Trump illegally sent the National Guard to Portland, court rules

Federal Judge Karin Immergut ruled Friday that U.S. President Donald Trump acted illegally when he ordered the deployment of National Guard troops to Portland.

The ruling is the first to permanently block Trump's use of military force to quell protests against immigration authorities. Trump is also attempting to do so in Democratic-led Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C. It replaces her preliminary injunction that prevented the deployment of military force in Portland.

The judge, who was nominated to the post by Trump himself, found that the federal government had no legal basis for deploying the force - there was no insurrection in the city and no significant impediment to the enforcement of federal law.

In her view, the protests were largely peaceful; isolated incidents of violence did not warrant the president's authority to use the military.

The Trump administration argued for the protection of federal authorities. "President Trump will not turn a blind eye to the lawlessness that plagues American cities, and we expect to be vindicated by a higher court," the White House responded.

(reuters, max)