
MAKE THE GOVERNMENT PLAY BY THE RULES OF THE CONSTITUTION: SUPPORT THE FIGHT FOR FREEDOM ([link removed])

The lawsuit in Trump v. Illinois challenges the President’s effort to federalize and deploy the National Guard to Chicago under 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3), which permits such action only when “the President is unable with the regular forces to execute the laws of the United States.” A federal district court issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) blocking the deployment after finding no evidence that protests in Illinois had impeded the federal government’s ability to enforce the law. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals upheld that order ([link removed]) , and the Trump administration then sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

In allowing the TRO to remain in effect, the Supreme Court concluded that the term “regular forces” referenced in 10 U.S.C. § 12406(3) likely refers to the regular forces of the U.S. military ([link removed]) , not merely civilian law enforcement officers. As a result, the statute likely applies only in circumstances where the military could lawfully execute the laws—situations the Court described as “exceptional,” given that the Posse Comitatus Act generally prohibits the military from performing civilian law enforcement functions unless expressly authorized by the Constitution or an Act of Congress.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh, writing separately, warned ([link removed]) that “one apparent ramification of the Court’s opinion is that it could cause the President to use the U. S. military more than the National Guard to protect federal personnel and property in the United States.”

Hina Shamsi, Charlie Hogle, Cecillia D. Wang, and others at ACLU advanced the arguments in the amicus brief ([link removed]) .

The Rutherford Institute ([link removed]) is a nonprofit civil liberties organization dedicated to making the government play by the rules of the Constitution. To this end, the Institute defends individuals whose constitutional rights have been threatened or violated and educates the public on a broad range of issues affecting their freedoms.
------------------------------------------------------------


** Case History
------------------------------------------------------------

November 10, 2025 • Civil Liberties Groups Urge Supreme Court to Block President’s Use of Troops in Chicago ([link removed])

Legal Documents: Trump v. Illinois
* Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals: Opinion ([link removed])
* U.S. Supreme Court: Amicus Brief ([link removed])
* U.S. Supreme Court: Opinion ([link removed])

Coalition Letter to Congress ([link removed])

____
This press release is also available at www.rutherford.org ([link removed]) .

Source: [link removed]
[link removed] Share ([link removed])
[link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fsupreme-court-blocks-trumps-attempt-to-deploy-troops-in-chicago Tweet ([link removed]: https%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Frutherford%2Fsupreme-court-blocks-trumps-attempt-to-deploy-troops-in-chicago)
[link removed] Forward ([link removed])
CLICK HERE TO MAKE A TAX-DEDUCTIBLE DONATION ([link removed])

To donate via PayPal, please click below:
[link removed]

============================================================
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Facebook ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** Follow us on Twitter ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
** YouTube ([link removed])
CONTACT INFORMATION
Nisha Whitehead
(434) 978-3888 ext. 604
** [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

THE RUTHERFORD INSTITUTE
Post Office Box 7482
Charlottesville, VA 22906-7482
Phone: (434) 978-3888
** www.rutherford.org ([link removed])

Copyright © 2025 The Rutherford Institute, All rights reserved.

You are receiving this email because of your interest in the work of The Rutherford Institute. Founded in 1982 by constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead, The Rutherford Institute is a civil liberties organization that provides free legal services to people whose constitutional and human rights have been threatened or violated. To discontinue your membership electronically, or if you feel you are receiving this message in error, please follow the link below.

Under the regulations of the United States Internal Revenue Service, The Rutherford Institute is incorporated as a 501(c)(3) tax exempt nonprofit organization. Donations to support The Rutherford Institute’s legal and educational work help to safeguard the constitutional rights of all Americans. Donations are tax-deductible. In compliance with general industry standards of a nonprofit organization, the Institute is audited annually by an independent accounting firm.

** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])

** update subscription preferences ([link removed])