D.C. sues Trump administration over 'illegal deployment' of National Guard in Washington

Washington, D.C., filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the military over the deployment of the National Guard in the nation's capital.

WASHINGTON — The city of Washington has filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump and the military over the deployment of the National Guard in the nation's capital.

Trump, the suit says, "has run roughshod over a fundamental tenet of American democracy — that the military should not be involved in domestic law enforcement."

The suit follows a ruling from a federal judge in California this week who found that the Trump administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which bars the use of soldiers for civilian law enforcement activities.

The suit was filed by Washington's elected attorney general, Brian Schwalb, a Democrat, whose office represents the city of Washington in court and also prosecutes some minor crimes as well as crimes committed by juveniles. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia, currently headed by Jeanine Pirro, prosecutes most crimes in the district.

In a statement, Schwalb said that deploying the National Guard for law enforcement purposes was "unnecessary and unwanted," and "dangerous and harmful" to the city's residents.