Hundreds marched across the Arlington Memorial Bridge to the No Kings day rally in Washington, D.C., on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)

WASHINGTON — Millions of Americans packed streets, parks and town squares across the United States Saturday for No Kings day, according to the organizers of the massive day of demonstrations protesting President Donald Trump’s administration — from his deployment of troops to cities to his targeting of political opponents.

Thousands upon thousands showed up for the second organized No Kings day in America’s largest cities like Atlanta, New York City and Chicago, to smaller metro areas and towns including Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Bismarck, North Dakota; and Hammond, Louisiana. More than 2,600 nonviolent demonstrations were planned.

By Saturday evening, it appeared most protests were peaceful, with a handful of isolated scuffles reported across the country.

In a separate demonstration in Portland, Oregon, federal officers on the roof of the city’s U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement building shot pepper balls at protestors. No Kings organizers said they were not involved in activities at the ICE facility, which has been the center of weeks of protests.

The first No Kings day coincided with Trump’s military parade that occurred on his 79th birthday in June. 

Demonstrators decried Trump’s dispatch of National Guard troops to several U.S. cities, as well as ongoing immigration crackdowns in Los Angeles, the nation’s capital, Portland, Oregon, and Chicago and where U.S. citizens have been swept up in raids.

Ben Grimes, of Northern Virginia, who said he spent two decades in the U.S. Army piloting helicopters and working as a military lawyer, held a sign bearing the message “I Served America Not Autocracy.” 

Grimes stood among tens of thousands of demonstrators who stretched down several blocks of Pennsylvania Avenue at the Washington, D.C., No Kings day event.

“We’re sliding very rapidly into autocracy and lawlessness,” said the 52-year-old veteran, whose career included a deployment to Baghdad. 

“Just about everything has worried me, but I am particularly concerned about the use of the deployment of military troops in the U.S. and the apparent lawless killing of civilians in the Caribbean,” Grimes said.

Peggy and Ken Greco donned clown costumes, and displayed a sign that read “Elect a Clown Expect a Circus.”

The couple drove from Augusta, Georgia, to attend the D.C. rally.

“We came because we feel very powerless about what’s going on, and we have to do something,” Peggy, 69, said, becoming emotional.

 In Chicago, Grant Park filled with thousands of people carrying symbols of repudiation of the Trump administration, particularly U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, from anti-ICE signs to posters satirizing the president.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker, a Democrat, also called on the crowd to be united and speak out. 

“Democracy requires your courage, and tyranny requires good people doing nothing … and it fails when ordinary people refuse to cooperate and they say, ‘no kings’ and mean it,” Pritzker said. 

Thousands of people gathered in Times Square in Manhattan for New York City’s No Kings day peaceful 1.6-mile march down 7th Avenue.

Silas Perez, 21, who lives in the Bronx, said she “wants to fight for our rights while we still have them.” 

“They want to say ‘Make America Great Again.’ It was better before,” Perez said. “This is worse.” 

Jacob Chansley, known to most as the “Q Shaman,” spoke to the Arizona Mirror about why he was at Saturday’s No Kings event at the state capitol in Phoenix.

“For me it has always been about protecting the American people,” Chansley said, dressed in the same garb and holding the spear he had at the Capitol on January 6. 

He denied the events of January 6 were an insurrection and said it was “staged by the government” and pointed to a sign he was holding when asked what brought him out to the rally. His sign made references to the Epstein files and criticisms of Israel.

In Lexington, Kentucky, protester Gracia O’Brien, 71, said, “I’m old, and I’ve never been scared for our democracy. I am now.” 

In Fargo, North Dakota, Ken Opheim showed up in a red hat but with an anti-Trump message: Quid Pro Quo Trump Must Go. “Everything he does, he gets something back for himself,” Opheim said.

Lawmakers, activists and celebrities spoke at rallies across the country — Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock in Atlanta, actor John Cusack in Chicago, Bill Nye “the Science Guy” in Washington, D.C. Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Chris Murphy of Connecticut also spoke to the massive crowd in the nation’s capital.

“He has not won yet, the people still rule in this country,” Murphy, a Democrat, said. “Trump thinks that he’s a king, and he thinks he can act more corruptly when the government is shut down.”

The protesters took to the streets during the ongoing government shutdown to question Trump’s actions since he took office for his second presidential term on Jan. 20.

Trump revamped his legally questionable mass firing of federal workers on Oct. 10, this time against the backdrop of the nearly three-week government funding lapse. 

Amid the shutdown, Trump this past week authorized a $40 billion bailout for Argentina. The administration also continues to amass defense resources along the coast of Venezuela and carry out extrajudicial strikes on alleged drug running boats in the Caribbean Sea, killing dozens.

Repeatedly, Trump has threatened to use the shutdown as an opportunity to permanently cut “Democrat programs that aren’t popular with Republicans” by canceling funding already appropriated by Congress.

A member of his own party, GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, said the Government Accountability Office should sue the for his administration’s illegal impoundment of funds already written into law — something he began to do long before the shutdown.

Since January, Trump has canceled billions in foreign aid, medical research, natural disaster assistance, and funding for museums and libraries, early childhood education and energy efficiency programs for K-12 schools.

Trump’s use of power was on full display when he invoked the Alien Enemies Act in March and defied a federal judge’s order by sending hundreds of immigrants, many without due process, to a mega-prison in El Salvador. The mistakenly deported Kilmar Arego Garcia became the face of Trump’s mass deportation campaign.

Nearly 300 partner organizations signed on to the nonviolent No Kings day, from local- and state-level groups to large national liberal advocacy bodies and labor unions, including the ACLU, Common Cause, Indivisible, the League of Women Voters and SEIU.

 

Trump was not in Washington during the rally. He left the White House Friday afternoon to spend the weekend at his Florida residence and was at his golf course on Saturday, according to the White House press corps traveling with the president.

Republicans have characterized the No Kings event as anti-American. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana recently described the event on Fox News as a “hate America rally,” claiming “it’s all the pro-Hamas wing and the antifa people.”

Trump declared “antifa” as a “domestic terrorist organization” last month, despite the fact that such a group does not exist. “Antifa,” shorthand for anti-fascist, is an ideology disapproving of fascist governance.  He also issued a directive targeting progressive organizations, including Indivisible, according to a list the White House provided to Reuters.

IN THE STATES

West Virginia

Protesters turn out en masse against Trump during No Kings protest at West Virginia Capitol, West Virginia Watch reports.

Hundreds of protesters descended on the West Virginia capitol to speak out against detainments by ICE, potential federal cuts to health care programs, social safety nets and more that would largely impact already vulnerable people. 

Oklahoma

Over 1,000 gather in Oklahoma City as part of nationwide No Kings protests, the Oklahoma Voice reports.

More than 1,000 people braved the rain in Oklahoma City, donning ponchos and inflatable costumes to join a protest outside City Hall. Many signs and speakers focused on anger with Trump’s deportation campaign, failure to release evidence in the Department of Justice’s investigation into Florida sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and the conflict in Gaza. 

Arkansas

Hundreds gather in Little Rock for second No Kings rally, annual LGBTQ+ Pride festivities, the Arkansas Advocate reports.

In downtown Little Rock, the No Kings protest coincided with annual Pride celebrations. Hundreds of Arkansans marched down Capitol Avenue to protest Trump’s administration and to celebrate LGBTQ+ Arkansans.

New Hampshire 

Second No Kings protest draws thousands in New Hampshire, the New Hampshire Bulletin reports.

Granite Staters who took to the streets in Concord said concerns about health care, immigration, racism, disability rights, free speech and more motivated them to join the capital’s No Kings protest.

Chicago

Alongside Pritzker in Grant Park, Mayor Brandon Johnson condemned Trump over recent immigration enforcement and compared the president’s deployment of troops to the city to the Civil War, Stateline reported.

“There are those in this country that have decided, at the behest of this president, to declare war on Chicago and American cities across this country,’’ Johnson, a Democrat, said. “They have clearly decided that they want a rematch of the Civil War.”

Johnson vowed that he would stand committed and would not bend to what he described as authoritarian moves by the administration. 

Virginia

Thousands flood Richmond streets for No Kings rally in protest of Trump administration, the Virginia Mercury reports. 

Organizers said over 10,000 people participated in the Richmond event. Families of all ages and backgrounds held signs, donned costumes, and sang pro-America songs at the Capitol before marching down Broad Street. 

The Richmond protest featured speakers highlighting federal workers’ interrupted paychecks because of the shutdown, as well as their fear of the rise of fascism.

Indiana

‘Not pawns’: Thousands of Hoosiers turn out for No Kings protests, the Indiana Capital Chronicle reports.

A thick sea of Hoosiers flooded the Indiana Statehouse’s lawn for hours on Saturday — raising defiant fists and signs. Among the issues the crowd focused on were deportation policy, health care cuts and the belief that Trump is an authoritarian.

New York City

As in other cities, many demonstrators wore inflatable animal and fruit costumes, Stateline reports. Many also held elaborate handmade signs with messages such as “Trump must go now!” Others banged on drums or played music to rally the crowd.

Democratic New York City Comptroller Brad Lander told Stateline that state and local lawmakers need to stand up to a government that isn’t abiding by one of its founding principles — no taxation without representation. 

“The federal government is collecting our taxes and not giving it back to us for services or infrastructure,’” Lander said. “So one thing state legislatures can be thinking about is ‘where are we pooling our money, before we give it to Washington?’”

Tennessee

Across Tennessee, No Kings protesters push back on Trump administration policies, the Tennessee Lookout reports.

Rallies occurred in 33 Tennessee towns and cities, including Memphis, where National Guard troops and agents from a federal task force have deployed. The Memphis demonstration took place one day after Shelby County officials, including Mayor Lee Harris, and state lawmakers from Memphis filed suit against Gov. Bill Lee over what they allege is unconstitutional deployment of Tennessee National Guard troops to the city.

Iowa

Iowans criticize GOP representatives, Trump at Des Moines No Kings demonstration, the Iowa Capital Dispatch reports. 

Democratic state lawmakers, union organizers, immigrant advocates and teachers in Des Moines decried Trump’s and Republicans’ policies. Speakers also emphasized Iowa will play a vital role in putting a check on Trump’s power in the 2026 election, and encouraged Iowans to vote and stay politically engaged. 

Maine

Thousands across Maine protest against Trump administration in second No Kings day, the Maine Morning Star reports.

Exactly 250 years to the day after the British attacked what is now Portland, Maine, during the Revolutionary War, thousands gathered in the city and across the state to declare the same thing Americans fought for then: no kings.

In Portland, participation nearly doubled Saturday from June’s protest. New attendees said they decided to show up because they feel the country has reached an untenable state, but speeches at the protests showed continued hope for change.  

Florida

Florida crowds throng to denounce Trump, ‘fascism’ on No Kings Day, the Florida Phoenix reports.

In Miami, an estimated 5,000 people clad in American flags, golden crowns, and frog and Sasquatch costumes flooded Bayfront Park to chant against Trump. The event was held in front of the Torch of Friendship, a 1960 monument built as a beacon to welcome immigrants.

One disruption hit the Miami gathering when Barry Ramey and another member of the far-right group the Proud Boys briefly showed up to counter-protest. Ramey was one of the men sentenced for rioting at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. City police quickly formed an escort to safely lead them out, as angry anti-Trump protesters screamed Spanish expletives at them.

New Mexico

Thousands protest in Santa Fe, Albuquerque for No Kings day, Source New Mexico reports.

Marchers in Santa Fe chanted a variety of messages, including: “No Kings/No ICE” and “This is what democracy looks like.” One man played the David Bowie/Queen song “Under Pressure” repeatedly from a small speaker.

Idaho

Thousands of Idahoans turn out for Boise’s anti-Trump No Kings protest at state Capitol building, the Idaho Capital Sun reports.

Thousands of people protested against Trump and government overreach at the Idaho capitol in Boise. American Civil Liberties Union of Idaho board member Sam Linnet spoke out against what he said is a government that is using fear to divide the American people. 

Rhode Island

No Kings but lots of people with something to stand for outside Rhode Island State House, the Rhode Island Current reports.

A diversity of animal costumes was among the crowd in Providence, as were a variety of people from all ages and backgrounds. 

Three teenagers perched at the feet of Nathanael Greene, a general in George Washington’s army who, in statue form, continues to look over the city from the base of the State House steps. The Democratic Socialists of America had set up an information booth underneath a tree’s shade. A woman who declined to be interviewed sported an outfit with Beanie Baby cats attached, and a sign that read “Cat ladies against Trump.”

Ohio

Thousands of No Kings protesters stage peaceful demonstration at Ohio Statehouse, the Ohio Capital Journal reports.

Alabama

‘We’ve got to do something:’ Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ protests in Alabama, the Alabama Reflector reports.

About 15 protests were scheduled around Alabama. Speakers and participants criticized the administration’s seizure of power, its arrest and detention of immigrants and its health care policies. Others said Trump administration policies were hurting members of their families. Crowd sizes varied, from about 40 people in Selma to up to 2,000 in Birmingham.

New Jersey

Thousands protest Donald Trump at New Jersey No Kings rallies, the New Jersey Monitor reports.

New Jersey residents took their rage — and ridicule — to the streets, with some wearing silly costumes to push back on critics’ claims that protesters are violent, anti-American extremists.

Minnesota

Thousands gather in downtown Minneapolis for anti-Trump rally, the Minnesota Reformer reports.

People told the Reformer they were there to fight for democracy against the threat of what they say is Trump’s overreach, including deploying the National Guard to cities, deporting immigrants without due process and cutting off federal funds to Democratic states. 

Protestors carried signs decrying authoritarianism — “No Kings, No Fascists” — and condemning U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — “I like my democracy neat. Hold the ICE.” 

North Carolina

Thousands gather for No Kings protest in Raleigh to condemn Trump, North Carolina Newsline reports.

From noon to 3 p.m., cars and trucks in Raleigh were honking their support for a No Kings protest that lined both sides of a divided highway, drawing thousands of demonstrators frustrated with the Trump administration. The mood was light despite the serious issues raised, with many wearing colorful costumes and playing cheery tunes.

Montana

Small towns in Montana rally for ‘No Kings,’ the Daily Montanan reports.

Montanans turned out in traditionally red communities, such as Dillon, population roughly 4,000, and they gathered in tiny outposts such as Polebridge, on the edge of Glacier National Park, which almost saw more demonstrators than full-time residents. Most of the people who turned out to demonstrate appeared to be those who had already opposed Trump.

Demonstrators said they rallied to show support for democracy, for the U.S. Constitution, for civil liberties, for federal workers, for immigrants, for their own grandchildren, for health care, for the proper use of military troops, and for science and research.

Kansas

Small No Kings event puts love ahead of politics in rural Kansas town where immigrants are detained, the Kansas Reflector reports.

Kay Krause of Cottonwood Falls hosted a “love in action” rally at her house. The gathering of 13 in the rural town of about 800 people was among the smallest of the 42 No Kings events that were planned across the state as part of a nationwide uprising.

Krause’s event was different because it focused on kindness rather than the anger toward the Trump administration. Trump won about 75% of the Chase County votes in last year’s election.

Nebraska

Protesters gather around Nebraska Capitol for No Kings protest, the Nebraska Examiner reports.

Protesters held anti-Trump signs criticizing the callousness of the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts and cuts to federal services. Some chanted for Trump “to go.” Some protesters said they were happy with the turnout, citing frustrations over the president’s deployment of the National Guard to Democratic-led cities and attacks on transgender rights as frustrations.

Missouri

No Kings rallies draw thousands across Missouri, bolster initiative petition campaigns, the Missouri Independent reports.

Thousands gathered in cities and towns all over Missouri Saturday at No Kings demonstrations to speak up against the many ways they believe Trump’s and Republican Gov. Mike Kehoe’s administrations are a threat to democracy. 

A St. Louis protester said he was appalled by Missouri’s new congressional map, which he called nothing but a “power grab.”

Michigan

Demonstrators amplify growing fear of Trump autocracy during Michigan-wide No Kings rallies, the Michigan Advance reports.

More than 100 communities from southeast Michigan to the westernmost part of the Upper Peninsula joined in a show of might to advocate for civil rights, democracy and the rule of law. 

In Lansing, security for the protest was pronounced, with several state police in tactical gear and road patrol uniforms on the lookout for threats. As the crowd grew, cars and trucks driving by honked in support throughout the event. Some waved flags, held up signs or played loud music, and most were met with cheers and applause from demonstrators along North Capitol Avenue.

Maryland

On Eastern Shore, in Baltimore, across the state, thousands turn out for No Kings, Maryland Matters reports.

Rallies in Baltimore and Centreville were just two of more than 60 events scheduled in Maryland, from Ocean City to LaVale and from Northeast to Lexington Park and scores of points in between.

They were in big cities like Baltimore and small towns like Centreville. They were in deep blue counties like Montgomery, which had more than a dozen events scheduled, to deep red counties like Carroll, where one event was scheduled for the County Government Building in Westminster for those willing to brave it.

South Carolina

Thousands rally at SC Statehouse during nationwide No Kings protest, South Carolina Daily Gazette reports.

In Columbia, protesters’ top issues included recent waves of deportations, federal cuts to health care research and what they considered moves away from democracy. Attention turned to statewide issues as well. 

Alex Baumhardt, Jerold MacDonald-Evoy, Shalina Chatlani, Robbie Sequeira, Jeff Beach and Jamie Lucke contributed to this report.

Members of the Texas National Guard are seen at the Elwood Army Reserve Training Center on Oct. 7, 2025 in Elwood, Illinois. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

President Donald Trump’s novel use of National Guard troops for law enforcement purposes has reopened a debate over states’ authority to control police powers, as dueling briefs from current and former state leaders filed in Illinois’ lawsuit against the president show.

A bipartisan group of former governors said Trump’s federalization and deployment of National Guard members to Chicago to control “modest” protests upended the careful balance between state and federal powers. 

At the same time, a group of 17 current Republican attorneys general told the court they supported the administration’s move that they said was necessary to protect immigration enforcement officers.

Both groups submitted friend-of-the-court briefs in the suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois Eastern Division brought by Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson to block the Trump administration’s deployment of National Guard troops to the nation’s third-largest city. 

Trump on Wednesday called for the arrest of Johnson and Pritzker for not assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, a provocative demand that raised further concerns about his administration’s relationship with state leaders.

The bipartisan group supported Pritzker and Johnson’s call for a restraining order to block the deployment, while the Republicans said the restraining order should be denied.

Democratic attorneys general back Oregon 

In another case, in which Oregon is challenging Trump’s order to deploy troops to Portland, Democratic governors or attorneys general in 23 states and the District of Columbia argued in support of the state’s position.

Democratic Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro, who was among those siding with Oregon, said Wednesday he did so to “put an end to the dangerous overreach of power we are seeing with Donald Trump’s Guard deployments.”

The brief was also signed by Democratic state officials from Washington state, Maryland, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Wisconsin, Kansas and Kentucky and the District of Columbia’s attorney general.

Former govs say deployment robs state authority

The federalist structure of the U.S. government, which bestows powers to both the federal and state governments, leaves broad police power to the states, the bipartisan group wrote. 

Sending military forces to conduct law enforcement would unbalance that arrangement, they said.

That group includes Democratic former Govs. Jerry Brown of California, Steve Bullock of Montana, Mark Dayton of Minnesota, Jim Doyle of Wisconsin, Parris Glendening and Martin O’Malley of Maryland, Jennifer Granholm of Michigan, Christine Gregoire, Jay Inslee and Gary Locke of Washington, Tony Knowles of Alaska, Terry McAuliffe of Virginia, Janet Napolitano of Arizona, Deval Patrick of Massachusetts, Bill Ritter Jr. of Colorado, Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas, Steve Sisolak of Nevada, Eliot Spitzer of New York, Ted Strickland of Ohio, Tom Vilsack of Iowa and Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania.

GOP former Govs. Arne Carlson of Minnesota, Bill Graves of Kansas, Marc Racicot of Montana, Bill Weld of Massachusetts and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey also signed the brief.

“The present deployment of military resources, based on an assertion of nearly unfettered federal authority, is unlawful,” they wrote. “The president’s assertion of authority to deploy military troops on domestic soil based on his unreviewable discretion, and without the cooperation and coordination of state authorities, threatens to upset the delicate balance of state and federal authority that underlies our constitutional order.”

The Trump administration misunderstands the section of federal law that Trump has relied on to federalize National Guard troops, the group said. 

The administration’s claim that only the president can decide if the conditions are met for National Guard units to be federalized “not only undermines state sovereignty but also deprives governors of a critical public safety tool,” they wrote.

“If federalization of the National Guard is unreviewable, a president motivated by ill will or competing policy priorities could divert Guard resources away from critical state needs, including natural disasters or public health crises,” they continued.

States need ICE enforcement, GOP govs say

The group of current Republican attorneys general argued their states are harmed by the protests in Chicago and other cities that impede federal ICE officers from doing their jobs.

The attorneys general are Brenna Bird of Iowa, Austin Knudsen of Montana, Gentner Drummond of Oklahoma, Alan Wilson of South Carolina, Steve Marshall of Alabama, Tim Griffin of Arkansas, James Uthmeier of Florida, Chris Carr of Georgia, Raúl R. Labrador of Idaho, Todd Rokita of Indiana, Lynn Fitch of Mississippi, Catherine Hanaway of Missouri, Michael T. Hilgers of Nebraska, Marty Jackley of South Dakota, Ken Paxton of Texas and John B. McCuskey of West Virginia.

They described the protests in Chicago as acts of violence that require a strong response.

“Rather than protest peacefully, some of those protests became violent, threatening federal officers, harming federal property, and certainly impeding enforcement of federal law,” they wrote. “President Trump’s deployment of a small number of National Guard members to defend against this lawlessness is responsible, constitutional, and authorized by statute.”

The attorneys general added that their states had been harmed by immigrants in the country without legal authorization who had settled in their states, which they said gave the president a public interest purpose in calling up troops to assist. 

“The President’s action of federalizing the National Guard furthers the public interest because it allows ICE agents to continue to perform their statutory duties of identifying, apprehending, and removing illegal aliens, which is the only way to protect the States from the harms caused by illegal immigration,” they wrote.

Federal agents, including members of the Department of Homeland Security, the Border Patrol, and police, attempt to keep protesters back outside a downtown U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility on Oct. 4, 2025 in Portland, Oregon.  (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON — The White House slammed a President Donald Trump-appointed federal judge Monday for blocking the deployment of National Guard troops to Oregon, as hostilities escalate between the administration and Democratic states where Trump has begun sending in troops over governors’ objections.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the Trump administration is within legal bounds and will appeal the district court’s decision, which she described as “untethered in reality and in the law.” 

“The president is using his authority as commander in chief, U.S. Code 12406, which clearly states that the president has the right to call up the National Guard in cases where he deems it’s appropriate,” Leavitt said at the press briefing, referring to a section in Title 10 of the U.S. Code that authorizes the president to send in the National Guard in cases of invasion or rebellion.

Leavitt told reporters that a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, facility in Portland where nightly protests have been occurring has been “under siege” by “anarchists.”

“They have been disrespecting law enforcement. They’ve been inciting violence,” Leavitt said.

Mainstream local media reports and statements from local officials have contradicted that claim.

​​”There is no need for military intervention in Oregon. There is no insurrection in Portland. No threat to national security,” Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, a Democrat, said in a statement Sunday.

Federal agents used tear gas and pepper balls on nonviolent protesters Saturday evening, according to local media reports.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker also filed a legal challenge against the administration Monday morning. A federal judge set a hearing for Thursday. Illinois and Chicago sought a temporary restraining order to stop Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth from ordering Texas and Illinois Guard troops to the country’s third-largest city.

Trump teases Insurrection Act 

Trump on Monday afternoon raised the possibility of invoking the Insurrection Act of 1807, a tool to expand the president’s legal authority for using military personnel for domestic law enforcement.

Asked by a reporter in the Oval Office the conditions under which he would invoke the law, Trump said “if it was necessary,” and speculated that he could use it to defy courts or state officials.

“So far it hasn’t been necessary,” he said. “But we have an Insurrection Act for a reason. If I had to enact it, I’d do that. If people were getting killed and courts were holding us up or governors or mayors were holding us up, sure, I’d do that. I want to make sure that people aren’t killed. We have to make sure our cities are safe.”

Court battle in Portland 

In Oregon, federal District Judge Karin Immergut broadened her order Sunday night barring the Trump administration from deploying any National Guard troops to Portland. 

The edict came after Trump and Hegseth defied a temporary restraining order that Immergut issued Saturday halting 200 Oregon National Guard troops from being sent there. 

Immergut was nominated by Trump in 2019 and confirmed by the U.S. Senate by voice vote.

The administration maintains the Guard is needed to protect federal agents, as sustained small protests pop up outside an ICE facility 2 miles south of city hall. Kotek rebuffed Trump’s claims that the city is “on fire” and said local authorities are equipped to handle the demonstrations that lately range from a dozen or so people to roughly 100.

Trump ordered 101 California National Guard troops to Portland overnight, without the knowledge of Kotek, she said Sunday. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a fellow Democrat, confirmed that Trump had ordered up to 300 of his state’s National Guard troops to Oregon. 

Just before Immergut’s Sunday night emergency hearing, an Oregon assistant attorney general filed a memo with the court showing that Hegseth had ordered 400 Texas National Guard troops to Portland and Chicago.

California joined Oregon and Portland in suing the administration.

‘A domestic militarization’

Pritzker said he has urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to “immediately withdraw his support for this decision and refuse to allow Texas National Guard members to be used in this way.”

“Let me be clear, Donald Trump is using our service members as political props and as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,” Pritzker said at a press conference Monday afternoon.

Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul said the deployment “is unfair to National Guardsmen, it is unfair to local law enforcement, and it is certainly unfair to the law-abiding citizens of Illinois who do not want to be subject to military occupation.”

Chicago is nearly a month into a federal immigration crackdown. Dozens of federal agents raided an apartment building in the city’s South Shore neighborhood on Sept. 30, ziptying adults and children, and detaining some U.S. citizens, according to multiple media reports. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security published a highly produced video of the raid on social media.

Trump’s federalization and deployment of National Guard troops to mostly Democratic-run states has alarmed political and constitutional experts. 

Pat Eddington, senior fellow in homeland and civil liberties at the libertarian Cato Institute, said he agrees with Pritzker’s concerns.

“I share his belief 100% that the use of the American military and all these massive employment of ICE and HSI and FBI and marshals and the rest for ostensible immigration enforcement and ostensible crime control, it’s really designed to lay the groundwork to normalize a militarization, essentially a domestic militarization of Americans, civic life,” Eddington told States Newsroom in an interview in late September.

On a Monday afternoon press call, Hima Shansi, the head of the American Civil Liberties Union’s national security program, said Trump’s use of military and federal police forces in recent months “raises serious constitutional concerns in terms of federalism, the separation of powers between the federal government and the states which generally exercise police power.”

“What that means in real-people language is that, as the states have been saying, they are fully capable of doing their jobs as needed, and there is absolutely no reason for the president to assert federal power in the way that he is forcibly doing.”

Starting in Los Angeles

Trump federalized California National Guard troops and deployed U.S. Marines to Los Angeles in June in response to protests against aggressive immigration enforcement there. 

Newsom objected to the plan and sued to stop the deployment. A federal judge initially sided with the Democratic governor and blocked the deployment, but an appeals panel reversed the decision. 

The trial court ruled again in September that Trump had overstepped the line separating military forces from law enforcement. The administration has appealed.

While that case in California was ongoing, Trump also ordered the District of Columbia National Guard to assist local police in the nation’s capital. Because the district is a federal territory, it is relatively clear that move was within the president’s legal authority, even if many Trump critics questioned its necessity. 

National Guard troops from several Republican states also deployed to the district in a more legally dubious move.

Trump also ordered Tennessee National Guard troops to Memphis last month, with the approval of the state’s Republican governor.

Ashley Murray reported from Washington, D.C. Jacob Fischler reported from Portland, Oregon.

The Dirksen Federal Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois photo by Hannah Meisel)

CHICAGO — Illinois and Chicago filed a federal lawsuit Monday to block the Trump administration’s planned deployment of National Guard troops to the state — a move Gov. JB Pritzker called an “invasion.”

Trump pushed forward with the plan to activate hundreds of National Guard soldiers, including some from Texas, despite monthslong opposition from state and local leaders, as well as objections from civic and business groups in the city.

“We must now start calling this what it is: Trump’s Invasion,” Pritzker said in a statement Sunday night. “It started with federal agents, it will soon include deploying federalized members of the Illinois National Guard against our wishes, and it will now involve sending in another state’s military troops.”

Read more: Over Pritzker’s objections, Trump sending 300 National Guardsmen to Chicago, governor says

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem asked President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to deploy troops to Illinois to protect federal immigration officers and facilities. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement processing center in Broadview, a near-west suburb of Chicago, has been the site of several clashes between ICE agents and demonstrators in recent weeks.

But Pritzker, who said Saturday that he refused the Trump administration’s “ultimatum” to activate the National Guard himself, has insisted there is no emergency necessitating guardsmen on the ground. He also warned that White House officials would use any conflict between immigration agents and civilians as a “pretext” for military occupation.

“It will cause only more unrest, including harming social fabric and community relations and increasing the mistrust of police,” the lawsuit said.

The suit, filed in the Northern District of Illinois, names Trump, Noem and Hegseth as defendants.

Texas National Guard also activated

Illinois filed its lawsuit hours after Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced he will send 400 guardsmen to cities around the country, including Chicago, and after a federal judge in Oregon blocked National Guard deployments to Portland.

The order is “effective immediately for an initial period of 60 days” and subject to extension, according to the memo, signed by Hegseth. It comes a day after Pritzker confirmed Trump’s intention to federalize 300 members of the Illinois National Guard.

“The American people, regardless of where they reside, should not live under the threat of occupation by the United States military, particularly not simply because their city or state leadership has fallen out of a president’s favor,” the lawsuit reads. “To guard against this, foundational principles of American law limit the president’s authority to involve the military in domestic affairs. Those bedrock principles are in peril.”

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The promised deployment comes as ICE has ramped up activity in Chicago and its suburbs as part of “Operation Midway Blitz,” which has so far resulted in more than 800 arrests according to the Department of Homeland Security.

There have also been two shootings since the clashes began. On Saturday, the governor called the administration’s National Guard activation a “manufactured performance” and not about protecting public safety.

Though the Trump administration insists ICE is targeting undocumented immigrants who have criminal backgrounds, reports have mounted of agents arresting those with no history of illegal activity, detaining children along with their parents and even handcuffing U.S. citizens and children with zip ties. Immigrant and civil rights groups have alleged ICE is arresting people without warrants in violation of a federal consent decree.

The lawsuit also alleges ICE activity in Chicago and its suburbs has already subjected Illinois “to serious and irreparable harm.”

Read more: ‘We are not backing down’: Feds ramp up immigration raids in Chicago area | DHS Secretary Noem defends ICE tactics in second Illinois visit

“It also creates economic harm, depressing business activities and tourism that not only hurt Illinoisians but also hurt Illinois’s tax revenue,” the complaint said.

That argument echoes one made by a group of Chicago business and civic groups over the weekend.

“National Guard troops on our streets, like those reportedly being ordered here by the federal government, have the potential to sow fear and chaos, threatening our businesses’ bottom lines and our reputation,” the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago and the Civic Federation said in a joint statement Saturday.

Read the lawsuit here.

Order violates states’ rights

Attorney General Kwame Raoul argues the troop deployment violates Illinois’ rights as sovereign state to carry about its own law enforcement, as well as 1878 Posee Comitatus Act that bans the military from participating in domestic law enforcement.

The lawsuit also claims the Trump administration failed to meet any criteria that could allow the president to federalize the National Guard. The president can federalize the National Guard to stop a foreign invasion, when the president can’t execute the laws of the country or to stop a rebellion.

Raoul and state leaders have argued for weeks that Trump would use protests in Broadview as a “flimsy pretext” to claim a rebellion.

Read more: Pritzker says feds seeking Chicago troop deployment. ‘What I have been warning of is now being realized’

Several protestors have been arrested near the facility in recent weeks on charges of assaulting officers. Federal agents have sprayed tear gas and fired nonlethal ammunition into crowds that have gathered there.

Over the weekend, a U.S. Border Patrol agent shot a woman on the city’s Southwest Side in a confrontation with protesters. Prosecutors eventually charged the woman and another protestor with attempting to “assault, impede, and interfere with the work of federal agents in Chicago.” According to the Chicago Sun-Times, agents fired “defensive shots” when they saw the woman was allegedly “armed with a semi-automatic weapon,” and she was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment before she was charged.

Further, the lawsuit argues the Trump administration has entirely manufactured any public safety crisis in Illinois that would require military intervention. It cites a 2013 social media post by Trump, two years before he announced his candidacy for president, that suggested the military should be deployed to Chicago. It lists several other derogatory comments Trump made about the city, state and their leaders over the years, including as president.

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Read more: As Trump declares ‘we’re going in,’ Pritzker says ‘terror and cruelty is the point’

The lawsuit argues that animosity culminated last week with Trump claiming during a speech to military generals that there was an “invasion from within” and suggesting cities like Chicago should be used as “training grounds” for the military.

How soldiers will be deployed

The lawsuit includes new details about how federal officials communicated with state leaders and gave Pritzker an ultimatum.

DHS sent a memo to the Illinois National Guard on Sept. 28 stating troops “would integrate with federal law enforcement operations, serving in direct support of federal facility protection, access control, and crowd control.”

On Saturday morning, Illinois National Guard Adjutant General Rodney Boyd received a formal email from the Defense Department National Guard Bureau saying Trump asked for at least 300 soldiers, and if Boyd did not activate them within two hours, Hegseth would federalize them. Boyd responded that Pritzker declined to activate the guard. Defense officials sent a new memo late Saturday saying the guard was federalized.

Illinois National Guard leaders received another memo on Sunday informing them soldiers from Texas would be sent to Chicago beginning Monday.

Read more: As Illinois congressional delegation seeks answers, ICE cancels meeting

Abbott, a Republican and ardent Trump supporter, has been a frequent foil of Pritzker, bussing thousands of asylum-seeking migrants from the border to Chicago in 2023 and 2024 and criticizing the Illinois governor for welcoming Texas Democratic legislators who fled their state this summer amid a partisan redistricting fight. He said in a social media post that Pritzker “can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let the Texas Guard do it.”

Prior to this year, the last time a president federalized a state’s National Guard without a request from a state’s governor was in 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson sent federal troops to protect civil rights protesters in Alabama without the cooperation of segregationist Gov. George Wallace.

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Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service that distributes state government coverage to hundreds of news outlets statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

This article first appeared on Capitol News Illinois and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.