Judge Throws Out IL Lawsuit Against Trump Over National Guard Deployment

CHICAGO — A federal judge on Monday agreed to throw out the state’s lawsuit against President Donald Trump over the deployment of National Guard troops into Illinois, finding the case to be moot, according to reports and state officials.

The federal district court in October took action to stop the deployment, with the matter eventually going to the U.S. Supreme Court, which denied the Trump administration’s attempt to stay the lower court’s order, according to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul.

“The American people, regardless of the city or state in which they reside, should not live under threat of military occupation simply because they live in a jurisdiction that has fallen out of a president’s political favor,” Raoul said Monday in a prepared statement.

“I am pleased that today, the court has declared the Trump administration’s unlawful orders defunct and said it is absolutely clear that the administration cannot use the Illinois orders to federalize or deploy National Guard troops in Illinois.”

The Trump administration brought the motion to dismiss the case, with the president threatening to “come back … perhaps in a much different and stronger form,” according to WTTW, which reported that the administration acknowledged “no National Guard troops remain deployed in the state for the Federal Protection Mission.”

“Today’s order concluding Illinois v. Trump confirms what has been clear to the people of Illinois from the beginning — Donald Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to occupy our streets was a reckless and illegal abuse of power,” Gov. JB Pritzker said Monday in a prepared statement. “I’m grateful to the court for siding with our communities and slowing the erosion of our democratic norms.”