John,
From Los Angeles to Washington D.C., Portland to Chicago, and now cities like Baltimore, New Orleans, and New York, Trump is attempting to federalize state-controlled National Guard forces against the will of governors and mayors.
He claims it’s about crime and public safety, but every deployment tells a different story. Peaceful protesters have been met with tear gas, rubber bullets, and armed soldiers patrolling neighborhoods. Federal agents have detained citizens without clear authority, escalating fear and chaos. This isn’t law enforcement, it’s occupation.
The Posse Comitatus Act was designed to prevent exactly this kind of military policing of civilians. Yet Trump, with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth cheering him on, is testing how far he can push before anyone stops him. Courts have temporarily blocked some deployments, but the administration keeps appealing. Now it’s up to state leaders to take a stand.
Governors hold the power to say no, to refuse to deploy their state National Guard, to resist illegal federal orders, and to defend their people’s right to protest without intimidation. We need every governor, Democrat and Republican alike, to draw the line right now.
Tell your governor: Don’t deploy. Don’t comply. Speak out against Trump’s unconstitutional occupation of American cities.
The evidence is clear that Trump is not responding to emergencies, he is creating them. These deployments aren’t about protecting communities, they’re about consolidating control over them. Each “temporary” action sets a precedent for more federal intervention, stripping governors of authority and turning civic spaces into zones of fear.
Legal experts have warned that Trump is abusing the Insurrection Act and Title 10 powers to override state control without legitimate cause. Cities like Los Angeles and Portland have already challenged him in court for violating the Constitution. But as appeals courts side with his administration, the danger grows.
This is about whether our country will continue to be governed by democratic institutions or by one man’s will. When the National Guard can be taken from governors and turned on their own citizens, the foundation of state sovereignty is under siege.
The time for caution is over. Governors must act now to defend both their authority and their citizens’ rights. Every moment of silence or compliance brings us closer to a country where protest is criminalized, and power is enforced at gunpoint.
Demand that your governor refuse Trump’s orders and defend democracy from federal occupation.
Let’s stop Trump from twisting the Guard’s mission of emergency relief into a tool for political control.
- DFA AF Team
