ACLU Supporter, when the president is deploying military troops to respond to protests, it's a threat to all of our freedoms – which is why we just filed an amicus brief supporting California's lawsuit against the Trump administration.

Armed federal agents brutally arrested a local union leader and grabbed city residents from workplaces and homes in Los Angeles, subjecting them to unjust detentions under deplorable conditions. In response, the people of Los Angeles rose up in overwhelmingly peaceful protest. They exercised their core First Amendment rights to lawfully demand an end to the cruelty of these ICE raids.

Yet President Trump responded by forcibly federalizing members of the California National Guard and deploying them – along with active-duty Marines – against everyday Angelenos. Now, we and our partners have filed an amicus brief against this unlawful escalation, which puts our constitutional rights at risk.

President Trump's goals are clear: He wants to suppress protest, stoke fear, and normalize military presence in our communities so he can force his extreme partisan agenda and silence those he disagrees with.

Sending the military in to police civilians is an extreme and dangerous measure. The federal military must not be used as a tool of oppression and a means of suppressing political opponents. The Posse Comitatus Act was designed to prevent this and prohibits domestic military policing of civilians. The president's actions in Southern California put our foundational First Amendment rights at high risk and put countless people in direct harm's way.

We're calling on the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to hold President Trump accountable for abusing his powers and unlawfully ordering state troops to do his bidding.

Lawful protest is our right, and peaceful protests defend our values and communities. When ICE raids tear apart families and military troops chill the speech of civilians, we have to act. We'll continue protecting our rights in court, in Congress, and in the streets, and we're grateful to have you with us.

Hina Shamsi
Pronouns: She, her, hers
Director, ACLU National Security Project