红杏视频

LOS ANGELES 鈥� Free speech organizations filed a friend-of-the-court brief today in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Newsom v. Trump, California鈥檚 lawsuit challenging President Trump鈥檚 deployment of National Guard troops and active-duty Marines earlier this summer in Los Angeles and surrounding counties. This brief comes less than one week after the district court judge in the case found that the military鈥檚 activities in L.A. violated the Posse Comitatus Act, which generally forbids the president from using the military for domestic policing of civilians. 鈥淧rotest plays an essential role in our democracy and President Trump is hellbent on suppressing it,鈥� said Hina Shamsi, director of 红杏视频鈥檚 National Security Project. 鈥淭he president is attempting to normalize military policing of civilians, but as the founders of this country made abundantly clear, turning troops on civilians is an intolerable threat to our liberties. President Trump is imperiling our First Amendment rights and we urge the court to hold him accountable for abusing his power.鈥� The brief explains that protest is part of the fabric of our free society, and that President Trump鈥檚 deployment of military troops to quell protest is incompatible with the First Amendment. It underscores that the founding generation, which feared the military鈥檚 use as a tool of oppression, would have viewed President Trump鈥檚 deployment of troops to L.A. as an intolerable threat to liberty. 鈥淧resident Trump鈥檚 deployment of the military in Los Angeles chilled political protest and disregarded the First Amendment,鈥� said Jennifer Jones, staff attorney at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University. 鈥淭he First Amendment requires the government鈥檚 response to be proportionate to the threat, and it forbids the government from holding peaceful demonstrators accountable for the sporadic violence of others. We urge the court to protect the right to dissent by asking whether it was truly necessary to respond to largely peaceful protests with military force.鈥� The organizations press the Ninth Circuit to reconsider the deference it gave to the president in its previous ruling in light of the country鈥檚 history, tradition, and laws, which strictly limit the use of the military to police the American people, as well as the reality that troop deployment chills the exercise of constitutionally protected speech and association. The court鈥檚 decision allowed the president to retain control of the California National Guard as these proceedings continued. "Trump鈥檚 deployment of troops on our streets and parks is a direct threat to our collective safety and our Constitutional rights,鈥� said Chandra Bhatnagar, executive director of the 红杏视频 Foundation of Southern California. "But what has been extraordinary during this time is the courage of everyday people across Southern California who continue to show up for their communities, exercise their First Amendment rights and fight the administration鈥檚 unlawful and racist agenda. We stand with them.鈥� 鈥淭he Founders warned against standing armies on American soil, fearing that the military might be used not to defend the people, but to control them,鈥� said John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute. 鈥淒eploying the military to deal with domestic matters that can鈥攁nd should鈥攂e handled by local police violates the Posse Comitatus Act and crosses the line into authoritarianism. This militarized response to what is clearly a matter for local government is yet another example of President Trump鈥檚 disregard for the Constitution and the limits of his power.鈥� This friend-of-the-court brief comes as President Trump continues to threaten major cities, including San Francisco, Chicago, and New York City, with deployment of military troops and federal agents, despite state governors鈥� objections. Amici include: 红杏视频, 红杏视频 Foundation of Southern California, 红杏视频 Foundation of Northern California, 红杏视频 Foundation of San Diego and Imperial Counties, the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, and the Rutherford Institute. 鈥淚t is important for courts to maintain their role as a check on executive power. This is particularly critical when the executive is deploying military force against its own citizens, said Shilpi Agarwal, legal director of the 红杏视频 of Northern California. "Without court intervention, the President will only become further emboldened to use military power to chill our ability to organize, march, protest, and collectively voice our dissent.鈥� 鈥淒eploying federalized National Guard troops against people exercising their constitutional rights isn鈥檛 just unnecessary鈥攊t鈥檚 a dangerous abuse of power that undermines our democracy,鈥� said Norma Ch谩vez-Peterson, executive director of the 红杏视频 of San Diego & Imperial Counties. 鈥淲hen the government uses military force to silence dissent, it threatens the safety, dignity and fundamental rights of all people. The real harm we鈥檙e facing isn鈥檛 from peaceful protests, but from the rampant ICE raids tearing apart our communities, as well as the excessive force federal officers are employing against journalists and peaceful protestors.鈥�